Happiness does not come with a price tag Opinion p. 5 See online: Wednesday SPARTAN DAILY LibraryLib evacuated October 5, 2011 Hornets swarm Spartans Sports p. 4 Volume 137, Issue 21 SpartanDaily.com Increasing SJ gang A Clean Slate activity prompts UPD campus alert Over the past 18 months, San Jose has Crimes increase south of seen a spike in gang activity. campus; police cite regular “There have always been spikes in gang activities,” Sgt. Manuel fluctuation in frequency Aguayo of the UPD said. “It’s a generational thing … it's cyclical.” by Chris Marian Staff Writer Homicides per 3.5 100,000 people per year On the night of Saturday, Sept. 24, in San Jose residents of the 500 block of South 3.0 All homicides 10th Street awoke to the sounds of gunfi re ringing out into the night, as 2.5 police said rival gangs clashed once 2.0 more for territory and respect in the neighborhoods southwest of the SJSU 1.5 campus. Gang-related Police arriving on the scene se- 1.0 cured one wounded suspect and cap- homicides 0.5 tured another — the rest fl ed south 20062007 2008 2009 2010 Dulce Alvarez, a San Jose Conservation Corps intern, The Conservation Corp has been working with the with a San Jose Police Department dumps recyclables into a bin on Wednesday, Sept. 28 City of San Jose to advance its zero-waste policy. SWAT team on their heels, according 80 Gang-related crimes per outside of Clark Hall. Alvarez has been working as a The corps has been in existence since 1987. to SJPD. 100,000 people per year corps intern since July after being assigned to SJSU. Photo by Jack Barnwell / Spartan Daily 70 Four days later, on Sept. 28, the Violent in San Jose University Police Department issued a 60 Gang Crime San Jose Conservation when she was charged and sent to jail. with maintaining and collecting from campus safety advisory warning stu- 50 Weapons Cases Aft er she was released, she re- the recycling bins around campus. dents of an apparent increase in gang Corps offers a second membered her sister recommend- “Th ey give students a second activity in the neighborhoods south 40 ing the San Jose Conservation Corps chance to get a (high school) diplo- and west of campus, and advising stu- 30 Felonious Gang Assaults chance to those in need Charter School. ma,” said Dulce Alvarez, 20, one of the dents to exercise caution when travel- 20 “Th ey are strict,” she said of the interns. ing through these areas aft er dark. by Cynthia Ly organization’s policies toward gang- Alvarez said she started her intern- Incidents involving firearms Th ere has been a spate of violent 10 Staff Writer related activities. ship at SJSU in July aft er graduating Gang-related homicides gang encounters in the last month, 0 20062007 2008 2009 2010 Th e school is a major part of the from the conservation corps’ charter and UPD felt it was time to warn stu- Before Melissa Avalos enrolled San Jose Conservation Corps, which school. dents about the trend, Sgt. Manuel at the San Jose Conservation Corps is one of 13 state certifi ed corps fo- Th e internship also includes a sti- Aguayo of UPD said. About the San Jose Charter School, she did not have a cused on helping at-risk youths ages pend that pays for her courses and “It was an advisory to make stu- Police Department high school diploma. 17 to 24 through education and com- supplies at Evergreen Valley College, dents aware of the climate south of 38-member metro unit dedicated “I dropped out of school when I munity service. she said. 100 percent to gang enforcement; campus,” Aguayo said of the warning. was 13 years old,” Avalos said. “Litt le by litt le, I’m building what I Th e corps is partnered with the Th ere was gang brawl at a McDon- also tracks gangs in all 16 districts of She said she started working using have,” Avalos said. “I didn’t have a car, city of San Jose and the East Side San Jose; all but the airport have alds on South Th ird Street over the gang presence fake papers, abused drugs and was ar- now I have a truck. I didn’t have my Union High School District to col- summer; a mystery shooting at 10th rested for possession of a stolen ve- license, now I have my license.” lect and sort recyclables, such as cans, Source: San Jose Police Department and San Carlos streets early in the se- website crime statistics; Interviews hicle. SJSU hired two interns from the mester that police believe was gang- with Sgt. Manuel Aguayo of the UPD Avalos said she was already 18 San Jose Conservation Corps to help SEE CORPS PAGE 2 related; a shooting at First and Willow