Federal funding at SJSU in question
By Alina Ta SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The federal government has cancelled multiple grants for programs and projects at San José State with little to no explanation.
On March 27, Cleber Ouverney, the director for U-RISE at SJSU, received an email from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at the end of March stating that the $1.5 million in funding to financially support his program for five years was terminated.
“It’s just terminating a program that diversifies science and we understand that it’s from the contribution of different people who see the approach to biomedical research in different ways that can help us all to better understand the health, human health problems that we face,” Ouverney said.
The U-RISE Program helps support students who come from underrepresented backgrounds to achieve their master's or doctoral degrees in biomedical science, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health.
The National Institutes of Health is the nation’s medical research agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to
its webpage. The agency financially supports research in science and medicine.
Ouverney said eight students are enrolled in the program each year.
Each student receives $1,100 for one year, can have 60% of their tuition cost covered for two academic years and receive graduate survival skills training, according to a webpage from SJSU.
“These are students who also would not be able to join (the) research lab at San José State because they have to work too many hours and that would kind of make it difficult for them to, in addition to working (and going to) classes (to) participate in research on campus,” Ouverney said.
The U-RISE program, or what used to be known as the SJSU MARC U*STAR program, ran successfully for 33 years until its funding was terminated, according to the same webpage from SJSU. Ouverney was given three days to close the program.
Rachael French, the department chair of biology, has had multiple faculty members notify her that their grants have not been renewed since the beginning of the year.
“It’s unprecedented,” French said. “I've never
Correction
On Thursday, April 24, the Spartan Daily published a story titled, “SJSU interpreters share their stories,” in which Marcia Garcia was misgendered and his year at SJSU was misidentified.
The Spartan Daily regrets this error.
seen anything like this. I’ve literally never seen a grant cancelled in the middle of a grant term.”
She has been working in academia and research labs since 1995, according to her SJSU biography.
French was not able to confirm how many programs will have to be cut or how many grants within SJSU’s biology department have been paused, but said that the department received word from other directors that U-RISE programs across the U.S. have also been canceled.
“It’s a large amount of money, and it affects a lot of people and the way that the whole process was also done was probably not the best way,” Ouverney said. “The opportunities that are closing are going to be difficult to replace in many different ways.”
French said these programs provide resources to students that would typically not be well represented in science, including women, students from the LGBTQ+ community and students from diverse cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
“Generally speaking, it is anyone who has traditionally lacked equal access to these opportunities in science,” French said. “(It’s) the attempt to bring more of those folks into science, to give them opportunities that they might have previously been excluded from.”
Marc d’Alarcao, the interim vice president for research and innovation at SJSU, announced on April 21 at the university’s budget town hall meeting that 12 grants of around $2.2 million in funds have been canceled from multiple federal sponsoring agencies.
“We’re being asked by some agencies to certify that
our awarded grants don't run afoul of presidential executive orders,” d’Alarcao said. “We follow all laws, of course, but the challenge is that the interpretation of those laws is changing at the federal level.”
Some of the federal agencies that have paused funding for grants include the National Institutes of Health, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the U.S. Department of Energy and more, according to a presentation at SJSU’s Budget Town Hall on April 21.
The two agencies asking for certification are the National Institutes of Health and AmeriCorps, according to the same presentation.
Matthew Spangler, the chair for the film, theater and dance department, also received an email informing him that his grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities be terminated. His $171,000 grant was supposed to fund his institute, “The Immigrant Experience in California Through Literature and History.”
“I don’t have another way of gaining that amount of money,” Spangler said. “We won’t be proceeding with the program, and we probably won’t do it ever again, at least under this administration.”
The program examines how the experience of transnational immigration to California has been represented through history and literature, according to its webpage.
Spangler has already chosen the 25 applicants to be a part of the program and to receive the opportunity to travel around the U.S. to learn more about the history of immigration.
“As for the 25 …
we circled back to communicate again and told them that the institute had been terminated by (the Department of Government Efficiency).”
