Spartan Daily Vol. 162 No. 26

Association fights for education equity

By Ethan Li STAFF WRITER

The American Association of University Women has been fighting for gender equity since 1881 helping the next generation of women better themselves through attaining higher education.

Cheryl Markman, a San José resident and volunteer for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) said the association funds a multitude of projects called Community Action Grants including scholarships for college-aged women in the Santa Clara County area.

“We support women who have completed two years of college or university and are going on to a third and presumably fourth year or higher university or college,” Markman said. “We support them via scholarships . . . and we raise money through a couple of different ways such as grant writing, grant proposals and also through a fundraising campaign.”

Markman said that she has been involved with the AAUW since 1993 and witnessed the organization evolve and adapt while maintaining the goal of better meeting the needs of the community.

She said that in past years the AAUW would host a wonderful holiday boutique, which was their main source of fundraising until COVID-19 hit.

“I originally got involved because of the holiday boutique because it was a fun thing to do for a worthwhile cause,” Markman said.

She said the holiday boutique was a communal project, where people would offer handmade items such as home-baked goods, knitted items and all manners of holiday decor.

She said the interest groups that are part of AAUW would sell gift baskets reflective of their organizations such as the literary club which offered books.

Markman said the holiday boutique transitioned into online donations after COVID-19 began and has remained that way since.

“We’ve switched to the online campaign which has been very successful and a lot less work,” Markman said. “It reaches more people because you have to come to the boutiques physically during the hours that it was open to see what was there and what you wanted.”

She said the online campaign is open for about a week to potential donors who are able to donate from anywhere in the world.

She said through the association’s fundraising efforts, they helped 22 women last year pay for their college tuition, rent and any other expenses.

Markman said that last year the local scholarship program paid over $100,000 to higher education institutions to help the scholarship winners obtain their degrees.

“School has gotten more and more expensive over the years, and it’s harder for women (who) are more likely to be in debt for longer than their male counterparts,” she said.“We, as the American Association of University Women, are all college graduates and know the value of a good education and how hard it can be financially.”

Diane Trombetta, Los Gatos resident and a volunteer, said the local San José branch of the AAUW has been helping people for a long time.

She said the branch opened over 100 years

ago in 1909 and began its mission shortly thereafter.

“Early on in the history of the branch (they) would have tea in the afternoon and people would pay to come and attend the tea (party) and that was fundraising,” Trombetta said.

Trombetta said besides the hard work that goes into fundraising, their ability to help others comes from grants and numerous family foundations who have helped the AAUW.

Trombetta said there is a need to keep fighting for equality, rights and the kind of involvement that women want to have in society.

“Sometimes there’s a misconception that gender equity is not going to help men as well as women, but it really helps families if you can get a woman educated and earning a decent salary,” Trombetta said. “This benefits her family, and her community. It's just a plus for everyone.”

Santa Clara, or San José and to have completed two full years of study at an accredited college or university with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

She said another requirement is to be accepted to a four-year institution as a junior or senior for the following quarter or semester.

life,” Bard said. Chloe Ettinger, Milpitas resident and AAUW scholarship winner, said the association changed her future by helping her graduate from SFSU without any student loans.

Ettinger said expressing her determination to become a veterinarian despite the financial burden, emotional challenges and academic rigor appealed to the values of the AAUW.

Sometimes there’s a misconception that gender equity is not going to help men as well as women, but it really helps families if you can get a woman educated and earning a decent salary.

She said she has stayed involved over the years and devotes time to the AAUW because she is impressed with the organization.

Trombetta said the leadership is making sure that every “I is dotted and T is crossed,” and that the leadership maintains transparency.

“This branch tries to fulfill the mission of gender equity,” Trombetta said. “That’s the thing that drives us, is getting more women and girls involved in all aspects of life. Trying to get equity in politics and pay, you name it.”

She said she has two daughters and is excited to see the improvements that have been made in girls and women's lives once her daughters go to college.

She said the original focus of the AAUW was to have women graduate high school but things have gradually changed as the scope of education and the available opportunities have expanded.

Margaret Bard, San José resident and AAUW volunteer, said she handles the in-person interview process for the scholarship program and has been on the interview team for 10 years.

