share their reactions to Associated Students’ inability to pass a resolution that would support the trans community and trans athletes in women’s sports on campus.
Mayela Sanchez, a fourth-year anthropology master’s student, sat in the last row of the gallery before speaking in front of SJSU’s A.S. Board of Directors last Wednesday afternoon.
Sanchez said she saw the meeting as an opportunity to take action and to support the trans community on campus.
“I did see that this is something that the school can do and stand in solidarity … at least to put one foot in the door and (push) against that oppression,” Sanchez said.
On Wednesday, the A.S. Board of Directors failed to collect enough votes to pass a resolution to support the trans community and trans student athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Eight of the directors needed to vote in favor of passing the resolution for it to pass, but only five voted in support while two directors voted to oppose and three chose to abstain or withhold their vote.
The directors who chose to support the vote included President Ariana Lacson, Director of Legislative Affairs Katelyn Gambarin, Director of Business Affairs Rhea Ramalingam, Director of Communications Geoffrey Agustin and Teairra Brown, the director of Student Resource Affairs.
The directors who chose to vote against passing the resolution were Controller Riya Dhami and Rishika Joshi, the director of Sustainability Affairs.
The three directors who withheld their vote were Director of Academic Affairs Sehtej Khehra, Director of Internal Affairs Anushka Joshi and Srishti Sinha, the director of Intercultural Affairs.
Sahithya Swaminathan, the director of Co-Curricular Affairs, was absent from the meeting.
Sanchez said she wasn’t surprised to see there weren’t enough votes to accomplish this goal, but she was still hoping to see the resolution pass.
Around 1.3 million adults identify as transgender in the U.S., according to a report from UCLA. Around 300,000 youth ages 13 to 17 also identify as transgender..
Nearly one in five people who identify as transgender are between the ages of 13 and 17, and around 38.5% or around 515,200 of American adults identify as transgender women, according to the same report.
Jordan Robinson, a third-year aerospace engineering student and event coordinator for Turning Point USA’s SJSU chapter, did not attend the meeting on Wednesday but said he is happy to hear that A.S. was unable to pass the resolution.
infants grow up unable to produce sperm.
Robinson also said that the board's inability to pass the resolution demonstrates a shift in the political climate.
individuals identify as cis or trans, the majority report that their gender identity matches with the gender they were assigned to at birth, according to a March 2024 article from WebMD.
according to the conference’s trans participation policy.
BY ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
the time ... I would ask that they stand with me instead of against me.”
Turning Point USA is a political organization that aims to build a conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses around the U.S., according to its website. The organization currently has 3,500 campuses around the nation.
“The socially accepted views are beginning to be challenged, but it’s important to keep the conversation civil and respectful,” Robinson said.
During his first day in office, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order declaring that the federal government will
Some women are also born with Turner syndrome, a condition that only affects females and results in female infants being born with one missing or partially missing X chromosome, according to a 2022 article from the Mayo Clinic.
Around 1 of every 2,000 to 4,000 females are born
I don’t get to avoid that fear. If they were acting without bad faith, I would ask that they consider that I don’t get to step back from that. I have to live with that anxiety all the time . . . I would ask that they stand with me instead of against me.
Robin McMahon SJSU sixth-year history student
Colleges and universities are also responsible for certifying a student athlete’s eligibility for National Collegiate Athletic Association competitions, according to the same policy.
Student athletes who were assigned male at birth can not participate in women’s sports, but student athletes can still participate in men’s sports regardless of their assigned gender at birth or their sexual orientation, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s trans participation policy.
McMahon, who also openly identifies as a nonbinary trans woman and uses she/they pronouns, said she believes that the university should take more responsibility in supporting trans rights.
In a study on trans youth between the ages of 16-24 years old in San Francisco, almost half of participants reported experiencing high amounts of discrimination for being transgender, according to a study from Springer.
Participants who experienced higher exposure to transgenderbased discrimination were three times more likely to develop PTSD, according to the same study.
Sanchez said although she is disappointed that resolution did not pass, she was also glad to see one of the directors speak up and consider the small minority of students who don’t support the resolution.
“I am a firm believer that women – those with gametes – should have their own spaces both in public and in sports and having biological men in women’s sports goes against this,” Robinson said.
Gametes are reproductive cells, like sperm or eggs, containing chromosomes or half the genetic material to form an embryo, according to a webpage from Britannica.
