Midnight tidbits: Is it love or mad ninja skillz?

Suzanne Yada
Online Editor

A couple of years ago, the Spartan Daily staff live-blogged and live-streamed our monthly news conferences with the president of the university. We fell out of that habit, but today we resurrected it.

It was an excellent experience. We asked some tough questions — both ours and yours. And we hope to do it again for the news conference next month. Check out the live blog archive and download an MP3 of the session.

There was also live footage:

As you can see, it got quite nasty after someone asked about faculty furloughs.

• Ahh, yes. Nothing says awesomeness like smacking strangers with a pillow. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do this Valentine’s Day. Thousands gather in San Francisco every year in an annual flash-mob pillow fight. It’s free, and all you have to bring is a pillow, your Valentine and your ninja skillz. Your hard-hitting budget questions can stay at home.
• I’ve always felt that San Jose was the country’s most urban suburb. (I dare you to name another city that fits.) But soon downtown San Jose may look more like an actual urban center. The City Council approved electronic signs for downtown businesses on Feb. 3, paving the way for bright lights and flashing neon. Gee golly wilikers, just like a real city! And who knows, if BART ever gets its act together, we could turn into an actual lively destination instead of “That Place Where the Sharks Play.”
• Speaking of downtown flashing lights, do me a favor. Program 408-287-0128 into your cell phone. The next time you’re out at night around The 88 on Second and San Fernando streets, dial the number, then punch in any three digits, including the star and the pound keys. Dial zero, hang up, and amaze your friends by how you magically changed the light patterns on the building. (This months-old press release is the only definitive thing I was able to find on the piece of interactive public art.) Try punching in *14 for Valentine’s Day.
• The Merc reported today that PG&E is set to cut 25 percent of trees in two city parks because they could touch critical transmission wires and harm public safety. I would hope PG&E isn’t doing this out of cold-hearted malice. Read tomorrow’s Spartan Daily to find out how SJSU takes care of its trees. Again, hopefully not out of malice.

February: Is one month out of the year really enough?

Angelo Scrofani
Staff writer

So it’s February again. You know, the month with Valentine’s Day, a 28-day cycle, and for those who forgot, Black History Month.

There’s a lot going on at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library to remind us of the milestones we’ve achieved as a society when it comes to race and integration. The building is on campus for crying out loud, and as students at SJSU, there’s no reason any one of us can’t attend some of these events.

So here are some to get you in the mood:

• Showing until Feb. 28 is a photo exhibit by Professor Ruth Wilson commemorating the 44th Presidential Inauguration, the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Huge milestone, wouldn’t you agree? The exhibit is at the Heritage Center on the fifth floor. Check it out.
• On your way up to the fifth floor, take an escalator ride up to the second floor and visit “Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience,” chronicling the development of Major League Baseball’s counterpart, and learn about the extent of how deeply rooted racism affected people. If you want to go even further, look at Shadowball: The Story of the Negro Leagues.

Continuing with this whole baseball theme:

• Two men who actually played in the Negro Leagues will be the main focus of a panel discussion this Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the second floor in Rooms 225-229. Keep an eye out for coverage in the Spartan Daily.

And finally…

• On this day during the Civil War on February 8, 1862, the Union army won a battle fought in North Carolina, taking Roanoke Island. It was one of the first major Union victories of the war. Go anti-slavery and the abolitionist movement.

Evening tidbits: The windy, messes-up-your-hair edition

Jasmine Duarte
Staff writer

As the wind destroys my hair that took me 30 minutes to do, I walked aimlessly around campus to see if anything catches these brown eyes.

Looking to boost your GPA?

No matter your class status, a little advice on how to increase your GPA could never hurt anyone. SJSU wants its students to succeed, so take advantage of this workshop Feb. 19 at 10:30 a.m. in Clark Hall 118.

Is this really why students have been missing class?

Turns out students are cutting class because of the state budget cuts. Good to know there is a more legitimate reason instead of drinking too much the night before or hitting the snooze button one too many times.

Watch your water and recycle it while you’re at it.

This SJSU workshop that will be held at King Library will educate people on how water gets from snow to your mouth to the gutter system. It’s at noon on Feb. 17 in room 225.

Hova! hova!

Jay-Z: you either you love him or hate him. SJSU students who love him have the chance to see him perform March 24 at the HP Pavilion. The best part: the first 500 students to buy tickets for this concert can get them for $20.45. This is a great deal compared to the $40-$100 they normally cost.

Have a great weekend! Good luck to whoever is playing the Super Bowl. I’ll be watching the commercials. They’re the best part anyway.