“It’s a highlight of my entire year because it gives me hope for the future when we talk to these young women who have overcome incredible obstacles,” Bard said. “Their future ambitions just make me hopeful about all of our futures. So I love talking to them and hearing about their plans.”

Diane Trombetta Los Gatos resident and a volunteer

Bard said she is delighted to learn things about the applicants from these interviews.

She said she likes to ask the applicants about a class that has inspired them and finds herself amazed at the titles of these classes that they list.

Trombetta said they decided where help was most needed by doing a data-driven analysis.

“(In 2004) the scholarship committee noticed that our high school graduation rates were pretty good in the San José area, but our college graduation rates were much, much lower. 77% of students graduated from high school, but only about 27% were graduating from college,” she said.

Cheryl Markman said to apply for the scholarship you need a principal address in Campbell, Milpitas,

Bard added that this opportunity to talk to bright young women has caught her up with the modern world, as things have changed a lot since she was in college.

Bard said a common misconception related to the scholarship program is how a recipient is chosen.

“We (take into consideration) if they have had to overcome a lot of obstacles to maintain that high-grade point average, what kinds of classes they have taken, and what they plan on doing with their

She said the association helped her cover the large amount of $250,000 that the four-year graduate study program cost to become a veterinarian.

“The AAUW is like a treasure chest full of valuable resources beyond just scholarships,” Ettinger said. “As a student member, I have had opportunities to learn about networking, career advancement, public policy, financial literacy and more.”

She said the knowledge she has gained from the AAUW is directly applicable to her daily life now as she attends vet school and is on the path to establishing her career in the veterinary medical field.

Applications for the scholarship are being accepted now through April 15, according to the AAUW website.

“To prospective applicants, if you’re thinking about applying to the AAUW's Local Scholarship Program . . . this is your sign to do it,” Ettinger said. “You would never know what opportunities are ahead unless you try. Be genuine, be passionate and be the good you want to see in the world.”

WOMEN A group of scholars with the American Association of University Women sit at a table with volunteers for the organization while they enjoy refreshments and converse.

Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies became an official college major for students at San José State in Fall of 2023 after only being a minor for the past half century.

This program is a part of SJSU’s department of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences.

The curriculum teaches students how gender and gender identity, race, class, sexuality and nation shape lives according to the SJSU website.

Tanya Bakhru, a professor of the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program was the primary author of the proposal to establish the major.

“We were having more and more students interested in that concentration,” Bakhru said. “It suggested that now might be a good time to transition (our) own major.”

Bakhru said students could either minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality studies or major in sociology and have a concentration in the studies.

The program was established in 1972 as the Women Studies Program, according to an SJSU research guide.

Courses under the established Women Studies Program were in the department called the Interdisciplinary Social Science, according to a 2019 Spartan Daily article by Jonathan Austin.

In 2012, program merged with the sociology department which changed the name from Women’s Studies Program to the current Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, according to the same article.

Bakhru said transitioning the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies to a major was different

than starting from scratch.

“We went through a process that was called ‘Elevating the concentration to a major,’ ” Bakhru said.

Elevating a concentration to a major is when a department can decide if an existing concentration program has a chance to become a full degree program, according to the Cal State East Bay website.

The process includes developing a formal proposal following specific requirements outlined by SJSU, according to an SJSU webpage.

After developing the proposal it then gets routed for approval to several committees and individuals, according to the same webpage.

“It took maybe six months to write the report,” Bakhru said. “Then once it was submitted it took about a year to get (approval).”

Bakhru said four other Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty members helped to provide input and feedback in the proposal.

Susana Gallardo, an assistant professor for the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program was one faculty member who was involved in the construction of the proposal.

“We’re a class that students don’t necessarily think of taking,” Gallardo said. “But when they do take us, often as a G.E., they leave and they’re like ‘Wow, that was really good.’ ”

The major requires individuals to take 39 units, some of which are general education requirements, according to the SJSU website.

Some general education courses include: Sex, Power and Politics, The Global Study of Women and Women of Color in the U.S., according to the SJSU

Course Catalog.

“Even if you’re not able to do the major, the minor is always a really great option, it’s 15 units,” Bakhru said. “Several of those can double count as GE classes anyway.”

