SJSU community honors survivors
By Hunter Yates STAFF WRITER
Nearly 650 T-shirts lined up 7th Street Plaza to honor victims and loved ones for Intimate Partner and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
San José State students made T-shirts on Wednesday for the Clothesline project and strung them up all along 7th Street Plaza.
Different experiences and personally shared, impactful messages were
written on each shirt in acknowledgment. October was first declared National Domestic Violence Awareness Month back in 1989, according to an NCTSN web page.
It is a month of acknowledgment for survivors and individuals that have lost loved ones to domestic violence, annually there are 10 million or more abuse victims, according to the same source.
The Clothesline Project started in 1990 when a member of the Cap Cod’s
Women’s Defense Agenda learned that 51,000 women were killed by men who claimed to love them, according to a Utah Valley University web page.
This statistic inspired the women’s group to display the issue of violence, according to the same source.
In the past, SJSU’s Gender Equity Center typically put on this demonstration, according to the Gender Equity Center web page.
The Gender Equity Center is a place for students and members to
be supported through social justice, respect and safety through their gender and perceived gender, according to its web page.
Soma De Bourbon, a sociology and interdisciplinary social sciences professor, organized the annual event and shares what the event means to her and students.
“We talk more about the rape of young girls,” said Bourbon. “But in my experience, if we’re talking, we are trying to stop the violence in our
communities and we don’t talk about the rape of young boys, we wont be able to solve it.”
Forty T-shirts were put up on Wednesday, and in total there were 650 shirts lined up on both sides of 7th Street Plaza.
Nearly 1 in 4 or 22% of children witnessed violence in intimate partner violence cases filed in the state courts, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline’s web page.
Some examples of the type of messages written on the T-shirts include; “You’re not your abuse, you’re strong and you’re beautiful” and “Cats against catcalling.”
Jenny Tran, a thirdyear pre-nursing student, explored messages written on the shirts with her friends.
“One of my favorite messages I read was that someone's love shouldn’t hurt.” Tran said.
Around 38% of college students don’t know where to get help for themselves when experiencing dating abuse as a victim, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
“I think we have around 35,000 students and we only have one advocate,” said Bourbon “We have partnered with her and that’s really challenging to be on a campus that doesn’t
have a robust prevention or system to address these type(s) of things.”
She said it always surprises her how many of our students are survivors.
Jessica Short, the program coordinator for the Gender Equity Center, said that this wasn’t the only event that happened this month.
“One of the biggest programs we do this semester is the ambassador training program which has (a) five part series, " Short said. “It is a way for people to get more involved with our center, and it goes over topics like consent, healthy relationships, sexual violence culture, reproductive justice and we do an active bystander training as well.”
The Gender Equity Ambassador Program gives San José state students training on topics of gender equity and violence prevention, according to the gender equity web page.
“I feel like love can apply to many aspects in life, whether it would be with family, friends, relationships or partners, people deserve to be loved and spread love,” Tran said.
A.S. votes on child development
By Israel Archie STAFF WRITER
San José State University’s Associated Students (A.S.) had a tight agenda as they hosted their second board meeting of the month in the Student Union on Wednesday.
Associated Students is a student government organization on campus that advocates for stu-
dent voices and provides on-campus services according to an SJSU web page.
A.S. president Ariana Lacson and the board directors managed to end the meeting on time after discussing topics such as student houselessness and school funding.
“I think the time management is improving so far for our meeting,” Lacson said. “Everyone
was able to make a sound decision or ask the questions that they needed to, so I think it went pretty well.”
One of the resolutions that A.S. passed today was in regards to the SJSU General Child Care and Development and the Child Development Center. The board approved a resolution in favor of the continued funding appli-
cation for the General Child Care and Development for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The continued funding application is a document that programs need to fill out annually to keep receiving funding from the California Department of Social Services, according to its web page.
Child Development Center director Jane Zamora said she is very grateful to A.S. for passing the resolution and enabling the funding for the year.
“I’m really appreciative of them understanding how important we are,” Zamora said. “I feel supported, I feel validated and I think the center is going to thrive.”
The Child Development Center is licensed by the California Department of Social Services whose website contains the Continued Funding Application, according to an SJSU web page.
When they apply for the funding, the money goes directly to them when approved which they can use for resources that they provide for students
Director of student rights and responsibilities
Leonardo Plazola and director of legislative affairs Katelyn Gambarin, led
the conversation about houselessness and how it affects some students on campus.
