Spartan Daily Vol. 162 No. 15

Children play while students study

By Kaya Henkes-Power STAFF WRITER

If you listen hard enough as you walk by Dwight Bentel Hall, you can hear the high-pitched laughter of toddlers as you’re rushing to your next class at San José State University.

Unless you’re a part of the Lurie College of Education Department of Child and Adolescent Development, you might’ve wondered why there is a fenced-off yard with children’s toys across from your college classes.

The yard is a part of SJSU’s Child Development Laboratory Preschool.

The preschool features two classrooms — A toddler lab for two-yearold children, and a multiage lab for children 3 to 5 years old, according to SJSU’s Child and Adolescent Development webpage.

Child care centers on campuses are referred to as lab schools, designed to develop new educational models and allows for college students to train in a classroom, according to a 2022 article by U.S.

News.

The director of the child development laboratory, Joy Foster has been with the program since 1995 when she joined as a student, and later became a lab instructor for SJSU’s multi-age preschool laboratory in 2007.

“(The) multi-age group is awesome,” Foster said. “There’s a lot of benefits (to a multi-age classroom) there’s the older one’s teaching the younger ones.”

Foster also said that there is a rich use of language among the multi-age lab students.

“Children who are a little bit older have a lot more speech (and) a lot more thoughts,” Foster said “The younger ones are learning all that.”

The classroom features an observation room with mirrored windows that are available for both students and parents to watch the children engage in their environment.

The observation room is utilized for child and adolescent development students to watch children’s behavior for educational purposes,

according to SJSU’s Child and Adolescent Development webpage.

Foster said students of all majors can come into the observation room for course assignments.

She said practicum is a requirement for those studying in the childhood and adolescent department who have a focus on early childhood.

Practicum is a practical section of a course, according to a webpage from the Oxford Dictionary

Maria Fusaro, associate professor of child and adolescent development said practice-based experiences are critical for students, and to have these experiences is central to the preparation process for becoming a teacher.

“(Child and adolescent development) is a great major in terms of being broad in its focus on understanding children’s development to inform how (researchers and educators) work with children, youth and families in a variety of settings,” Fusaro said.

Child development

senior Marisol Martinez said she has always been interested in working in the field of education.

She said having previously worked at a preschool, she gets to compare the different programs and the children.

There’s a lot of benefits (to a multi-age classroom) there’s the older one’s teaching the younger ones.

Joy Foster Director of the Child Development Laboratory

“It’s really fun to experience different ages, different environments and different philosophies in the way they run the school program,” Martinez said.

Foster said the curriculum in the multiage lab is play-based learning.

Play-based learning is when children learn by playing in their environment and making sense of their surroundings, according to an infographic by the University of New Hampshire.

The multi-age lab curriculum includes a daily art or science-based

activity followed by a math or literacy activity then “community time” where children read stories, said Foster.

The children benefit in that they get a highquality early learning experience (at the lab school),” Fusaro said.

Early childhood care and education refers to the period from birth to 8 years old that capitalizes on a period of rich brain development for children, according to a webpage by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

This growth period, when of good quality, can help children achieve their full potential, according to the same website.

Research has shown that early childhood education helps children later earn higher grades, improves their attention span and helps them develop social and emotional skills, according to an article by Point Loma Nazarene University.

“Watching (the kids) enjoy little things you do on a daily basis that’s like nothing to you, but to them, it’s very fun,” Martinez said.

Joy Foster, director of San José State University’s child development laboratory preschool programs, supports a preschool student through an outside obstacle course.

Residents honor Aaron Bushnell

By Melissa Alejandres STAFF WRITER

Community members held a vigil on the steps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at San José State on Tuesday night to remember Aaron Bushnell, a former U.S. Airman, who committed self-immolation against Palestinian genocide on Sunday in Washington DC.

Self-immolation is a deliberate and willing sacrifice of oneself often by fire, according to MerriamWebster.

Uriel Magdaleno, a organizer from San José against War, said this vigil influenced many in the community to emotionally connect with one another.

“I think everyone here is mourning, not only for Aaron Bushnell, but also for the 30,000 Palestinians that have

been murdered,” Magdaleno said.

Bushnell live streamed his act of protest on Twitch, where he told his viewers that he was committing his “extreme act of protest” because he wanted to “not be complicit in genocide” before lighting himself on fire, according to a Monday BBC article.

He stood in front of the Israeli Embassy in his camouflage military uniform and shouted “Free Palestine,” while he engulfed himself in flames, according to the same article.

Magdaleno said he disagrees with individuals who believe that Bushnell’s death was caused by mental health issues.

“If you see what happened in the 60s with Vietnam monks, he was aware of the oppression during that time and he was aware of what

he was doing similar to what Aaron Bushnell was clear with his last words,” said Magdaleno.

In 1963, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc lit himself on fire in protest of the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government, according to a Monday Time Magazine article.

“I would describe it as an action of sympathy,” Magdaleno said.

He said self-sacrificial deaths are very common in the Middle East.

“I don’t encourage people to self-immolate,” Magadaleno said. “The best way to go about this is within your community to join any available organization.”

Fadi Saba, former San José Peace and Justice member and Palestinian activist, said young people around his age

can make a change by going to vigils, gathering with the community and raising their voices.

“I found his act excruciating for me to watch, I couldn’t sleep,” said Saba.

He said he sees Bushnell as someone who was willing to take his own life for something he believes in strongly.

“To be burning and suffering takes a lot of courage,” Saba said. “He was brave and courageous.”

Saba said he thinks Bushnell was not mentally ill, and was completely coherent because of the steps he took before he took his life.