and SJPD Sgt. Jason Dwyer streets on Sept. 18th; a stabbing at Seventh and Reed streets on the 19th; gangs are att empting to claim. and fi nally the gunfi ght on 10th Street “Th ere have always been spikes Funds for MUSE courses evaporate on Sept. 24. in gang activities,” Aguayo said. Acts of violence aren’t the only “It’s a generational thing … it’s cy- indicators of an increasing gang pres- clical.” by Christina Molina Fall 2002, was among other programs which approves all general education ence in the area, Aguayo said. As previous generations of gang Staff Writer within a broader category known as courses. “Property crimes are up in the veterans are caught or run out of First Year Experience, with the same Th is complex process is one of the neighborhood,” Aguayo said. town by law enforcement, there is a Th e MUSE program, general educa- concept of transition for freshmen, many reasons why the MUSE program He said gangs use home and car general dip in gang crimes until the tion classes designed to help freshmen according to Stephen Branz, associ- is no longer in eff ect, Branz said. burglaries as a primary source of rev- younger generation become strong adapt to college aft er high school, has ate dean of curriculum and director of “Th ere is an approval process for enue, along with drug dealing, and an enough to make their presence felt been discontinued because of budget general education. all G.E. courses and every MUSE class increase in these kinds of crimes can again, Aguayo said. cuts and lack of cooperation from a “When MUSE was fi rst passed, it has to be a G.E. course as well,” he said. be used as an indirect indicator of SJPD Sgt. Jason Dwyer said number of departments, according to was not a permanent category,” Branz “Th ere is a normal approval process gang presence. a large spike in gang homicides offi cials. said. “It was going to be temporary un- and MUSE had a diff erent process for Graffi ti is another good indicator of earlier this year was successfully “It wasn’t that MUSE (Metropolitan til FYE came into place.” approval and I think there were a lot gang presence, Aguayo said. stamped down when large numbers University Scholar’s Experience) was Ultimately, each department within of people in the university and in the “Th ere has been a big increase in of offi cers were, in response, re- canceled, it just faded away,” said Den- SJSU decides whether to include First governments for the university who graffi ti all around campus and in the tasked to gang enforcement. nis Jaehne, associate vice president of Year Experience into their curricula, didn’t think this was fair.” neighborhoods around campus,” he “We have a 38-member metro undergraduate studies. Branz said. Branz said there is nothing prevent- said. unit that is 100 percent all-the-time Instead, the university is imple- Changes in the process of incor- ing MUSE courses in policy, but they Th e city of San Jose is very aggres- gang enforcement,” Dwyer said. menting a reduced number of classes porating FYE in general education did not happen because departments sive about removing graffi ti, he said, Entire gangs can vanish under for fi rst-semester freshmen through courses also create obstacles for de- have chosen not to do them. but its constant appearance in certain the pressure of police anti-gang task the program First Year Experience. partments to approve, according to During Fall 2011 enrollment, a areas is an indicator of areas which forces, only to be resurrected years “Th e departments (within SJSU) got Maureen Scharberg, associate vice handful of courses were marked with later by the few remaining veterans premium funding for allowing profes- president of Student Academic Success the lett er “Q,” indicating that the class who have escaped police or been sors to teach MUSE classes,” Jaehne Services. met the criteria as a First Year Expe- View exclusive stories and multimedia at released from prison, Aguayo said. said. “Th ere was no more premium Th e approval of FYE courses is de- rience course by university policy, spartandaily.com Older gang veterans then begin funding for MUSE, causing the pro- cided by the Undergraduate Studies Scharberg said. recruiting fresh members from lo- gram to fade out.” Committ ee with recommendations cal middle schools and high schools, MUSE, which was introduced in from the Board of General Studies, SEE MUSE PAGE 2 using the enticements of money, prestige and pop-culture glamour to prey on desperate and disenfran- chised adolescents, he said.