The National Endowment for the Humanities will not continue to fund the program, “due to (Department of Government Efficiency’s) termination of the grant award,” according to an email sent to Spangler from the agency.
Spangler has already spent around $10,000 of the program funds and has agreed to around $30,000 in commitments, and contracts for hotel and travel costs and other expenses.
He said losing this grant money means he will not receive any reimbursements from the government for expenses related to his institute.
Before funding for the institute was terminated, K-12 teachers, librarians, and administrators could apply for Spangler’s program, according to a summary from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The primary audience was middle and high school teachers of literature, social studies, history, foreign languages and theatre.
Summer participants in the program would have received $2,200 for their work before the funding was terminated, according to the institute’s website.
“I think it’s a shame,” Spangler said. “It seems to me it’s a real valuable thing to do with federal tax dollars to support our K-12 teachers and to give them these educational opportunities in the summer.”
At the town hall, d’Alarcao said the CSU
Office of General Counsel and the California Attorney General’s office have managed to gain a temporary restraining order to temporarily prevent funding reductions from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy. In February, 22 attorney generals, including Rob Bonta, the attorney general for California, filed a lawsuit against Donald J. Trump’s administration and the National Institutes of Health for unlawfully cutting funds from UC and CSU universities involved in medical and public health research, according to a webpage from the California attorney general’s office.
On April 5, federal judge Angel Kelley ruled permanently that Donald J. Trump’s administration is not allowed to limit the National Institutes of Health from providing grants to universities around the U.S., according to a memorandum and Kelley’s injunction.
French also said the university has managed to compensate enough money to continue paying the students in the U-RISE program.
“The kinds of grants that have been terminated have been expressly the ones designed to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in science,” French said. “The use of those words isn’t expressly the reason given (but) it’s pretty clear to me, based on the types of grants that are being canceled, why they’re being canceled.”
GRAPHIC BY ALINA TA |
After Hours moshes in
a following across the Bay Area, often performing in local venues such as Philz Coffee, where Ramiro Moran works, according to the same article.
have allowed students the opportunity to participate directly in the growing DIY music culture.
reaching its capacity limits.
The After Hours live music venue, normally held in a secret location, hosted its “final” show Friday night at Skewers & Brew in Downtown San José, according to an April 21, 2025, Instagram post by the venue.
The DIY live music event, typically held in a basement below a skate house near SJSU, drew a crowd of students and local fans for the last gathering in a larger venue.
Among the performers was Ernesto Moran, an SJSU graduate and member of the band Lovers Peak, along with his twin brother Ramiro Moran.
“We started in like, 2021, but we didn’t seriously start until we kind of moved out here, which was like two years,” Ernesto and Ramiro Moran said. “We transferred to SJSU, and then kind of dove into this scene. And really feel like that’s when it started.”
The Moran twins launched Lovers Peak in 2020, kicking off their music career in Monterey Bay with the release of their debut track “Blue Skies,” according to a Sept. 12, 2023 Spartan Daily article.
Lovers Peak continues to book shows in the Bay Area as their fan base grows beyond San José.
“Tomorrow, we're playing a show in (San Francisco)
“It brings the community together,” Ernesto Moran said. “There’s like 300 people here just to watch, like a show of a bunch of local bands just here to support, which feels very community-driven.”
Elton Jimenez, one of the
“As for conflicts, you know, just people trying to kind of push their way in when we’ve reached capacity in the past,” Jimenez said. “People are not trying to help us pay the bands that fans and producers, that I mean, perform for them.”
Sofia Fonzi, a fourth-year animation and illustration major at SJSU who uses they and them
The Bay Area DIY music scene thrives on a spirit
You know, I’d do anything I can to be
enjoyed After Hours
the woods, and then in two weeks,
The duo has cultivated
opening up for a really good band that we’ve been fans of for a minute, Mexican Slum Rats,” Ramiro Moran said.
The events at After Hours
Elton Jimenez
door security guards at After Hours, has been involved in these events for over a year after initially coming to hang out at the skate house.