There are a variety of pathways individuals can pursue when majoring in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, according to the department’s WGSS@ SJSU FAQ pamphlet.

“In terms of careers, (the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major can lead you into) different types of community service (and) community organization (roles),” Gallardo said.

She said career pathways also include general liberal art sectors and also mental health work.

Bakhru said skills and concepts that students learn in this major are also transferable

to any job, unless students are in a highly specialized degree program.

“(It’s) relevant no matter if you went into the nonprofit sector, the corporate sector, into teaching,” Bakhru said. “Issues of gender, sexuality, race and class are pervasive. They're everywhere.”

Skills that students can acquire is coalition building, contribution of social change based on feminist frameworks, along with cultivating critical thinking and dialogue, according to the SJSU website.

Gallardo said having this program as a major allows for teachers to get to know the student, mentor them, advise them and prepare students to go into the workforce.

Jessica Short, the coordinator for SJSU’s Gender Equity Center, said she thinks that Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies is

a great major or minor.

“It expands your horizons, it would make you more in tune with social issues happening within our culture and our worlds,” Short said.

Gallardo said the program is planning a celebration in the Fall of 2025, some outreach events and potentially bringing back some previous lecturers and faculty.

Bakhru said as of right now there are 20 admitted students who have declared Women, Gender, and Sexuality studies as their major.

“More important now than ever is for us to uplift people who are fighting for reproductive justice,” Short said, “Fighting for women's rights and fighting for education to happen in schools.”

Students press pause for puppies and packages

#1: Markers, paper bags and poster paper lined the top of a table for students to decorate on Thursday afternoon.

#2: Arron the Shih Tzu mix, named after Aaron from ‘Mean Girls,’ peers at his siblings and students playing with them.

#3: Finance senior Lily Abraha laughs and cuddles Gretchen the Shih Tzu mix during the Puppies and Packages event.

#4: Puppies lay across a fuzzy red heart-shaped carpet, exhausted after an hour of playtime.

#5: Crossword closes his eyes to take a nap as an attendee snaps a picture of him.

#6: Art junior Cassandra Santander (left) and Preeti Prakash Aladakatti, artificial intelligence graduate student cannot help but smile at the puppies in front of them. 5

PHOTOS

Artificial intelligence scares me

Nikita Bankar

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

In a world of immense creativity and human innovation, we are slowly letting AI take the reigns and steer us toward complete technological power.

We need to face it - the online world is replacing us as humans.

Humans are beautiful, quick-witted and perceptive. It pains me to think that we are simply letting our talent be treated like nothing.

AI, or artificial intelligence, is a technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problemsolving capabilities, according to IBM.

It honestly terrifies me how much AI can do.

AI can answer phone calls.

AI can answer quiz questions.

AI can, quite literally, play a game of 20 questions. I saw my friend play it with my own eyes, using Chat GPT.

Something about a machine having the intelligence and capabilities of a human does not sit right with me.

Chat GPT is a natural language processing

chatbot driven by generative AI technology that allows individuals to have human-like conversations, answer questions and assist you with tasks, such as composing emails, essays and code, according to ZDNET, a site that independently tests and researches products before recommending them to audiences.

It seems as though every individual I interact with here at San José State has completely sold their soul to Chat GPT.

Chat GPT is treated like a god, as students bow down under its presence and accept that everything it commands is valuable.

The moment I entered SJSU, I saw the grip that it had on college students.

Almost a third of college students have used ChatGPT for schoolwork in 2023, according to Diverse Education.

Just last week, I sat down next to my friend who was hunched over at the dining room table, furiously copying and pasting information into a website.

I immediately asked him what was going on, only to hear him say, “I need Chat GPT to write my whole essay, it’s due tonight.”

My eyebrows literally flew to the top of my head.

I have always told myself that I am an honest person when it comes to writing. As journalists, we are taught to tell nothing but the truth.

I’ve never cheated

forward.

or stolen information from another source and weaved it into the luscious plant that is my work. It simply does not sit right with me. I do not believe that allowing an online site to assist or fully create a piece of work for you is truthful. Rather, it is a mere website impersonating you, so you can pretend you are finding success.

Over 300 million jobs around the world could be disrupted by AI in the coming decades, according to a March Goldman Sachs report. I know for a fact that I do not want my job as a journalist to be stomped on by AI.

