Spartan Daily

Spartan Daily The student-run news organization serving San Jose State University since 1934. www.spartandaily.com

05/14/2026

Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase on the electric atmosphere at “Ballhalla.” The Valkyries have sold out every game at Chase Center since last season.

05/03/2026

5/2/26: Here is a note from our Executive Editor, Norah Sheppard-Hutchins. ✍️

Special thanks to all the editors that made this possible:

Joaquin Cruz, Managing and A&E Editor

Dylan Newman, News & Sports Editor

Josie De La Torre, Production Editor

Haddy Barghouti, Co-Sports Editor

Mariana Sandoval, Copy Editor

Read The Full Editor’s Note On Our Website, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

05/02/2026

4/30/26: Here is the cover for our special issue, Cultural Diversity In San José.

The art was made by Jeannie Delos Reyes. 🎨

You can grab a physical printed copy of our special issue around San José State University Campus!

4/30/26: Increasing conflict in Iran has sparked uneasiness among Persian and Iranian community members at San José Stat...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: Increasing conflict in Iran has sparked uneasiness among Persian and Iranian community members at San José State throughout the past few months.The ongoing conflict has resulted in some members of SJSU losing contact with their families in Iran.

On April 7, President Donald J. Trump threatened to kill a “whole civilization” (Iran) if Iranian authorities did not comply with his demands of reopening the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, according to an April 7 New York Times article.

Nima Abrishamkar, a senior analyst at SJSU, said she was counting down every second on the clock until Trump’s proposed deadline. “It was very tough and asking my question every second, ‘Is it going to happen?’ ” Abrishamkar said. “Who’s gonna be alive (the) next morning?”

The United States and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire along with reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to an April 7 AP News article.

Conflict in Iran increased because of an economic collapse in December 2025, which led to Iranian currency (rials) reaching a record low of 1.4 million per U.S. dollar, according to a Jan. 27 Stimson article.

The collapse sparked protests in January 2026 throughout Iran, according to the same article.

Iranian citizens lacking water, electricity, internet and other resources swarmed the streets of Tehran, the nation’s capital, to which the regime met them with a violent crackdown, according to a Jan. 26 Amnesty International article.

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

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4/30/26: Students often carry the heavy weight of textbooks, but those first in their family to attend a university have...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: Students often carry the heavy weight of textbooks, but those first in their family to attend a university have to lug financial pressures and cultural expectations at the same time.

To many, the first-generation experience is about navigating unfamiliar systems while honoring the sacrifices that made those opportunities possible.

Forty-four percent of undergraduate students at San José State are first-generation, according to a university webpage.

Joshua Muncada, a SJSU philosophy transfer student, said he is the first in his family to pursue a college degree in the United States.

“My biggest obstacle attending college as a first-generation student was not knowing my path and navigating the financial structure,” Muncada said.

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

✍️: .ale

📸: Photo Courtesy Of Andrea Pérez

4/30/26: Los estudiantes muchas veces cargan el peso de los libros de texto, pero aquellos que son los primeros de su fa...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: Los estudiantes muchas veces cargan el peso de los libros de texto, pero aquellos que son los primeros de su familia en asistir a una universidad, también tienen que cargar al mismo tiempo, con presiones financieras y expectativas culturales.

Para muchos, la experiencia de ser de primera generación significa navegar sistemas desconocidos, mientras se honra los sacrificios que hicieron posibles esas oportunidades.

Los estudiantes universitarios de primera generación son los primeros en sus familias en asistir a la universidad y obtener un título de licenciatura, según un artículo de Sept. 18, 2025, de la American College of Education.

El cuarenta y cuatro por ciento de los estudiantes de pregrado en San Jose State son de primera generación, según una página web de la universidad.

Joshua Muncada, un estudiante de primer año transferido de filosofía en SJSU, dijo que es el primero en su familia en seguir una carrera universitaria en Estados Unidos.

“Mi mayor obstáculo al asistir a la universidad como estudiante de primera generación fue no conocer mi camino y manejar la estructura financiera,” dijo Muncada.

Para leer más haz clic en el enlace de nuestra biografía.🔗

✍️: .ale

📸: Berenice Torres

4/30/26: The Vietnamese community holds great importance to the City of San José, with many families rebuilding their li...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: The Vietnamese community holds great importance to the City of San José, with many families rebuilding their lives there after the Vietnam War.

Many adapted to living in California, fought for recognition to establish a community and continue to advocate for social and political change.

•Immigrating from Vietnam to San José•

Over 50 years ago, the fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975. The end of the war led to the mass exodus of Vietnamese refugees escaping to other countries.

Binh Danh, an associate professor in art at San José State, said he was born after the Vietnam War, with his family immigrating to the United States in 1979.

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•Establishing a community in San José•

Many refugees immigrated to California and Texas after the war, with San José becoming home to the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, according to the Visit San Jose website.

Trung Nguyen, an assistant professor in ethnic studies at SJSU, said in the late ’70s and early ’80s, there were few Vietnamese people living in San José.

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•Current Events•

The Vietnamese community has been facing deportations from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with removal orders starting in 2017 during President Donald J. Trump’s first presidential term, according to the Asian Law Caucus.

