Spartan Daily, October 15, 2013
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INSIDE SPARTANDAILY.COM thespartandaily.tumblr.com facebook.com/spartandaily P. 3 A&E: A taste of Germany Twitter: @spartandaily comes to San Pedro Square Instagram: @spartandaily P. 4 Sports: David Fales: player WEATHER Clear SPARTAN DAILY of the week 80°F Serving San José State University Food special issue since 1934 P. 5 Opinion: Little kids tackle 54°F Volume 141 / Issue 20 Coming Thursday! Printed on recycled paper Tuesday, October 15, 2013 large issues CAMPUS Spartans share concerns over gunman scare By Allison Williams Sweeney Hall was locked down, in the Boccardo Business Complex Because of this, Laws said he and decided that it was OK to leave @all3ybobally with students and faculty barricad- when she got the alert. wasn’t able to give an accurate time campus open. ing themselves into their classrooms. “When we got the alert, students lapse from the call to the first re- UPD wasn’t alone in the lockdown Many SJSU students received an Sgt. John Laws of the University started talking about it,” Han said. sponse. or search of Sweeney Hall, Laws said. alert that read, “man with gun call – Police Department said faculty, staff “That’s when I started to get frightened.” Laws said the first time the dis- “There were ... seven agencies who police checking Sweeney Hall – shel- and students responded excellently Though she wasn’t near the build- patchers recorded an officer on the responded and said ‘If you need help ter in place,” at 9:22 a.m. on Thursday and better than the police depart- ing, she said she was worried for her scene was three minutes after the call (we’ll) be glad to come,’” President morning. However, at 10:56 a.m. an- ment had expected. older brother who was under lock- was logged, but he said he knows that Mohammad Qayoumi said. other message was sent assuring the He said they were very pleased down. officers were able to get to the scene While Han said the incident campus community that the building with the action the classes in Sweeney Laws said dispatchers were un- sooner than that. scared her, other students were less was thoroughly searched and Swee- Hall took as well. able to record all of the events be- According to Laws, the command worried about the scare. ney Hall could return to “normal ac- Shanon Han, a freshman anima- cause of the multitude of tasks they staff at the time didn’t think there tivity.” tion/illustration major, said she was needed to address. was a threat outside of Sweeney Hall SEE SAFETY ON PAGE 2 TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY 24-hour Volunteers on track for clean-up hackathon challenges students By Michael Chen @MichaelGChen SJSU held its fall hackathon on campus in col- laboration with bio-sensor company NeuroSky and the Learning Games Consortium in MacQuar- rie Hall Friday evening. “A hackathon is the chance to try out new tech- nologies,” said Johnny Liu, NeuroSky director of Developer Program and eCommerce. “It’s a chance to learn ways to solve problems when you are now challenged through time pressures.” According to Liu, a hackathon is a technology jam during which innovative projects are created by students under a 24-hour deadline centered on computers, software and bio-sensor technology. Team Immunity, a group of four SJSU students, won first place and received the grand prize: an EEG MindWave Mobile Headset provided by Neu- roSky announced by Liu on Monday. Liu said the term “hackathon” is a combination of the phrase “hacking together a project” and the word “marathon.” “It’s hacking in the sense to put things to- Jerry Salas | Spartan Daily gether,” he said. “Connecting the dots and find- Volunteers assist Friends of Five Wounds Trail pick up trash along the defunct railroad near Five Wounds church on Saturday. ing out that if you have one service or feature in combinations, you can create something new and By Jerry Salas said. “About two-thirds of the group today Political science professor Garrick Percival exciting.” @popcrnchicken are students from SJSU and West Valley Col- said the Friends of Five Wounds Trail is a clear “We love to see created apps, especially around lege. The rest are residents and community example of a grassroots neighborhood organi- (iOS) and Android,” Liu said. “We’ve seen mechani- Residents of the Five Wounds and Brook- supporters.” zation. cal devices that use our headset technology, so I’m wood Terrace neighborhoods and its allies This event involves picking up trash and “This tells us a lot about the influence that excited.” partnered with students to clean up trash cleaning graffiti off the walls of the one and neighborhood groups can have if they become Liu