VISIT HTTP://SPARTANDAILY.COM VIDEO SPORTS Hi: 68o A WEEKEND SPARTANS HOLD STROLL Lo: 43o ALONG THE ON TO CLOSE WIN OVER DONS GUADALUPE Tuesday RIVER PAGE 10 February 3, 2015 Volume 144 • Issue 4 Serving San Jose State University since 1934 LOCAL NEWS Electronic duo amps up Philz Coff ee Disney opens doors for SJSU design team BY VANESSA GONGORA @_princessness_ Disney continues to make dreams come true for future designers. Four students from San Jose State University were chosen by Walt Disney Imagineering as one of the top six college teams of its 24th Imaginations Design Competition. The top six fi nal teams were awarded a fi ve-day, all-expense-paid trip to Glendale, Calif., from Jan. 26–30, where they presented their projects to Imag- ineering executives and took part in an awards cere- mony on Jan. 30. According to the press release from Walt Disney Imagineering, the competition was created and spon- sored by Walt Disney Imagineering with the purpose of seeking out and nurturing the next generation of diverse Imagineers. This year’s Imaginations Design Competition consisted of students from American universities and Samson So | Spartan Daily colleges taking what Disney does best today and ap- Gavin Neves, one-half of the San Jose electronic duo “Hexes” performs “Witchhunt” at Philz plying it to transportation within a well-known city. Coffee’s weekly open mic night on Monday, Feb. 2. Open mic nights take place every Monday at The team’s Disney transportation creation needed the coffee shop from 6:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. to include stations, stops and vehicle designs that SEE DISNEY ON PAGE 2 OPINION NEWS Disney’s Latina Tower Lawn trees replaced princess steps in due to age, safety concerns right direction Information compiled by Jeremy Cummings Infographic by Linh Nguyen A Mulberry tree was fea- but falls short tured in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” It’s great that Disney notic- as a place for two forbidden es Latin cultures and wants to lovers. make them a part of its charac- ters and stories, but to me (be- Mulberry leaves are used in ChineseC medicine to cool the ing a Latina) Elena is not what I body and remove toxins. envision to be a Latina princess. 33-49 ft There has been some uproar Leaves contain a unique on social media about Elena’s chemical that can be used to stabilize blood sugar levels. physical features, some argue that her brown skin is not rep- SwiftlyS grow to their full resentative of the entire Latino height in their 30-40 year lifespan. population, because not all Lati- BY ESTEFANY SOSA nos fit into one specific stereo- Edible fruits commonly used @estefany_scs type, and Latinos do come in all forf pies, tarts, wines, cordials anda tea. shapes and colors. It is impos- A new princess is now part sible to create a character who of the list of the many other physically represents a group of BY JEREMY CUMMINGS “Trees have a life cycle and “I’m a little bit sad, I liked Disney princesses, but this one people that is composed of vari- @JeremyCummings3 need to be replaced from time to having the shade cover,” said is different because she’s sup- ous ethnicities and races. I don’t time,” Brown said. Jesse Hnatek, a sophomore posed to represent Latinos and think we should base our opin- Several mulberry trees Facilities staff germinated the chemistry student. Latin cultures. ions on the physique of a char- around Tower Lawn were re- saplings they used to replace the Replacement was part of a Disney’s creation of a prin- acter, but rather on the content placed by San Jose State Uni- mulberries on campus. four-stage plan to remove the cess representative of Latin cul- of the show. versity facilities staff before the According to Brown, the trees. Th e replacement was done tures is a pivotal move in the When I imagine a Latina start of the Spring semester. decision to replace the trees in phases so the change would process of diversifying global princess I think of a Pipil, Af- President Mohammad Qa- came from within the facilities be less extreme. media. ro-Latin, Taino, Mayan, Aztec, youmi said in an email to the department and not from any Th e trees currently growing In a post on Disney’s offi- Incan or Kayapo princess, but campus community that the oversight from administration around Tower Lawn are all dif- cial blog on Jan. 29, Disney an- besides the fact that Disney trees were nearing the end of or President Qayoumi. ferent ages depending