Although Jimenez first connected with the group informally, he gradually took on more responsibilities.
of creativity, rebellion and community building, with young artists reviving punk and hardcore traditions through self-organized shows in unconventional spaces, according to a Sept. 14, 2023, KALW article.
As After Hours grew in popularity, Jimenez said occasional issues came as the venue became closer to
For many, the scene is a niche for local musicians away from mainstream music, offering a more intimate and creative environment.
from classes and enjoy being a part of the community.
“(I) honestly think the music scene right now is so alive and I really want this to continue, and there’s so many more,” Fonzi said.
“This is the best place to be for any music right now.”
Although Friday’s show marked the end of After Hours in its original form, it has brought people together through the love of music.
“The energy that it brings
out of people and that it brings out of myself, the San José music scene, it's really curated to the people that want to listen to the genre,” Jimenez said. “And over here in the San José music scene, it’s like, minds like us, they think and they create music and it’s for us.”
While advertised as the venue’s “Final Show,” according to the same After Hours Instagram post, “This might be the last show … or just our villain origin story. Either way, you don’t wanna miss it.”
“You know, I’d do anything I can to be able to continue, but you know, this can’t last a lifetime,” Jimenez said. “People gotta evolve in their life; everyone’s moving now, they’re going, they’re graduating. I mean, we all (have) got to take a step forward in life, but it’s cool that we kind of had something for the moment that some of the people could enjoy.”
GRAPHIC BY NICOLE DEVRIES, PHOTOS BY JULIA CHIE | SPARTAN DAILY
Nicole DeVries & Julia Chie
Coolger bites into horror genre
By Israel Archie STAFF WRITER
After watching the new movie “Sinners,” I can say with absolute certainty that it is the best movie I have seen all year.
Director Ryan Coogler offers an interesting take on the horror genre that leaves a bit of a pleasant undertone.
You would think that a movie with vampires killing people wouldn’t leave that kind of feeling, but Coogler made it possible.
Coogler in the past directed movies such as the “Black Panther” series and the first “Creed” movie.
The movie takes place during the Jim Crow era in the South and follows a young man named Sammie played by Miles Canton who aspires to be a famous musician against his father’s wishes.
He spends most of the movie with his twin cousins, Smoke and Stack, who are both played by Michael B. Jordan.
Jordan did a great job playing the twins and was able to capture a different personality for each twin, making them very distinguishable even though they looked exactly the same.
The majority of the film happens in the course of one night when a vampire outbreak starts at the gig where Sammie was performing and his cousins were hosting.
Because the movie takes place in the South during the 1930s, it is no surprise that there were moments of racist encounters and discrimination, such as white people using the N-word and threatening to kill minorities.
Coogler’s subliminal message of equality is well delivered and he uses the horror of the vampires to deliver that message.
The vampires in the film are musical vampires who lure people with music and dance in order to make them turn.
There was a scene after the outbreak started where the vampires were all dancing together outside, trying to convince the survivors in the bar to join them.
In the scene, there were many vampires of different races dancing. It was the first time that the characters’ racial identity didn’t matter because they were all vampires who loved music.
I find it ironic that Coogler used such a gruesome method to convey a beautiful message.
The vampires would bite people in a very violent manner, but when they turned they were happy and carefree.
The film also featured Hailee Steinfeld, whose acting was impressive in the movie.
Her Southern accent sounded so believable and fit with the time period.
She played Mary, the love interest of Stack, who ultimately became a vampire in the film.
Mary was bit when the first vampires lured her into a sense of security by talking about music and performing for her.
She bit Stack when she came to the bar because no one knew that she had been bitten
After Sammie survived the night thanks to his cousin Smoke, he went on to become the musician he
aspired to be.
I liked how Coogler brought the audience up to speed with what happened in the beginning because the movie starts with Sammie walking into his father's church all bloody with a broken guitar in his hand.
From there it cuts to his successful music career after his father gives him the ultimatum of church or music.
As for Stack, he didn’t make it through the night after Mary bit him.
Because vampires supposedly live forever, the two pay Sammie a visit in his old age and the three of them reminisce about the night of the gig, saying that it was the best night of their lives and they would relive it again.