Trung Nguyen said ICE is deporting Vietnamese people.

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

✍️/🎨: .dlt_

4/30/26: San José holds a small sliver of Italian heritage in the Bay Area, rich in culture, people and pride.Some small...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: San José holds a small sliver of Italian heritage in the Bay Area, rich in culture, people and pride.

Some small businesses in San José are owned by Italian Americans in the quaint downtown neighborhood known as Little Italy, located on Little Italy Way and Sharks Way, about one mile west of San José State.

Little Italy was established in 2010 and includes the Little Italy San José Cultural Center & Museum.

Little Italy was established to honor Italian immigrants of Santa Clara County by preserving the neighborhood around Little Italy and providing a museum for cultural and historical appreciation of Italian Americans, according to Little Italy’s mission statement webpage.

The center features local Italian historical exhibits and has organized the Little Italy San José Italian Festival every year since 2016, according to the Little Italy San José website.

Jay Meduri is a San José resident whose grandparents and father arrived in the United States from Calabria, Italy. He is the owner of the Poor House Bistro, a New Orleans-style restaurant in Little Italy.

“I’m proud of my heritage and I’m proud to get my business up and running in a new location,” Meduri said. “We’re working for the ultimate goal of making Little Italy a spot that everybody knows about.”

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

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📸: .dlt_

4/30/26: At San José State, women leaders are creating spaces for empowerment and representation that amplify the voices...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: At San José State, women leaders are creating spaces for empowerment and representation that amplify the voices of diverse communities across campus.

•Ma’Kayla Akin•

Newly elected Associated Students (A.S.) President Ma’Kayla Akin, a second-year political science major, said she first joined A.S. her freshman year through Lobby Corps, a committee group within the organization.

“Why I wanted to run for A.S. president, is that as I’m in my role as director of legislative affairs now, I see a lot of disconnect between our student government and students,” Akin said.

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•Sonia Rodriguez•

Sigma Pi Alpha Sorority, Inc, also known as ELLA, provides an outlet for Latina and Chicana female students to connect, build community and engage in cultural empowerment.

The SJSU Sigma Pi Alpha President Sonia Rodriguez, a second-year public relations student, discovered the sorority at a tabling event her freshman year.

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Adi Sereima Tuidelaibatiki

Adi Sereima Tuidelaibatiki, a fourth-year business administration student, is the president of SJSU’s Pacific Islander Student Association.

Tuidelaibatiki became aware of the club after she transferred and met a group of girls tabling for the student association on Seventh Street. She joined, becoming secretary a year later, then treasurer and now president of the club.

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

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🎨: Jeannie Delos Reyes

4/30/26: San José State is home to several dance organizations, including Sparchata, Spartan Mambo and Grupo Folklórico ...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: San José State is home to several dance organizations, including Sparchata, Spartan Mambo and Grupo Folklórico Luna y Sol, which showcase Latin American culture through movement and music.

•Sparchata and Spartan Mambo •

SJSU’s Spartan Mambo and Sparchata are sister teams that present Latine culture through performance and dance.

Spartan Mambo is the university’s salsa team, led by director and co-founder Takeshi Young, according to a Salsa Vida webpage.

Salsa originated in Cuba and was further developed in New York’s immigrant communities, according to a May 28, 2024 Contra Tiempo article.

The dance gained popularity among Puerto Rican migrants in the 1960s and 1970s as it represented a new identity of Latin American culture in the United States, according to an Oct. 14, 2022 article by the History Channel.

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•Grupo Folklórico Luna y Sol•

In the evenings, students walking by the Spartan Complex might hear the rhythmic rumble of SJSU’s Grupo Folklórico Luna y Sol dancers fast tapping their heels onto wooden floors into the night as they practice.

Grupo Folklórico Luna y Sol teaches students the traditional dances from Mexican states and performs throughout the semester, according to the dance group’s website.

Folklórico is a traditional dance that mixes elements of classical ballet and Mexican regional folk while the dances celebrate regional cultures and stories, according to a research article published by the University of Iowa in November 2021.

Jose Ramirez Zambrano, a fourth-year business management and information student and president of Grupo Folklórico, said watching or performing folklórico is a great way to learn about Mexican culture and history.

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

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📸: Kai San Juan

4/30/26: From filming weekly dance covers to hosting annual showcases, K-pop dance clubs at San José State are keeping K...
05/01/2026

4/30/26: From filming weekly dance covers to hosting annual showcases, K-pop dance clubs at San José State are keeping Korean pop culture in motion.

Owing to the genre’s cultural hybridity, K-pop’s sounds, styles, choreography and community are decidedly multicultural.

Between Parang and Synkronize Dance, SJSU’s two official K-pop dance teams, there are dozens of members, the vast majority of whom are not Korean.

But their shared love of K-pop is palpable.

Charlize Inong, a fourth-year business student and treasurer of Parang, said the team’s diverse membership is bound by a passion for music and dance.

“People end up liking the music even though it’s in a different language,” Inong said. “I feel like that doesn’t really change the fact that no matter what race we are, everyone just loves dancing.”

To Read More, Click The Link In Our Bio. 🔗

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