Approximately 1 for every 650 male babies are born with Klinefelter syndrome, a condition a male infant is born with two or more X chromosomes and one Y chromosome, according to Feb. 20 article from Science News. These
only recognize two genders, male and female, according to a webpage from the White House.
The White House claims sexes are “not changeable” and all federal government officials must refer to sex instead of gender for federal policies and documents, according to the same source.
Robinson said he considers individuals to be women as long as they were born with two X chromosomes.
There are approximately 5.6 million intersex people, individuals born with physical traits that don’t fit the typical characteristics for male and female around the world, according to a 2023 article from AP News.
Although not all intersex
with Turner syndrome, according to a webpage from the National Institute of Health.
Robin McMahon, a sixth-year history student, said she is disappointed that A.S. was unable to pass the resolution.
“If it turns out that one of the council members voted ‘no’ just because they think that trans people should not be allowed in women’s sports, I am deeply disappointed and would agree that they probably ought not to sit on the Associated Students (Board of Directors),” she said.
In the Mountain West Conference, institutions have the power to decide whether a transgender athlete is permitted to play on its sports teams,
“The fact that A.S. is making a resolution about this is an indictment of the larger administration’s failure to make it clear what the policies of this institution actually are,” she said.
McMahon said she asks for those in leadership who did not vote in support of the resolution but who also do not have bad intentions to consider her fear and anxiety.
They said they can understand why someone who doesn’t hold strong beliefs against the trans community may still vote against the resolution or abstain, but they should consider a trans person’s perspective.
“I don’t get to avoid that fear,” she said. “ If they were acting without bad faith, I would ask that they consider that I don’t get to step back from that. I have to live with that anxiety all
She said she is not trying to tell people what they should or should not believe and that she welcomes open dialogue, even if it is difficult to hear in the moment.
“It does shake you ... at the same time, I do see it as a challenge, and I welcome the challenge to work on those ideas and see other people’s perspectives,” Sanchez said. “I don’t believe this is going to be the end of it. I do think it’s something that a lot of people on campus are going to be interested in supporting (this resolution).”
INFOGRAPHIC
Campus grapples with car break-ins
By Bryan Reos STAFF WRITER
With the growing safety concerns over the security of our vehicles and personal belongings, San José State students find the likelihood of breakins occuring intimidating in campus garages.
SJSU campus garages have earned a notorious reputation among students and faculty from incidents including breakins, hit and runs and other criminal activities.
Auto burglaries and stolen goods at parking garages are not an uncommon occurrence on campus, as school law enforcement officers and city police officials can’t stress enough the proactive measures students can all take so they don’t become victims.
SJSU’s University Police Department Operations Bureau Commander Lt. Rafael Alvarez said in order to prevent such crimes students must ensure they take action before they leave their cars.
“As far as our campus garages, there’s a bad rep,” Alvarez said.
“Break-ins sometimes (students), including myself, leave things laying out and about in cars and all we are doing is inviting temptation.”
Alvarez explained how break-ins are a preventable crime, as ensuring the view of valued goods in sight being gone can decrease the likelihood of a break-in significantly.
“Breaking into a car is a crime of opportunity. If we secure our personal belongings we aren’t giving people the opportunity to break into our cars,” Alvarez said.
Richard Nguyen, a fourth-year SJSU finance student, got his car broken into in the South Parking Garage on campus during his first year.
Although the person
who committed the crime was caught, Nguyen was left with paying the damages.
“It was some (houseless) dude. They caught him but I didn’t get reimbursed or anything,” Nguyen said.
For students visiting from other campuses, this can be a new experience for them.
Nir Weiss, a West Valley College student double majoring in physics and philosophy, often comes and visits friends on campus.
He says he tries to visit during the day and tries to take preventable measures to stop break-ins.
“I feel more comfortable parking midday around 12 p.m. I also try to hide all my valuables underneath my car seat,” Weiss said.
Like Weiss, many students know of the risks of parking on campus garages and try to take the same measures.
Veteran detective for the San José Police Department, Douglas Potwora provides more insight as to more strategies students can take.
Potwora highlights the importance of taking advantage of your car alarm system.
“Anytime you have a security system on your car, try to advertise that it’s there and it exists,” Potwora said.
Potwora suggests taking advantage of newer car models that can have motion and sound detection that alerts owners of a possible burglary to their vehicle.
For example, newer model cars like Teslas have sentry modes and smart sensors that can alert car owners and record motion outside the vehicle if detected, according to Tesla’s website.
Lt. Rafael Alvarez
Potwora also shared his own proactive measures he takes and recommends to others.