“We’re planning on incorporating different alumni voices, directors and committees (so) this is going to be our biggest resolution yet,” Plazola said. “I’m really excited to be pushing that forward because it’s a long time coming.”
While nothing got passed today concerning the topic of houselessness, the two directors brought it up to the rest of the board members’ attention and talked about their plans for improving it.
They are getting extra help with this resolution from the director of student resource affairs Teairra Brown and the director of co-curricular affairs, Sahithya Swaminathan
Plazola said he and the other board members have been working with the Student Homeless Alliance for about four weeks.
The Student Homeless Alliance is a club dedicated to spreading awareness of homelessness and finding solutions, according to its web page.
“Right now we are really pushing for an increased amount of emer-
gency beds (and) more specific work group meetings so that those students are represented,” Plazola said.
In addition to assisting in Plazola’s resolution, Gambarin said she is also working on finalizing her letter in support of the BASIC Act.
This act would create a competitive grant program for schools to receive these grants to help students with resources including food, housing, and healthcare, according to California Senator Alex Padilla’s web page.
“There shouldn’t be any barriers to receiving an education,” Gambarin said. “You shouldn’t have to choose between rent and your next meal.”
There are over 36,000 enrolled students at SJSU with a part of their tuition going to A.S according to the school web page.
“Thirteen people need to represent 37,000 students, which isn’t doable unless you have your constituents coming to you and telling (you) what they think is going badly and what they think is going well,” Gambarin said.
PHOTOS BY ISRAEL ARCHIE | SPARTAN DAILY
Chima Nwokolo (left), Leonardo Plazola (center) and Srishti Sinha (right) represent the A.S. at their second board
A speaker sets the agenda to the A.S. board in their second meeting this month.
Breaktime Tea is the place for me
By Anfisa Pitchkhadze STAFF WRITER
Right by San José State campus is a boba place called Breaktime Tea, which offers a fun and relaxed vibe perfect for college students looking to satisfy their boba cravings.
The store’s aesthetic and laid-back atmosphere makes it a hot spot where students can unwind with friends and focus on work while sipping on something sweet, cold and refreshing.
The service is very friendly as they always seem to be kind with their customers and get the orders correct from my experience.
Breaktime Tea also provides a pleasant atmosphere, making it a highly favored spot by locals in San José.
The welcoming environment enhances the overall experience and customers are more likely to return because the staff makes customers feel valued.
The boba place sets a positive vibe while also playing great song choices that customers can enjoy listening to while chatting with friends or typing away on their computers.
I’ve gone to Breaktime Tea multiple times with friends to hang out there since my freshman year of college.
Stopping by there brightens my day and
ALBUM REVIEW
the drinks never seem to disappoint. I recently decided to go on my own during a gap between my classes and try out their Peach Green Tea with boba, and it was an absolutely worthy purchase for $7.10 in regular size.
The green tea flavor added a slightly earthy note that kept the drink from being overly sugary.
The tea itself was light and refreshing, with just the right balance of sweetness from the peach syrup.
Breaktime Tea’s popcorn chicken is a delightful snack that truly deserves praise for several reasons. It’s another favorite snack to share with friends.
Whether you’re at a movie, a party or just enjoying a cozy night in, popcorn chicken is the perfect finger food.
The crispy taste provides a satisfying crunch that contrasts beautifully with the tender and crispy chicken, but I also do not prefer it when it tastes bitter.
Breaktime Tea can’t go wrong with their boba, especially the Peach Green Tea that is worth a try.
Adding normal sweetness at 50% is recommended at Breaktime Boba if you want to include some sweetness because it is the perfect range.
Each sip was smooth and the boba pearls were
perfectly chewy, providing that satisfying texture that every good boba drink should have.
I am most definitely coming back just for this drink because it was refreshing, flavorful and it hit all the right notes.
The fruit teas are the best to get because they’re refreshing and the burst of flavor enhances the overall taste making each sip calming for the customer.
Fruit teas also tend to be
lighter and are the perfect drinks to sip on during a warm day.
However, customers also have the option of adding natural bits of fruit into their drink to make the drink even fruiter.
The natural fruit not only elevates the quality and taste of the drink, but also adds a visual appeal that matches the colorful appearance of a fruit.