Although Stack was a vampire who wanted to
infect more people, he remembered his cousin enough to share a heartfelt moment with him, which was a wholesome moment.
It’s interesting that the main characters found nostalgia and reminiscence in an event that most people would find horrifying.
From my point of view, Sinners was a very different take on a common movie genre, which is what makes it stand out.
Most horror movies feel scary or leave the audience with some sort of uneasiness, but I didn’t get that with this movie.
The movie got a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, according to a webpage from the movie review site, and for good reason.
Despite personally not being a big fan of horror movies, I really enjoyed watching “Sinners” and would definitely watch it again.
The music and plot were well put together and the movie also features San Jose Staté alumnus Omar Benson Miller, who plays Cornbread, a comic-relief character.
Coogler also did a good job balancing humor, horrorand historical realism without one overshadowing the other.
While 2025 is far from over, this movie is at the top of my list for releases this year.
PHOTO FROM WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Spartan duo reach
By Anfisa Pitchkhadze
SPORTS EDITOR
With the 2025 NFL Draft coming to a close, San José State wide receivers Nick Nash and Justin Lockhart found themselves new homes.
Both receivers went undrafted and shortly signed NFL contracts, with Nash going to the Atlanta Falcons while Lockhart joined the Kansas City Chiefs, according to an SJSU Athletics page.
I was following the draft thoroughly and it took me by surprise how a receiver like Nash did not get drafted.
In the 2024 season, he became the fourth player to earn the Triple Crown in college as he led the country in all receiving categories, according to a Dec. 2, 2024 SJSU Athletics article.
Nash finished the season with 1,382 receiving yards, 16 touchdowns and 104 receptions while also averaging 8.7 receptions and 115.2 yards per game, according to the same webpage.
finalist, according to an SJSU Athletics webpage.
strong case for him
It is baffling how a football player like Nash who had a season like he did, wouldn’t get picked in the draft. Earning the Triple Crown makes a to be selected that NFL teams such as the Falcons. and was a Fred Biletnikoff Award two were Travis who was
The other two finalists were Colorado Buffaloes standout two-way player Travis Hunter, who was drafted second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then, Arizona Wildcats
Then Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan was drafted eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers,
I strongly believe made a mistake passing on Nash and some teams can use a wide receiver like him, such as the Falcons. With his breakout season, he also garnered some national attention
according to an ESPN webpage.
This year’s draft left me scratching my head that two of the three finalists were taken in the first round, while Nash, who had the best season for a wide receiver, went undrafted.
There is no way to believe that the majority of receivers selected in the seven rounds are better than Nash. By watching Nash play for SJSU’s football team, he was the heart and soul of that offense and was constantly productive on the field.
th take w b a wide re undrafted There believe th receive seven rou than Nas football t offense a productiv He has been a th defenses abilities a defensive
He has consistently been a threat to opposing defenses with his catching abilities and reading defensive coverages.
With his large 6-foot-3 frame mainly playing as a slot receiver, he has shown to box out defenders and leap for catches, whether in the endzone or anywhere in the middle of the field.
His understanding of defenses allows him to utilize certain routes to run and make decisions on the field based on defenders’ positions.
rge 6-foot-3 as a he has shown fenders es, whether in or in field tanding of ws routes to run isions on n sh Lockhart eer for set career
Besides Nash, Lockhart also had a career year for himself as he set career highs with 53 receptions, 983 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns and was named to the All-Mountain West Second team, according to his SJSU stats page.
he successfully ran past
He and Nash ranked in the top five in receiving yards in the Mountain West in 2024, according to an ESPN stats page From watching Lockhart I see that he ran defenses and made adjustments on routes to throw off defenses
With Lockhart signing to the Chiefs, he can compete for a roster spot. A team like Kansas City receiver position to load up its core and Lockhart could be the one.
He has also shown to be a deep-ball threat while bbl
being able to come up with big plays and tough catches.
In the 2024 season, he was explosive in the big games for the Spartans by recording four 100-yard
In general, time will tell how both their journeys in
could use help in the wide the professional league will play out.
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