SJSU Students too Busy for Politics

The road to the upcoming U.S. presidential election is making headlines everyday. Whether it’s Hillary Clinton, John McCain or Barack Obama who wins the election, Americans will see a first. The first woman president, the first black president or the oldest president to take office.

But discovering when, where and how to vote, navigating political jargon and sensationalized news stories have turned the presidential election into a confusing maze that students find hard to navigate.

Professor Al Schendan, who has taught Political Science for three years at San Jose State University, thinks the election process is confusing for students.

“I think politics in general turns people off in America, particularly students. I’m not sure that students realize that the decisions the government makes… actually impacts them” Schendan said.

Brian Blade, a sophomore kinesiology major, didn’t vote in the California primary. “I’m just one person, I don’t think I’ll make a difference,” Blade said.

There are other reasons why students choose not to vote.

“I know a lot of college students…on campus, so the chances of us to drive somewhere else to vote and come back, especially with gas prices going up at the same time, it’s unlikely for us to vote,” Alex Mercedes, a sophomore nursing major, said.

Kimika Livingston, a senior business management major, finds it hard to devote time from her busy schedule to follow the election process. “I took a high level class in high school and I forgot almost everything that I learned…I am much more busier now than I was, so I don’t really have time to get into it like I did four years ago.”

Other students tune the election out because of dirty politics.

“It [politics] does turn me off, because it’s the same old geezer trying to run for it,” James Paydo said, a senior mechanical engineering student. “The person with the best ideas and best qualifies for the job might not have the money to actually run for the job and that’s my problem with it.”

Jordan Alley, echoes this sentiment, “Every year it seems to be just firing back and forth, insulting each other. Nobody really seems to be adult about anything.”

According to the spring 2008 issue of Access magazine, 56 percent of SJSU students voted in the California primary. Thirty-two percent of students polled voted for Barack Obama, 18 percent of students voted for Hillary Clinton and six percent of students voted for John McCain. Still, 39 percent of students didn’t vote.

James Brent, the department head of the Political Science program, has taught political science for 15 years at SJSU. Brent understands the difficulty college students face when the election rolls around.

“It’s difficult to follow through with. For example, students are often transient,” Brent said. “They transfer schools they maybe attending a university in a different city from where there permanent home is so I run into a lot of students who never change there registration and when Election Day roles around its too late.”

Despite the obstacles that face them, there are SJSU students that actively engage in politics.

“I wanted to contribute. I think it's time for a change. And every vote counts. It's my duty.” Oscar Martin said, a freshman at SJSU.

Christopher Tenblador, a 22-year-old sociology major, was a past congressional intern and helped host the Crash the Parties national contest at SJSU. The event was designed to spread awareness about political and social issues and encourage minorities to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

“Definitely this year I’ve seen a lot of people and young minorities getting involved with the upcoming presidential election. It’s very exciting, especially having an event like this, there was a need to harness that energy and encourage others and spread it like a virus” Tenblador said.

Sarah Bronstein, a member of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU wanted to bridge the gap between students and politics through the club.

“College is about the experience you have with other students, and we think the best place to that is really through clubs,” Bronstein said. “And why not do that through Political means? There are so many ways that political organizations can help you, just have a greater sense of community, a greater sense of accomplishment and we want to have that on our campus."

"We have a stigma of a commuter school and it's just hard to keep people on campus,” Andrae Macapinlac said, a member of the Democratic Caucus of SJSU. “It's hard to say 'You know what? There’s something you can do other then going to classes.'"

San Jose State University College Republicans also want to see students take an interest in politics.

“We [the SJSU College Republicans] generally want to spread awareness of being involved…We need action,” Garret Brummer, Vice-Chairman of the SJSU College Republicans said.

“There are a lot more of conservative republicans than people realize but it’s just a matter of finding them,” Bryan DeWinter, Chairman of the SJSU College Republicans said.

Brummer believes that the conservatives on campus feel alienated from stating their view publicly because of stereotypes and misconceptions placed on republicans.

“It’s hard to come out and make a strong stand in this environment and we want to reach out to this people…and just show them there are republicans,” Brummer said.

The SJSU College Republicans club has 45 members, but only 15 active.