Along with the delightful and refreshing tea, I also
food review
Breaktime Boba
Rating:
Location: San José
Types of food sold: boba beverages & snacks
purchased a side of curly fries, which was hearted as a fan favorite. While they looked promising, they were pretty average.
They were crispy enough, but the curly fries get a deduction for not providing the punch of flavor I was hoping to taste.
There wasn’t enough seasoning that would make them stand out from your typical fast-food fries.
I normally order a fruity drink whenever I get the chance to stop by at Breaktime Tea, but I do occasionally treat myself to getting the popcorn chicken.
This combination makes every bite a delicious experience and individuals can enjoy it plain or dip it in sweet and
sour sauce.
The snacks are decent but I’d suggest sticking to the drinks for the best experience or order some popcorn chicken on the side to share with friends. If you ever want to stop by and get some boba, Breaktime Tea is the place to go. I promise you that as an avid boba lover, you will be satisfied with purchasing a drink from there and the bright spot is that it is not much of a far walk from campus.
A24’ s new film is swoon-worthy
By Alejandra Gallo STAFF WRITER
“We Live in Time” is a tearjerking masterpiece that is going down as one the best romance movies ever.
A24 released the film on Oct. 11 which follows the love story of Almut (Florence Pugh), a renowned chef and restaurant owner, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a Weetabix employee.
At the start of the film, Almut and Tobias are shocked by the news of her ovarian cancer relapse.
The film does an exceptional job of portraying the life of someone battling cancer because it shows the ups and downs and the drastic change life takes.
Almut finds herself going through treatment and Pugh was able to portray this character in a very realistic manner, showcasing the ups and downs of cancer.
It opens with Almut’s cancer diagnosis but switches back and forth to the day they met and began their relationship,
“We Live in Time”
highlighting both the good and bad moments, including and when they welcomed their daughter, Ella (Grace Delaney).
Surprisingly, I was able to understand the film despite an out-of-order sequence.
The sequence allowed the audience to submerge themselves in the story in a personal way because we witness heartbreaking moments that allow us to connect with the characters.
As Almut battles her cancer diagnosis, the film is mostly filled with somber moments as it is expected given the heavy topic.
There are moments when Almut can’t work as a chef because she is sick, and she throws up and feels ill most of the time.
This is something I appreciated because I could tell Pugh put a lot of commitment into her role because she portrayed her character well.
Garfield also did an amazing
job at playing the role of someone who is experiencing the effects of cancer through his spouse.
Garfield’s irresistible charm that I remember from “The Amazing Spider-Man” movies was present in this film in the sweetest way.
Tobias showed his support and worry for Almut throughout the movie which is something that I like because he balanced the somberness of the film with his charisma.
Through seeing Almut persevere despite her diagnosis, I was able to see the rawest moment of a person desiring to do something when they physically cannot and this was heartbreaking.
There is a moment of ultimate surrender and nostalgia in a film like this, audiences can sense what could occur next. It not only started to feel like the end of the movie, but also the
end of her battle.
At this point, I couldn’t hold back my tears because it was hard to see that after a long and strenuous battle, both physical and emotional, the story was coming to an end in the saddest possible way.
The story became a slow goodbye and had me holding back tears, not just for Almut but for her small family.
In one of the closing scenes, Almut, Tobias and Ella go to a figure skating rink.
It is a heart-wrenching scene where they are all skating together, but then Almut lets go, skates off on her own and stands in the middle of the rink.
She raises her hand with a smile on her face and waves a final goodbye to the screen, putting the audience in Tobias and Ella’s place and makes us live this moment. Throughout this film,
Garfield and Pugh’s chemistry transcended from the screen and I was rooting for this couple the whole time.
Both did an exceptional job and I was happy to see them on the screen together.
Because of Pugh’s realistic portrayal of a person with cancer, I was able to immerse myself in the film and made it even more emotional for me. Everything about this film, from the plot to the actors’s performances made me cry. At the same time, it allowed me to experience this story along with the characters in a personal way and see that every minute of life counts.
GRAPHIC BY ALEJANDRA GALLO
Rating:
Directed by: John Crowley Starring: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
Genre: Romantic Drama
movie review
Follow Alejandra
ANFISA PITCHKHADZE | SPARTAN DAILY Breaktime
fries and peach green tea boba drink are presented on a brown wooden table.