SJPD auto theft unit recommends parking
your car in a well lighted area, using motion detection technology and always locking your car keeping valuables hidden, according to SJPD auto theft prevention website.
“There are also preventable measures people can take like making sure you park in a lighted, secure facility and installing tough glass that exert effort to break making sure intruders give up easier,” Potwora said.
Despite the negative connotations and reputation that our campus garages may have, there are students who haven’t dealt with any incidents and generally feel secure.
Isabel Ayala, a thirdyear SJSU student, says she’s never had to deal with an incident.
“I feel pretty comfortable as I have left sometimes at night time and I felt fine walking to my car,” Ayala said. If a student finds themself in a break-in situation there are steps they can take to make sure they get reimbursed or recover their belongings.
“Immediately call us, we'll go out and take a report and collect evidence as well as try not to touch anything,” Alvarez said.
KAYA HENKES-POWER
Cars park at San José State University's South Garage on the main campus near the University Police Department headquarters in the late evening on Monday.
Douglas Potwora Detective for the San José Police Department
Critics don’t understand representation
By Nicole DeVries STAFF WRITER
“Emilia Pérez” dominated the 97th Academy Awards, securing 13 nominations and taking home major wins for the Netflix original musical.
The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, ended up winning Oscars for Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña’s performance and Best Original Song for “El Mal,” according to the Academy Awards’ “Winners & Nominees” webpage.
Recognition is not always a mark of quality, and awarding “Emilia Peréz” only highlights the Academy’s misjudgment.
The plot of “Emilia Pérez” follows a cartel crime boss who transitions and seeks redemption through a lawyer, a premise that could have been a breakthrough opportunity for meaningful transgender representation in the award space.
However, the film leans into damaging stereotypes, portraying its titular trans woman protagonist played by Karla Sofía Gascón as deceptive and dangerous – once again reinforcing the narrative that the trans
community is something to be feared rather than understood.
This is evident in how
Emilia Pérez deceives Selena Gomez’s character, Jessie, convincing her to maintain contact with her children under false pretenses.
Rather than fostering an exploration into the reality of transitioning within a family, the film frames Emilia’s identity as a tool for deception, missing an opportunity to show genuine struggles and complexities of
Correction
On Monday, Feb. 25, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “BLOC’s legacy continues at SJSU” in which the BLOC’s program coordinator MyShaundriss Watkins was misidentified. The position of program director is vacant.
The Spartan Daily regrets this error.
acceptance among family.
The film attempts to explore intense themes of gender transition, death and acceptance but its musical forms undermine their gravity, making an already distorted story feel even more trivial.
The song “La Vaginoplastia” has gone viral for its lackluster execution as it makes light of deeply personal and complex experiences that come with gender-affirming surgery in a way that feels more like a spectacle.
Lyrics like “A man to woman (Vaginoplasty makes this macho stand) / A woman to man / A man to women (Vaginoplasty a las chicas tú)” reduce gender transition to a punchline, treating it as something performative rather than a deeply personal journey.
The song’s exaggerated delivery only adds to the sense that it prioritizes shock value over sincerity.
Meanwhile, “El Mal,” which won Best Original Song, reinforces Emilia Pérez’s troubling theme in lines like, “Te imagino haciendo el mal (I imagine you doing evil) / Tan bien que no tengo excuses (So good that I have no excuses),” which further blur the lines between trans identity and criminality.
Trans identities should not be a plot device for a twist surprise nor should they be reduced to narratives of crime that only further marginalize an already vulnerable community.
Adding to the film’s misrepresentation, Selena Gomez’s performance in “Emilia Pérez” exemplifies the director’s ongoing issue with tokenizing Latino actors and the Latino community rather than committing to genuine authenticity.
Gomez’s noticeably flawed Spanish in key scenes feels careless, reducing the cultural depth of the
character and undermining the film’s attempt at emotional resonance.
Despite the accolades, Saldaña's portrayal doesn’t add enough depth to overcome the film’s shallow approach to its subject matter, making her Oscar win feel performative rather than awarding a truly standout performance against other nominees. “Emilia Pérez” also
continues the long-standing tradition of confining Latino narratives to drug-related crime and violence, failing to explore the culture, resilience and complexity of these communities.
In reality, cartel violence has devastated Latino communities with cartelrelated deaths in Mexico peaking at over 18,000 individuals in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
Rather than offering a nuanced exploration of these tragedies, Audiard continues to exploit these harsh realities for entertainment.