Both the Democratic Caucus of SJSU and the SJSU College Republicans expressed the hardships of maintaining a political club on campus. Both clubs were inactive, both clubs had to go through the process of becoming a recognized SJSU club on campus and both clubs find it hard to motivate students to actively participate in the club.

So do young adults, mainly those in the forgotten 18-25 year old bracket, make a difference in presidential outcome?

“Everytime there’s a presidential election there’s stories about the rise in youth vote and how it’s rising up. We heard it with Kerry, we heard it with Gore, we heard it with Clinton and it very rarely ever turns out to be true,” Professor James Brent said.

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Warriors Fans Believing Again

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After years of being on the wrong side of the scoreboard, the Golden State Warriors and their fans have a new attitude.

The Warriors fast pace style, winning record and the motto “We Believe,” that symbolized the Warriors triumphant return to the postseason in 2007, have fans clamoring to support the team.

Since the Warriors postseason return, sellout crowds are coming to the Oracle Arena to cheer for the team. Is the sold-out arena and the “We Believers” just a trend that will fade as soon as the Warriors backslide into postseason oblivion, or are Warriors fans here to stay?

With the Warriors’ excellent play, everyone wants to be part of the atmosphere. After last year’s trip to the playoffs, sales at mall shops have drastically changed.

“Since the playoffs last year, it blew up. It was like Christmas all over again,” said Shawn Lima, a sales associate for three years at Fanzz in San Jose’s Oakridge Mall.

Umer Arif, the Assistant Manager at Shirtique in Oakridge Mall has also seen a difference in Warrior sales.

“The sales were so low when the Warriors weren’t that good before last season,” Arif said. Now, the store can hardly keep Warriors gear on the shelf. “[Warrior] Jerseys came in one week, and the second week they were sold out,” Arif said.

During the Warriors’ playoff run, the atmosphere at the Oracle Arena transformed. Jeremy Nadel, a senior Kinesiology Major, and longtime Warrior fan, attended a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks.

“I caught the fever, the Warrior fever…The atmosphere [at Oracle Arena] was crazy, it was wild. I’ve never seen so much yellow in my life,” Nadel said.

Tanjit Athwal, a junior Kinesiology major, also attended last year's playoff game: “It was really nutty. Everyone is just really loud and yelling. You just got to be there. I don’t have big enough words to describe it.” Since last year’s season, Athwal bought two season tickets to watch the Warriors play.

Some Warriors fans see the addition of “bandwagon” fans as a good thing.

“It’s cool to have the buzz back,” said Jamie Jessup, a senior food science major.

Jess Einsches, a junior, welcomes the addition of new fans. “I think it’s good to have support, and the merchandise they sell is support for the team so I think bandwagon fans are good in a sense,” Einsches said.

Part of the excitement that fans find at Oracle Arena can be contributed to the large amount of new fans rooting for the Warriors.

Some fans are proud of the fact they are a “bandwagon” fan and are not afraid to admit it. Gregg Pratt a third year business management major said he likes the Warriors “because they’re good now, they actually win.”

Pratt was once a Los Angeles Lakers fan and has found a new home rooting for the Golden State Warriors.

However, Pratt said that he believes Lakers games are more fun to go to. “There is something about Lakers games, the fans are loyal,” he said.

Some older fans are not so quick to welcome new fans. Raymond Crisologo, an 18 year Warriors season ticket holder, does not think all the new fans are a good addition to the Warrior family. “I’m all for the Warriors getting more fans, but some of these ‘bandwagon’ fans are just irritating,” Crisologo said.

He explains that many of the new fans once made fun of the Warriors’ fans for liking a bad team, and “now they’re like oh my god did you see the game. Or I always believed in the Warriors.”

Older Warrior fans fear that once the Warriors begin to play poorly the new fans will flee.

According to ESPN.com the Warriors currently see an average attendance of 19,536 which is 100 percent capacity. During the 2004-2005 season, the average attendance was 16,350, which is 84 percent capacity, when the Warriors finished with a 34-48 record.

The success and fall of other teams in Northern California may indicate attendance at the Oracle Arena can drop again. When the Sacramento Kings made trips to the postseason earlier in the decade, they had a large attendance.

According to ESPN.com in the 2002-2003 season, the Kings had a record of 55-27 with an average attendance of 17,317 which is 100 percent capacity. This season, the Kings currently stand at 31-36, and have an average attendance of 14,019, which is 81 percent capacity.