announced during the hackathon boot at the abandoned railroad tracks near Five a half miles of land the railroad occupies, he organized and advocate for projects,” Percival camp Thursday night that every student partici- Wounds church on Saturday. said. said. “Governments will listen to voters and pating in the competition will have free access to Terry Christensen, a retired SJSU political Christensen said one of the reasons behind groups, but you have to be active to make your NeuroSky’s MindWave Mobile Brainwave headset science professor and executive director of cleaning the railroad is the broken windows voices heard.” to be used as part of the development of iOS and Friends of Five Wounds Trail, said the Friends theory. Percival said this organization is a way for Android applications as contest entries. of Five Wounds Trail is a community organi- “Broken windows theory basically says, the community to take ownership of the trail According to Liu, smartphone applica- zation that advocates turning the abandoned if you keep an area clean, it’s going to stay and show that they care. tions that range from video games and other railroad line by Five Wounds Portuguese Na- cleaner and be safer,” Christensen said. “What He said he offers extra credit to his stu- interactive software to mechanical cat ears that tional Church into a hiking and biking trail. we found is that each time we do the litter pick- dents if they participate in this event. “We do this clean-up twice a year and usu- up, we pick up less trash, which to me is a sign SEE COMPETITION ON PAGE 6 ally have student volunteers,” Christensen that it’s working.” SEE TRAIL ON PAGE 6 STUDENTS “This doesn’t feel like a college town (and) we’re trying to change A.S. aims to paint city blue and gold with latest initiative that,” Liccardo said. “I know this is something folks have been trying By Melissa Lewelling we’ll be able to hit the streets that According to Ayala, the inspira- large environment push to ... have to do in various ways ... but this is @melissadanae91 cross through them as well with tion for Campus to the City came that kind of reciprocating relation- needed.” all the Spartan gear and really, re- from seeing a correlation between ship with the city.” Liccardo also cautioned that Associated Students hopes to ally develop that area as a Spartan colleges with strong school pride and Mykel Jeffrey, a junior political changes wouldn’t happen overnight raise school spirit and increase stu- Area.” the environment of the city, where science major and director of exter- and that A.S. will need “folks willing dent safety with its new Campus to The goal of the initiative is to it “felt like the city and campus were nal affairs for A.S., said that in the to dig in” and help. the City initiative. unify SJSU’s campuses and connect one.” past A.S. has “dropped the ball” when “The one thing I just warn you According to A.S. President Nick the school with the surrounding res- “A great example would be (UC) it comes to working with San Jose. about when you’re dealing with any- Ayala, the proposed initiative would idential and business communities Berkeley,” Ayala said. “You can be in “We don’t have a relationship thing in the public right away, it’s create a “Spartan Corridor,” connect- so students will feel like they’re in a Berkeley, a mile, two miles away, but with the city very well at all,” Jeffrey always harder than it seems at first,” ing SJSU’s main campus with South safer environment on and around you still feel that UC Berkeley feel.” said. “They’ve tried to rely on us for Liccardo said. “You just have to have Campus on South Seventh and East campus, Ayala said. On the contrary, Ayala said he stuff through the administration endurance.” Humboldt streets through street- “The by-product of that would doesn’t think San Jose and SJSU have and because of budget ... things have According to Jeffrey, the initia- light banners and painted Spartan actually be an advancement towards that same level of affiliation and just fallen through.” tive “hopefully” will also include heads in the main intersections a safer community, where students hopes that in five or 10 years the con- In an Oct. 4 meeting with three a homecoming game parade/rally around campus as well as the bike feel safe ... when they’re going home nection will be automatic. A.S. board members, city council with SJSU’s marching band and lanes along South Seventh, 10th and or going out for the night,” Ayala “You can be a block away and not member Sam Liccardo, who repre- cheerleaders leading the way down 11th streets. said. “The last thing we want stu- be from San Jose and not even realize sents the downtown district, said he 10th street to Spartan Stadium.