When major awards shows like the Academy Awards uplift films that demoralize the communities they represent, it makes it harder for authentic stories to later reach mainstream audiences.
Despite these controversial aspects, “Emilia Pérez” remained a dominant force at the Oscars, earning nominations all across the board, from Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best International Feature to Best Directing, according to the Academy Awards.
This level of recognition suggests that the academy is eager to accept “Emilia Pérez” regardless of whether the film’s representation is accurate or meaningful.
If the Academy Awards wants to champion diverse voices, it needs to do better than “Emilia Pérez.”
Editor’s Note: a longer version of this article is available at SJSUNews.com
Follow the Spartan Daily on X (formerly Twitter) @SpartanDaily
NICOLE
PHOTOS
“Emilia Pérez”
Spartans fight hard in Bay Area clash
By Nicole DeVries STAFF WRITER
San José State women’s beach volleyball team took on Bay Area rivals, Santa Clara University and University of San Francisco on Friday, splitting their matchups in a grueling day of competition at Spartan Beach.
SJSU secured a 3-2 win against USF in the morning before falling 4-1 to Santa Clara in the afternoon contest.
In the Spartans’ matchup against Santa Clara, the Broncos tested the team’s resilience and adaptability in their game plans, particularly service targeting.
Spartan Shirley Morrison played alongside Elon Milroy to secure SJSU’s only win 21-14, 21-17, 15-11 against Santa Clara.
“I think our biggest challenge against Santa Clara was when they switched their service target to me … Not super used to getting targeted today, but they switched it over to me and I was struggling
a little bit to find the open spot,” Morrison said.
Morrison credited her win to her teammates and the coaching staff’s guidance.
“(Milroy) helped me with the really good setting and my coach helped me and told me what was open, and as long as I could just settle down and
Correction
On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “NBA Continues to disappoint fans,” in which the headline and Victor Wembanyama’s name were misspelled.
The Spartan Daily regrets this error.
kind of take each point and each one for what it was, then I was able to find it,” Morrison said.
Despite pushing several matches to third sets, the Spartans struggled to close out late-game opportunities.
Against Santa Clara, SJSU’s Kylee Moore and Jaena Bell returned from their loss in the first set in a battle but fell, 24-22, 21-19, 16-14.
SJSU head coach Gary Hodge praised the team’s ability and strength to adjust on the fly, especially against two separate team rosters.
“Our biggest strength was our ability to adjust,” Hodge said. “Two different opponents and five different teams. We had to have 10 different game
plans and our players’ ability and our coaching staff’s ability to have a game plan and then adjust it when we needed it to.”
According to SJSU Athletics, this is Hodge’s 16th season coaching volleyball in the Bay Area
I think the rivalry and being competitive is always a good thing, whether you win or lose. It’s a motivator.
and facing local teams adds to the intensity.
“I came to San José from Saint Mary, I was in the West Coast Conference with those guys for five years. I know those teams, I feel very much a rivalry with them … it just fires us up,” Hodge said.
As the two matches persisted throughout the day, high-intensity rallies made it a hard match for SJSU’s Kiara Edwards and Addison DeMarse.
Edwards and DeMarse climbed back from their loss in the first set 21-16 but managed to bounce back in the second set with a score of 21-18.
The Spartans couldn’t keep up with the pressure on Santa Clara throughout the third set and eventually lost 15-13.
UPCOMING GAME
“I think the rivalry and being competitive is always a good thing, whether you win or lose. It’s a motivator,” Edwards said. She and DeMarse kept the pressure on their opponents with their adaptive plans, but the Broncos’ lategame execution proved a difference.
Beyond the competition, Edwards acknowledged the team’s strong bond as a key factor in their performance.
“I think our biggest strength is staying connected and always cheering for each other whatever we’re playing or not,” Edwards said.
Morrison reinforced the significance of the Bay Area rivalry to the team.
Playing teams that are nearby we always wanna beat them because we all want to be the best in the Bay,” Morrison said.
Though the Spartans finished the day with a victory over the Dons and a defeat to the Broncos, their ability to adapt their strategies showcased their potential to look ahead to future matchups.
San José State’s next home game will be Senior Night against University of the Pacific at Spartan Beach on Friday, April. 11.
SJSU @ Pacific March 8 @ Noon. Follow the Spartan Daily on Instagram @spartandaily
SJSU's Jaena Bell (left) goes up to the net against Broncos Teagan Wilson (right) at Spartan beach on Saturday.