Evening tidbits: Plenty of distractions can be found at SJSU

Angelo Scrofani
Staff writer

Life isn’t always so peachy, and sometimes it feels like we walk around with a huge target on our back.

• This past Monday, a fellow student was attacked in what campus police are calling a strong-armed robbery at around 9 p.m. on the fourth floor of the 10th Street garage.

Equally depressing…

• A man posing as a Santa Clara County sheriff recently swindled a total of about $1,400 from two locals when he told them co-workers needed to be bailed out of jail. And these people actually believed him. Can I see some credentials please? Where’s your badge? And why are you driving a Honda Accord?

Feeling a bit unsafe? Me too. One way to remedy such anxieties is to distract yourself.

• Running until Feb. 19, the Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery in the Art Building is showing the Pictorial Faculty Exhibition, showcasing some pretty nifty canvas paintings as well as sketch drawings.
• And later in the month, attend the Job and Internship Fair Expo 2010 from noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 24 in the Events Center.

Things may not always so great, but there are distractions everywhere.

Evening tidbits: Groundhog’s Day edition. Groundhog’s Day edition.

Suzanne Yada
Online editor

Oh boy. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. Tradition says this means six more weeks of winter. The U.S. National Climatic Data Center, on the other hand, says the groundhog is wrong 40 percent of the time, according to the National Geographic. I’ll stick with science, thankyouverymuch.

Here’s what’s happening around campus:

• The new Eco Pass arrived a few days ago in my snail mail. About time. I ride the bus every day and appreciate the unlimited bus pass.
• For those who still have to drive, the Park and Ride is free the first two weeks of the semester, according to the Parking Services Web site.
• Speaking of, SJSU Transportation Solutions has a Facebook page. It’s been around since 2008, but it looks like they’re dusting it off and putting more live info up.
• The CSU is looking for student and faculty bloggers for the calstate.edu Web site. No word yet on how much you can rally against The Man with it, but it’s worth a shot.
• In today’s Spartan Daily, Angelo Lanham questions why anyone would post so much of themselves online. Perhaps he should ask gang members, idiots and Punxsutawney Phil why they’re Tweeting and Facebooking.
• SJSU students and professors give mixed reactions to Obama’s first year. And it’s been a crazy start to year two for Obama, what with the State of the Union and the Q&A with House Republicans. Check out the Spartan Daily tomorrow for a point-counterpoint reaction to the State of the Union address. [EDIT: Read them here and here.]

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. Tradition says this means six more weeks of winter. The U.S. National Climatic Data Center, on the other hand, says the groundhog is wrong 40 percent of the time, according to the National Geographic. I’ll stick with science, thankyouverymuch.

Evening tidbits: Cars, culture, Caulfield and coughs

Andrew Martinez
Staff writer

This is my first semester on the Spartan Daily and I am excited to be a contributing voice to SJSU’s main news source. I am going to see Cirque Du Soleil’s newest show “OVO” on Wednesday and I will be writing the review. Our multimedia editors put together a great presentation on the backstage happenings at a Cirque Du Soleil show.

Here are a few other things that have come across my radar:

• 

  George and Jennie Polhemus c.1909, with their Winton automobile. Image courtesy of the Edith C. Smith Collection, Sourisseau Academy for State and Local History, San Jose State University.

  “Road Trip: The Birth of California Car Culture,” will officially open to the public Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the King Library Special Collections foyer. This exhibit is hosted by the Sourisseau Academy and History San Jose. There will be a reception at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Guest speakers include Charlene Duval of the Sourisseau Academy, antique car collector John Bertolotti and Sarah Puckitt, curator of art and photography at History San Jose. You will be surprised at how cumbersome cars used to be. It’s amazing they even caught on!
• The Listening Hour, a free noon concert series, features classical, jazz, and music from many cultures. Concerts are held in the School of Music and Dance Concert Hall beginning Feb. 4. Concerts are each Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. The schedule of performances hasn’t been listed yet, but it starts next Thursday. Sometimes the Listening Hour features faculty. It’s free!
• Prolific author J.D. Salinger died Wednesday at age 91. I don’t know about you, but my Holden Caulfield phase lasted for two months.
• Flu season is not over and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius wants people to know that the swine flu vaccination is still an important step in prevention. Sebelius said that younger people are at greater risk of catching swine flu, so be sure to get plenty of rest during the semester. There has been colorful commentary on Kevin Hume’s H1N1 story in today’s Spartan Daily.

What do you think about H1N1 vaccinations? Are they worth it?

Which student organizations have caught your eye lately?

Shiva Zahirfar
Staff writer

I used to feel pretty lonely when I first started going to SJSU. After a while I realized if I join a club or two, I can make some new friends that have similar interests. Like magic, my loneliness seemed to go away.

