Classmate Profile

Chris Fradella has a very unique passion that most might be intrigued to learn about.

The Amory Alternative Kink Union is a club on SJSU campus is co-operated by Fradella and other co-president, Cheyenne Meakim.

This club is known for the BDSM (Bondage, Discipline, Sadism and Masochism) which Fradella is deeply connected to.

BDSM is an erotic practice involving sexual acts that most people don’t a lot of knowledge about.

“I’m passionate about it because it’s a sub-culture that gets little visibility, yet can be such an incredible outlet for creativity and emotional connection.” Fradella says.

His ardent is intensely based on the education, consent, and communication between people when involved in the BDSM community.

It’s not Fradella’s intent to be a “sexual freak” as he hopes not to come across as, but rather of opening a new light to the misunderstood community.

Fradella has been the AAKU club for a year now and its encouraged and blossomed his passion for the BDSM.

His involvement in the club has created a new spotlight for itself

“An average day consists of reading and responding to emails every day.” Fradella says. “My role consists of being the one who meets up with members who are curious about our club but aren’t quite committed to actually heading a  to meeting right away.”

BDSM is probably a topic that most don’t understand or feel comfortable about, and its Fradella who wants to tame that uncertainty to a more comfortable level

Fradella’s partner, Cheyenne Meakim, backs him up and is also very involved and passionate about the community as well.

“Being his partner and also working alongside him as co-president of the club has been such a pleasant dynamic for us.” Meakim said. “Teaching comes naturally to him and as he's been coaching people in our club, I've noticed he's grown as much as some of the people he's been working with.”

Consent and education in this sexual community are some of the main points that Fradella likes to address.

Another member of the club, Hannah Whitman, says, “I remember noticing Chris on campus before being a part of the club. It was this really interesting shock when I saw him at the first club meeting of the semester. I remember thinking, ‘So this is what he does?’. Consent is such a huge topic right now and Chris has been a real figure in representing it in a way where people take it seriously.”

It's a unique passion, but Chris Fradella is fascinated and completely enthralled in this network of the BDSM community.

Letter to Editor

In the wee hours of every early morning, I drive on creepy south First Street in downtown San José. It’s filled with dull lit street lights and tweaked out homeless people yelling into the quiet dawn air. The overwhelming emptiness feeling lines the street and always makes me extremely uncomfortable. I look down the street and there is a bus that drops off a heaving load of prostitutes and hookers. They scatter to their corners like rodents and stand there until some blacked-out van or sedan exchange transactions and slide themselves in to the black night for a quick exchange. With all of this going on, I have yet to see any sort of police vehicle sightings. The unnerving absentness of the SJPD is not what I pay for in taxes and I should be seeing more police activity before 5 a.m. I would like to feel more secure.

Trend Feature

UC Davis researcher killed by rock throwers in Ethiopia

UC Davis officials said Wednesday that a postdoctoral researcher in the university’s plant biology department was killed Tuesday in Ethiopia when the vehicle she was riding in was stoned by protesters.

Sharon Gray, 30, was in the East African nation to attend a meeting related to her research, according to the university.

Andy Fell, a university spokesman, confirmed that Gray was the American woman who was reported killed when stones were hurled at her vehicle on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday.

The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia issued a statement saying a passenger van was hit by rocks late Tuesday afternoon and that “one of the passengers, a U.S. citizen, was struck by a rock and subsequently died from her injury,” several overseas media outlets reported.

Crowds have attacked other vehicles since a stampede at a weekend protest killed at least 55 people, according to news reports. The protests have centered on land and political rights in Ethiopia.

Another member of the plant biology department who was traveling with Gray was not injured and is headed home, university officials said.

Siobhan Brady, an associate professor of plant biology at UC Davis and head of the Brady Lab, where Gray worked as a postdoctoral fellow, said by email Wednesday night that she was in transit from Addis Ababa to San Francisco.

She was unavailable for comment.

University officials said Gray was attending a meeting in Ethiopia to discuss the next steps in a project she was involved in with the Netherlands Institute of Ecology and other charitable organizations.

She had been at UC Davis since 2013, Fell said.

He said Gray’s husband is also a university employee.

“Even in tragedy, we hope that we all can find some comfort in the wonderful work Sharon was engaged in that will better the lives of so many around the world,” Ken Burtis, the university’s acting provost, said in a statement posted on the UC Davis Graduate Studies’ Facebook page.

The university’s plant biology department posted a memorial page on its website with dozens of photographs of Gray at www.plb.ucdavis.edu/sharongray.

Gray received her doctorate in plant biology in 2013 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which she also attended as an undergraduate.

Her research focused on studying the effects of a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere on crops such as soybeans and tomatoes.

The U.S. State Department is assisting in returning Gray’s body to her family.

What is the angle/focus of the story and how soon into the feature does it become clear to you?

The title of this article captured my attention and quickly gave me a clear focus as to what it was about. Then the title was a segway to the lead and it gave the reader more information.

What do you think of the lead? Did it draw your interest into the story as a reader? Why or why not?

I thought the lead was informative and it grabbed my interest right away. I think people are attracted to drama and immediately the article was telling something that was very dramatic and it enticed me to read more.

What are the two best quotes in the story and why do you like those quotes?

“The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia issued a statement saying a passenger van was hit by rocks late Tuesday afternoon and that “one of the passengers, a U.S. citizen, was struck by a rock and subsequently died from her injury,” several overseas media outlets reported.”

This quote was good because it gave a description of how the woman was killed, and also where it happened. The balance of the description an information in this quote made me want to continue reading the article.

“Her research focused on studying the effects of a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere on crops such as soybeans and tomatoes.”

I thought this quote was interesting because it focused on why she was in Ethiopia. She was researching the effects of carbon dioxide and was attending a meeting for getting more research.

Cite two examples in the story where the writer uses description and two other examples where the writer uses information to bolster the story. In which paragraphs do you see this done?

“Crowds have attacked other vehicles since a stampede at a weekend protest killed at least 55 people, according to news reports. The protests have centered on land and political rights in Ethiopia.”

This quote educates the reader with more information as to why rocks were being thrown in the first place. I had no idea of the politics in Ethiopia and the great lengths citizens were doing to stand up for their rights.