on when nounced that the new princess claims Elena is Latina, I don’t their 30-year lifespan and were Qualifi ed people from within they were placed. was “inspired by diverse Latin see how she represents Latin replaced with trees that would the facilities department exam- It’s not known how much the cultures and folklore.” cultures. grow back to a similar height ined the trees and decided they replacement process costs, it’s The new princess, Elena, It would’ve been nice if Dis- within a few years. needed to be replaced. just something that facilities had will be featured on the Disney ney added some Latin symbols Christopher Brown, associate Th e vegetation renovation to do, Brown said. Junior series “Sophia the First” or objects—like pan flutes or vice president of facilities devel- was carried out in phases over Replacement of old trees on in 2016 and will have her own jade jewelry—to Elena’s ward- opment and operations, said four years so that the change campus has been an issue in the show afterward. robe that would make her a when the mulberry trees reach would be less dramatic. past. Disney describes Elena as greater representation of Latin the end of their lifespan, they Some students said they were Last year a large elm tree “bold, caring, funny and clev- cultures. become structurally unsound sad to see the trees removed. broke and fell on MacQuarrie er,” but fails to say what specific It will be very challenging for and lose branches, which could Nicole Florea, a freshman Hall. When that tree was exam- characteristics make her Latina. Disney to portray Latin cultures pose a safety hazard to students. nursing student, said the trees ined aft erwards, it showed signs Although she was inspired because there are so many, but If a branch fell on a student were nice and she’s never for of disease. by Latin cultures, we won’t my guess is that they will try to it could hurt them, but proba- cutting down trees but student Jeremy Cummings is a know what this means exactly bly would not kill them, Brown safety is a good reason to re- Spartan Daily staff writer. until the show premieres. SEE ELENA ON PAGE 7 said. place them. 2 NEWS Tuesday, February 3, 2015 New vice mayor has big plans for San Jose BY ROSA JASSO worker for the city of San Jose. @rosabjasso “I think she can do a lot of good.” Vice Mayor Rose Herrera Herrera said she is also go- was sworn into office Thursday, ing to focus on increasing the Jan. 29 at San Jose City Hall. public’s safety by working with Over 300 people from dif- San Jose police officers. ferent cultures gathered to cel- “Public safety is our number ebrate Herrera in her role as the one goal and I’m hoping that city’s new leader. through negotiations we can The San Jose State Univer- settle the issues that remain sity Air Force ROTC Color and we can come up with a Guard, El Grito de la Cultura, settlement with our police offi- Kriyaa Dance Academy, McK- cers’ union,” Herrera said. on Kathak Dance School and Bobby Lopez, president of other groups performed during Fraternal Order of Police Lodge the ceremony. 52, has a different perspective Faith leaders from nine dif- about Herrera’s role as vice ferent religions such as Rabbi mayor. Dana Maga, from the Temple “I think it’s going to be a Emanu-El and Do Huu Pham, challenge for her to put her an advisor of Buddhist Com- mark on the city,” Lopez said. munity Quan The Am Thien “Being elevated to mayor and Tu attended the ceremony vice mayor you’re now in the and blessed Herrera through Rosa Jasso | Spartan Daily leadership role, and I’m hop- prayers. Rose Herrera getting sworn into offi ce as vice mayor by her son David at San Jose City ing she takes that to heart and Herrera was sworn in by her Hall on Jan. 29. Her goal is to focus on decreasing unemployment rates in San Jose. addresses many of the issues in son David during the ceremony. San Jose.” Herrera was raised in San Jose Lopez previously worked and earned her master’s degree Too often people think that just because we’re Silicon Valley and with Herrera when she asked from Santa Clara University. there’s lots of people working at Google, that everybody in him for advice on securing the She served in the United people’s safety. States Air Force and was a mem- “San Jose is enjoying that success and not everybody is Herrera is still willing to talk ber of the San Jose City Council to the police group, which Lo- District 8 for over four years. Rose Herrera pez said is her strongest point.