So, if you’re tired of not feeling part of the campus community, try one of these campus clubs:

• Ever wanted to be on Dancing With the Stars? It’s not quite the same thing, but the San Jose State Ballroom Dance Team is always welcoming more Spartans to put on their dancing shoes. Classes for this semester start on Feb. 8 from 3 to 5:15 p.m. and will continue weekly every Monday and Wednesday in the Event Center’s aerobics room. To find out the lesson schedule, you can e-mail them or check out their Facebook.
• We all like to sing in the shower, and now there is a chance to sing with some peers. There are three SJSU choirs on campus (the Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, and Women’s Choir) and they’re all free to join. Student who aren’t music majors can join the concert choir and Chamber Singers, but you must audition. The Women’s Choir is open to any major and there are no auditions. They meet a bunch of different times on Monday through Thursday in the Music building. There is more information on the School of Music and Dance’s Web site.
• If you like to program games, then the Game Development Club will be the right club for you. The club’s kick-off party is at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Student Union in the Guadalupe Room. The cool thing about the meeting is that average members present games they have created themselves. For more information, check out the club’s Web site.

If none of these seem like your cup of tea, don’t worry. There are many other clubs on campus, and they can be easily found on Facebook by just searching SJSU in the club section. Or you can find a full list of clubs here. You can even start your own club.

Which campus clubs do you find interesting?

New semester, new faces, and a new blog

A new semester dawns, and with it comes a new provost, a new police chief and a new football coaching staff. Oh, and a new format for this Spartan Daily news blog.

The goal is to take some of the interesting crumbs of information around SJSU that are too short for a full story and give them a home on this blog. So with that, here’s today’s roundup of tidbits:

• In my pre-semester ritual of wandering aimlessly around campus, I saw a few signs reminding students about the latest SJSU theater production, Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. The show starts Friday and runs intermittently through Feb. 6. Spoiler alert: Don’t Google the play name. Large portions of the script are posted on Google Books.
• The New York Times wrote a piece on the CSU budget mess, featuring our SFSU neighbor to the north. Any one of those anecdotes could have originated here at SJSU, and though Schwarzenegger vowed to restore the budget for higher education, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more frustrating stories like these as the semester goes along.
• So the news is out that the furloughs are coming back this semester. Funny enough, I stumbled on this blog post from SJSU suggesting what instructors can do on furlough days. I have yet to see a teacher implement any of them (though admittedly I’ve only had four teachers). What about you?
• And a big “good luck” goes out to those trying to crash courses this week. The university offers some tips.

This blog will develop as the semester rolls along, and we welcome any feedback you have. Seriously. Any. Even pictures of your cat.

- Suzanne Yada
Online editor

Bay Area girls arrested after YouTube video revealed beating

A 13-year-old girl was attacked for the second time by two classmates, ages 12 and 14, who beat up their classmate and posted the video on YouTube, according to the WLUK Fox 11 Web site.

The attack took place in Benicia, Calif. on Nov. 28 in the late afternoon, according to the Mercury News Web site.

Police said the two classmates accused of attacking their classmate recorded the beating on their cell phone.

Benicia Police Lt. Mike Daley said the victim was friends with one of the accused attackers and an acquaintance with the other.

The beating consisted of blows to the head with fists, according to the WLUK Fox 11 Web site.

The first beating occurred on Nov. 25 involving the same classmates, according to the Fox 11 Web site.

The two classmates lured the 13-year-old victim into a field by telling her they wanted to return the victim’s personal items they had accumulated during the course of their friendship, according to the WLUK Fox 11 Web site.

The supposed reason for the attacks was because the 13-year-old had been talking behind the other two girls’ backs, according to the Mercury News Web site.

The two classmates accused of assault have been arrested and expelled from Benicia Middle School, according to the Mercury News Website.

The video has been removed from the video-sharing Web site by YouTube officials, according to Benicia police.

-Angela Marino
Staff writer

Albino children in Tanzania face danger

Albino people live in fear in Tanzania and Burundi

For the past two years, there has been an incredible increase in the murders of albino children in Tanzania, Africa.

According to a BBC World News article, albinism in the African culture is viewed as a curse.

Albinism is an inherited genetic condition. Albino people have little to no pigment in their skin, eyes, or hair, according to the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation.

In Tanzania, albino children are at high risk. Some are killed at birth or abandoned by their families.

According to the same BBC World News article, witch doctors in Tanzania and other parts of East Africa — especially Burundi — have made tens of thousands of dollars from selling potions and other items made from the bones, hair, skin and genitals of dead albino people.