“People, especially (in) the media, try to say he’s mentally ill (as) a way to cover up the whole point of his act,” Saba said.

Saba said many individuals are in shock that a nonPalestinian took his life in

such a painful manner to prove his beliefs.

“We can do more,” he said. “We need to demand a cease fire, and demand a reset of how our relationship is in the Middle East, including for my family members.”

Saba said Bushnell’s death makes him think of how he as a Palestinian should think about the genocide and if he and other activists are doing enough to aid the Palestinian people.

“I teach eighth graders, and it’s important for students to understand the future is now and they are the future,” Saba said.

Keely Hunter, member of the organization from San José Against War said the community felt this vigil was necessary for local residents.

“I think tonight was a necessary night to gather and grieve for all the martyrs that

have been lost in Palestine, and now Aaron Bushnell,” Hunter said.

She said she does not believe Bushnell’s actions were caused by mental health issues in any “shape, way or form.”

Hunter said the people need to continue being active with their voices, active in their communities and active in emailing City Council or reaching to organizations who have the power to make a change.

“Don’t sit in silence,” she said. “Do every little thing the people of Palestine are asking you to do and help.”

Hunter said she felt during the vigil a similar ring of heartbreak she has been feeling for months.

“Free Palestine,” Hunter said.

MELISSA ALEJANDRES | SPARTAN DAILY

Community members gather Tuesday on the steps of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library during a vigil for a former U.S. airman who self-immolated in Washington.

Students paint pretty pouches

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#1: Electrical engineering graduate students Varsha Thirumalai (left) and Moheb Malik Mohammed (right) share ideas for their canvas paintings at the Interactive Art Workshop in the Student Union on Monday afternoon.

#2: Computational and data sciences senior Viridiana Nieves paints a stem onto her rose, which has been detailed with different shades of pink.

#3: Data science junior Diya Rajesh Doshi leans down and paints a rainbow onto a pencil pouch with a blue zipper.

#4: An art instructor sets up material for students attending the workshop as they paint or draw at various tables.

#5: Nieves paints a rose onto a pencil pouch with a pink zipper.

#6: Management and information systems senior Elton Wong dips his paint brush into a paint palette of pastel colors as he paints onto a canvas.

Social media is not our reality

Nikita Bankar

STAFF WRITER

I remember jumping in the air and smiling from ear to ear when my mom let me get Instagram in eighth grade. However, I did not realize what a toxic wasteland it would become as I got older.

Before I cared at all about my image or how my hair looked online, I would post whatever I wanted. I used as many emojis as I wanted, did not edit out flyaway hairs, and felt comfortable with my followers seeing me without makeup.

Those posts have all been dumped into the archive folder.

Now, I cannot put anything on social media without making sure: my lips have a product on them, my “good side” is featured and my smile does not make me look stupid.

I have to look perfect.

Perfection is defined as freedom from fault or defect, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary.

Does our society really believe humans could be flawless?

Why do we as humans strive for perfection knowing we can never reach it?

I know I am not the only one projecting a

fake life on social media. I know for a fact that there are others who put on a mask and use their screens to hide their imperfections.

There have been far too many times where rather than enjoying a beautiful moment, I was too fixated on how I looked in the photos that I made my sister or mom take of me.

When my family and I went to Hawai’i last summer, I should have been enjoying the warmth of the sand and the gentle breeze that ran through my hair as the ocean sparkled under the sunset.

I should have been laughing with my parents who were relaxing on top of a knit blanket, sipping wine and telling jokes.

Instead, I was forcing my sister to take a “good photo” of me that I could post once we got back home.

I remember getting extremely frustrated when I did not look the way I wanted. I picked at my flaws rather than accepting how I actually looked.

Looking back on this moment, I can’t help but feel guilty. I was scrolling through my phone, furiously deleting photos where my body looked strange or my face looked lopsided.

I should have been marking those moments in my memory. Instead, I was placing photos into the “Favorites” folder of my iPhone.

Social media has forced people to fake reality, pushing them to share only certain pieces of themselves with the world. I have fallen victim to this lifestyle.

Every time I want to post a photo of myself on my Instagram, I can honestly say I take over an hour to decide if it is worthy or not for my followers.

That is my issue – I care too much.

I care too much about what others think of me and societal expectations are the main reason. I have to appear a certain way or look a certain way to be “accepted” in society.

Fake happiness, which I often portray online, is a term used to describe when someone posts content on social media sites that do not represent their true feelings, according to an article by The Digital Chain.

Despite feeling stressed or upset, I try my best to mask my feelings online and only share my happiest moments so that people think I am on top of the world.

The truth is: Most of the time I am just hiding from my problems.

I use the screen as a shield to cover up how upset I get over school.

I use Instagram to break the trust of my followers, appearing joyful and carefree.

I use the online world to try and paint a picture-perfect life when behind the scenes, that

perfection feels too far away. The content young individuals see on social media can inaccurately define what is expected from them and as a result, become destructive to their identity development and self-image, according to Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

I know I let these expectations get in my head.

You have to be skinny.

You have to be pretty. You have to wear certain clothes.

I honestly feel like a fraud. As I lie in my bed, with my makeup off and my glasses on, I stare at the version of myself on my screen and can’t shake off the guilt that washes over me. No one online ever sees the “real me.” They simply see a version of me that I want to share with them. Social media is

a poison apple. It lets you mold an image of yourself that is perfect for others to see, yet on the inside, you know it is not really who you are.

I can only hope that as I become older, I can let social media portray who I really am – someone who is true to not only the online world but themself as well.

SENIOR