It honestly bothers me when I think about how our world may one day completely rely on technology for everyday

use, while human effort is tossed in the garbage.

I understand that AI has its benefits. It makes tackling assignments a walk in the park and will continue to be a beneficial tool in the job industry.

From self-service kiosks to typing into a search bar, AI continues to be an integral part of our daily lives. Businesses today are benefiting from AI by increasing productivity among customers, and employees and accelerating general communication. However, I still firmly believe that achieving success should not mean we are relying on technology or using it to create products that are not our own. I want to work. I want to put my greatest effort

As crazy as it sounds, I want to be struggling to come up with a story idea or essay proposal at 2 a.m.

Yes, it is insane, but at least I will know that it is me who struggled and that I was the one who came up with a beautiful, original piece of work. I have had numerous peers and friends ask me why I don’t use Chat GPT or other forms of AI. I have one simple answer.

Originality is something I take pride in. I would never want to sell my originality to software that takes my credit or success in the future.

This figure is expected to reach around 4 hours and 39 minutes by this year.

In the heart of a buzzing city where the rhythm of life synchronizes with the pulse of technology, everyone is glued to their phones.

It’s a scene that unfolds daily. Individuals walk the streets with their heads bowed and their eyes fixed on the glowing screens cradled in their palms.

From the moment we wake up, we reach for our devices, eager to reconnect with the digital world that awaits us.

At first, it was just a few minutes here and there – a quick peek at our emails, a quick scroll through social media or a short game to pass the time.

But soon, those minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days.

The average time spent daily on a phone, not counting talking on the phone, has increased in recent years, reaching a total of 4 hours and 30 minutes as of April 2022, according to Statista.

With a swipe or a tap, we unlock a door to infinite possibilities – a universe of information, communication and entertainment all at our fingertips.

On crowded sidewalks and busy train stations, the sight is everywhere: a sea of faces illuminated by the soft glow of screens and fingers dancing across smooth touch screens.

Whether we’re checking emails, scrolling through our social media feeds or watching the latest viral videos, everyone is absorbed in their digital bubble and oblivious to the world around them.

Even in moments of relaxation – a quiet coffee break, a stroll through the park, a walk with a hyperactive dog – phones remain ever-present, it’s a habit engraved in our daily lives.

Phone usage has become a natural human instinct. As time progresses, it becomes a step in human evolution rather than just a bad habit.

Our phones are robotic extensions of us, we take pictures and videos for all big moments in our lives so we “don't forget” rather than relying on our own memories.

The disconnect caused by phones

Moments that are supposed to be intimate – going on a date, celebrating a birthday or attending a funeral –phones are in our hands.

People spend a little over 76,500 hours of their lives staring at a cell phone screen, roughly 8.74 years, according to a Nov. 24, 2020 article by The Hour.

People became so engrossed in their virtual lives that they forgot to look up, to connect or to experience the beauty of the world outside their screens.

But what forces us to remain tethered to our devices? To sacrifice

moments of solitude and connection for the virtual world?

For some, it’s the dopamine rush that comes with each like, comment or share.

For others, it’s the fear of missing out or the anxiety that accompanies the thought of being disconnected from the digital world.

Amid the endless scrolls and swipes, there exists a profound sense of disconnection.

Despite the illusion of intimacy fostered by social media, I find myself feeling lonelier and more isolated than ever, craving genuine

human connection in a sea of digital noise.

And yet, there are moments – brief moments – when the spell is broken, when we lift our eyes from their screens and rediscover the beauty of the world around us.

In those moments, we see the sun setting, feel the gentle breeze, see couples holding hands and hear the laughter of children echoing through the streets. It’s a gentle reminder from the universe that life exists beyond our devices.

is found not in

algorithms but in the shared moments and the simple joys of human interaction.

And so, as the sun sets on another day in the digital age, there remains a glisten of hope.

I hope that amid the endless chatter of texts and tweets, people will remember to look up, disconnect from their screens and reconnect with one another to embrace the beauty of the world outside their phones.

Maya Benmokhtar

OPINION EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION BY CAMMY TAN

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MAYA BENMOKHTAR

ggp p g gy y y g yy