Journalism ethics failed Liam Payne
Liam Payne, a former member of the boy band One Direction which captured the hearts of many young fans, died on Oct. 16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Payne died at 31 years old leaving so many loved ones behind including his sevenyear-old son, Bear.
Unfortunately, Payne’s death has been used for clicks and media attention and I think that opens a whole conversation on how the media as a whole covers celebrity deaths.
Every other TikTok I would see on my “For You Page” would be about fan theories of what really happened but prosecutors have finally come out with an official report.
The initial shock still hasn’t worn off for me. It’s not necessarily because I was part of the One Direction fandom, but it’s because of all the lengths media outlets have gone to publish every single detail of Payne’s death.
The musician’s body was transported to the morgue where a full autopsy was conducted and a substance by the name of “pink cocaine” was found, according to a Monday article from ABC News.
“Pink cocaine” is a type of recreational drug that is mixed with a variety of substances, according to the same article.
Payne was one of the five members of One Direction, which was brought together on the reality show “X Factor UK” in 2010 until the band was separated in 2015, according to an Oct. 17 article for AP News.
Admittedly, I was not up to date with One Direction beyond their hit songs but those closest to me were so invested in the fandom, it was difficult to not admire the talent that the boy band had when they were still together.
Payne was found dead after falling from a third floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel, according to AP News.
Karla Berbera, a third-year business finance student,
Berbera said. “(Payne) has a son and a family that will see all of that, so it sucks. Everyone is just criticizing his life and that wouldn’t happen if he wasn’t a celebrity.”
When a celebrity dies, there seems to be a sense of eagerness to be the first one to report the news. Among these is the news outlet was TMZ, which was the first to release the details of Payne’s death in an invasive manner.
Images of the incident that took place at Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires were published by TMZ, creating an uproar amongst fans regarding disbelief that the tabloid would seemingly go to these lengths to get attention.
As a journalist and as a human being, it does make me uncomfortable how quick TMZ was to post about Payne’s passing.
It paints journalists as attention seekers who will disregard the passing of someone just to be the first to post about the story and ethics have just completely left the building.
Unfortunately, almost everyone that I have talked to about Payne’s death has mentioned the TMZ article but their grievances were accompanied by disgust for leaking images of the incident.
Michael Babcock, executive producer from TMZ, defended
not require any photographic evidence to prove to the audience that their passing was real, making the leaking of the images so unnecessary to me.
The way media outlets and TikTok creators are handling the coverage of the incident is exploiting Payne and his memory.
They are weaponizing his popularity amongst his fan base to continue getting attention, which would be considered invasive if this was not about a celebrity death.
Lidia Rocha, a graduate Library and Information Science student, said she saw the TMZ article with Payne’s body before it was eventually taken down.
“When I first saw the article, I thought (that) TMZ was spreading misinformation ain’t no way. It wasn’t until I started seeing other sources reporting on this,” Rocha said, “My heart sank. I was in complete denial. (Payne) was someone who I grew up listening to and it just didn't make sense to me.”
Those photos paired with the sudden news of Payne’s passing felt like it was only for shock value.
If TMZ was interested in delivering news appropriately and respectfully, they should have waited until an autopsy was concluded before sharing speculation of what had occurred moments before
Unfortunately, almost everyone that I have talked to about Payne’s death has mentioned the TMZ article but their grievances were accompanied by disgust for leaking images of the incident.
said she grew up listening to One Direction and considers herself a big fan since she was 12-years-old.
“There have been so many gross news articles that have been covering this story and some of the things they say (are) just disrespectful,”
the company’s actions by insisting they posted the image of Payne to confirm that it was the famous British singer, according to a Friday article from Manchester Evening News.
There have been celebrity deaths in the past that did
Payne’s passing.
When I first saw the images circulating the internet, I had to take time to process what I just saw and had to question whether it was true.
It’s sometimes harder when talking about celebrities that we have grown up with
and kind of just expected or assumed they would be here for a long time.
It genuinely infuriated me to see TMZ show the world what took place before Payne’s death and his body posthumously.
This disregards Payne and his loved ones, and the conversation shifted from grieving Payne to fixating on
Universal Music, days before his death, according to an Oct. 17 Daily Mail article.
With these instances coming out, it just seems like the timing was convenient to build this story to create more speculation on the moments leading up to Payne’s passing instead of just focusing on the situation that occurred and the
The way media outlets and TikTok creators are handling the coverage of the incident is exploiting Payne and his memory.