If the Kings can lose almost 20 percent of their fans due to poor play, it seems possible for the downward spiral of attendance to continue. Plus, the Kings are the only pro sports franchise in the area, while the Warriors have to compete with the San Jose Sharks, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland A’s, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco Giants for attendance.

There is hope from some that this trend in Warrior support is here to stay. “If you have ever been to Warriors games two or three seasons ago, they were still pretty, almost sold out,” Morris Ohlder, a senior History major said.

Stephanie Flowers, a junior Creative Arts major, has another reason to believe why the Warriors failed to sellout in the past: “It’s not entirely their [the fans] fault, they probably didn’t know they had a team in the Bay Area.”

The atmosphere at the Oracle Arena is electric.
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Walking the Plank

By Andrea Frainier, Sarrah Nguyen and Kate Taylor

On the top floor of Tower Hall, some 65 feet above San Jose State’s grounds, a chair at the end of a plank sticks out of a window.

The “seat of wisdom” on the “plank of courage” is put out the window of Tower Hall during the start of each new semester as a symbol of rush week for the academic fraternity, Tau Delta Phi.

Rumors have circulated around campus as to the plank-chair’s purpose.

“As far as the chair is concerned,” said Danny Galvin, a junior psychology major, “I’ve heard people have put students up there for, like, hazing things for fraternities, and they would just sit them up there overnight.”

Galvin said he had also heard that as long as the students were on the chair, they were not allowed to move.

“I heard that the chair up there was put by some fraternity,” said Chenece Blackshear, a junior chemistry major. “I guess during their rush or pledge week, they would have people actually sit on the chair on the ledge.”

Blackshear said she doesn’t think the chair is used anymore, but doesn’t know why the fraternity would keep the chair if that were true.

The SJSU College of Business Web site states the fraternity that owns the plank-chair is also the protector of the tower room at Tower Hall.

“Guarded exclusively by members of Tau Delta Phi, men’s honor fraternity, the tower room has been known for years as the spot on campus where no women are allowed,” the site said. “Wild rumors circulate as to the punishment inflicted upon co-eds successful enough to gain entrance to the sacred spot.”

Dominic Fass, a senior sociology major and current president of Tau Delta Phi, said his fraternity, established in 1916, lived in the house “back in the day” until the tower was condemned in 1963.

Since their eviction in the ’60s, the tower has been used for the fraternity’s meetings, although only school personnel have access, he said.

The plank-chair that extends from the tower each semester is only used as a symbol, Fass said, but the fraternity has a second plank and chair used for an initiation ritual.

“It’s a safe environment,” he said, “and it’s done by the initiates with complete consent, and they can do it with or without a blindfold.”

Fass said the groundskeepers go up to the tower and put the plank-chair in its place outside of the window, every semester after the fraternity fills out a request form.

The fraternity was an all-male fraternity until 1977.

“A lot of female members in the’ 70s, wanted to get into (the fraternity),” Fass said. “Back in the ’70s a lot of other all-male fraternities, such as Delta Phi Omega, also became co-ed.”

When asked about the alleged no-women-allowed history of the tower, Fass said he didn’t know anything about it.

The tower where the fraternity used to live is accessible through the president’s office. A locked door in the back of the office lobby opens to a spiral staircase wide enough to for one person.

Dennis Suit, SJSU’s facilities manager, said the building used to connect to Dwight Bentel Hall and the university’s old south library by an open-walkway promenade around the tower.

It was taken down, however, because it was not earthquake safe.

There are three empty stories in Tower Hall, and all remnants of the fraternity have been cleared out, except for an old stove on the second floor and, of course, the plank-chair on the third.

Names of old Tau Delta Phi members are scribbled on the walls of the top floor, along with messages and drawings — some of the autographs claim to have been done as recently as Feb. 2008.

Suit said the second floor also had members’ graffiti on its walls, but when the maintenance staff repainted the walls, they were hidden.

The second floor used to house a taxidermic cat as well, propped up on a wooden board that the fraternity called “the sail cat.”

Though the chair is concealed from the eyes of the students below, the “tower of strength,” as the fraternity calls it, will return its seasonal plank-chair to the window at the beginning of the fall semester.

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