TMZ’s coverage.
Images of Payne’s hotel room also surfaced in several news outlets, adding a layer to the already ongoing speculation of what happened before the singer’s death.
The images posted by The New York Post showed a smashed television, a halfempty glass of champagne, foil and some sort of powder-like substance.
Argentinian officials received a 911 call around 5 p.m. on Oct. 16, the same day of his passing, about a rowdy guest who was creating a scene in their hotel room, according to the same Oct. 17 article from The New York Post.
Payne posted on his Snapchat story that he was in Argentina to attend a Niall Horan concert and he was accompanied by his girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, according to an Oct. 17 article from the LA Times.
Several days before the incident, Payne’s ex-fiance, Maya Henry blocked Payne for allegedly spamming her as well as weaponizing his fans to go against Henry, according to an Oct. 16 New York Post article.
Payne was reportedly dropped by his music label,
impact on his family.
When talking to people about Payne’s death, one thing that stood out to me was that everyone felt it was such important news that they had to tell someone else and share their grief for Payne.
I was in the downstairs area of my sorority painting a mural when suddenly one of my sisters broke the news. The downstairs area broke out with shock, outrage and disbelief.
I immediately searched it up online to confirm and was left stunned when so many sources were confirming his passing. Payne will be remembered as the artist who went into the “X Factor” looking for an opportunity to show his talent. Anytime I listen to a One Direction song or even one of the band members’ singles, I just think of Payne and it does tug on my heart.
Anahi Herrera Villanueva STAFF WRITER
GRAPHIC BY ALINA TA, PHOTO BY FLICKR
SRAC bootcamp strikes back with
By Jackson Lindstrom STAFF WRITER
The GRIT Bootcamp class, in one short session changed how I thought of myself as a “fit” person.
Les Mills GRIT is a high-intensity interval training workout that combines music with strength, athleticism and cardiovascular training into a short 30-minute workout, according to the Les Mills website.
At San José State, GRIT is a 35-minute class offered at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center (SRAC) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.
The session I took consisted of no equipment, high-intensity exercises with workout music. It was surprising how quickly I was out of breath and wanted to take a break.
One difficult part of the training session, in the beginning, was when we did burpees on a small bench, then jumped on and off the bench and repeated, which we had to do slightly faster and faster each time.
I discovered that I was sorely wrong in thinking of myself as a “fit” person in terms of cardiovascular training. I go to the gym four times a week, and I try to do 30 minutes to an hour of low-intensity biking for cardio once or twice a week.
I left the class walking slowly with my head aching, and while afterward, I wished I had
driven to the SRAC, I was still proud of myself for powering through.
Going into the class, I didn’t expect GRIT to be very challenging, but the session I took humbled me.
Brian Fung, the class trainer, taught a simple session, but the intensity at which Fung pushed the class was not for the faint of heart.
The class started with simple warmups of running in place with high knees, but this quickly escalated when Fung said to do burpees while we were still warming up, and I knew
this class was not going to be easy.
High-intensity interval training is certainly not my preferred style of training, but it gets your heart pumping, and the feeling of euphoria you get when you’re done is like no other.
Fung encouraged everyone in the class to try their hardest, providing the energy I needed to get through the class without leaving early.
As the class progressed, things slowly started to get harder, and the most amount of time we got to rest in between exercises
was only 30- seconds long.
Near the halfway point of the class, we started doing push ups for half a minute and I got 18 in a row without stopping before the 30-second mark passed for a 10-second resting period.
After the resting period, we did another basic standing cardio exercise before doing push ups again, and I could only do 15 push ups before I had to switch to doing modified push ups.
Before this class, I never had the experience of modified push ups being hard, but there’s a first time
for everything. I don’t think I could have done more than four or five, but Fung told us to start resting again before I found out how many I could get.
The hardest part of the class for me was at the end when we quickly shuffled our feet back and forth four times and jumped as high as we could after.
When the class ended, I was overwhelmed with joy for being done with the hell I just put my body through.
I don’t like high intensity cardio, but I still enjoyed my time with GRIT.
I can’t guarantee that I will take the class again because it doesn’t follow my style of training, but it provides a good opportunity for people who might not have much time to spend working out, which I can certainly appreciate.
Follow Jackson on X (formerly Twitter)
@jacklindst