Opinion Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ neglects real-world problems
Investigation If you or anyone you know has experienced issues with Title IX, email: spartandaily@gmail.com
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A&E SJSU music-sharing event sparks racial justice conversation Page 4
NAMED NATIONAL FOUR-YEAR DAILY NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR FOR 2020-21 IN THE COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION’S PINNACLE AWARDS
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021
Volume 157 No. 36
EVAN REINHARDT | SPARTAN DAILY
Nikos Mourtos, San Jose State California Faculty Association chapter president, leads a line of faculty union members during a march around Tower Hall on Tuesday.
Faculty pay-raise plea continues By Evan Reinhardt STAFF WRITER
Some San Jose State faculty and student supporters assembled Tuesday to campaign for pay raises as the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees met in Long Beach to discuss faculty contract negotiations. In front of the Olympic Black Power Statue on campus, 26 California Faculty Association (CFA) members participated in the call to action, which included speeches, chants and a march around Tower Hall. The CFA is a collective bargaining organization for 24,000 CSU tenure-track faculty, coaches, counselors, librarians and lecturers, according to SJSU’s CFA website. Nikos Mourtos, aerospace engineering chair, professor and SJSU CFA chapter president, said the faculty union is bargaining for a 4% retroactive raise for 2020, a 4% wage increase for this year and 4% for 2022. “We’re hoping to put pressure on our chancellor to settle the contract,” Mourtos said before the demonstration began. “We want [the board of trustees] to be aware that we need a contract as soon as possible, and we will continue these activities until we get a fair contract.” CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro only agreed to a 2% faculty raise for the 2021-22 year, according to a Nov. 1 CFA news release.
Mourtos said union members are holding cut budgets for California’s public colleges and demonstrations at each of the 23 CSU campuses universities, according to a May 14 Los Angeles Times while a few statewide representatives will speak at the article. trustee meeting. Jonathan Karpf, an emeritus anthropology lecturer, CFA member since 1990 and current retirement specialist for the statewide union, said the CSU’s refusal to meet faculty demands has led to an impasse. “They are rolling in dollars but they are not treating the faculty with respect that we deserve,” Karpf said. “We made proposals and they don’t make counter-proposals. That’s the definition of impasse.” He said if the CSU and CFA don’t reach a beneficial compromise, faculty members will strike. “We’d rather bargain a new contract than have to engage in a strike,” Karpf said. “None of us want to strike but if we’re pushed to it, we will shut down the system and we’ve proved we can do it.” Jonathan Karpf Sharmin Khan, lecturer representative for the emeritus anthropology lecturer, long-time CFA member university’s CFA chapter, said faculty raises would directly improve students’ experience. “I hope that students will see what we are fighting “The CSU basically has not shown any indications that the wellbeing of the faculty is a priority in their for because faculty working conditions actually budget. All we’ve gotten so far is lip service,” he said. translate to student learning conditions,” Khan said. “What is really offensive is knowing that the budget “Because if the faculty are not able to afford to live in has been fully restored and [the] CSU administration this area, how can they work in the area?” Raquel Flores, Chicana and Chicano studies simply does not want to prioritize faculty in terms of graduate student and Students for Quality Education how they spend their money. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the intern, said it’s important to advocate for current and state’s “historic budget surplus” of $75 billion on May 14 which allowed him to increase the previously UNION | Page 2
We’d rather bargain a new contract than have to engage in a strike. None of us want to strike but if we’re pushed to it, we will shut down the system and we’ve proved we can do it.
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NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2021
UNION Continued from page 1 future faculty members. Students for Quality Education is a community organization aimed at achieving affordable, accessible higher education, according to its Instagram account webpage. “I’m here and I’m passionate because I aspire to be a professor someday,” Flores said after the demonstration. “I’m helping stand in solidarity with
them, while also trying to pave the way for a better future, especially since I want to be a professor.” She said support from other university community members is vital to the growth of the movement. “They listen to students a lot more than they listen to faculty,” Flores said. “I think having a collective voice come together would be super powerful. We work better in numbers.”
I hope that students will see what we are fighting for because faculty working conditions actually translate to student learning conditions. Sharmin Khan SJSU CFA lecturer representative
Follow Evan on Twitter @ReinhardtEvan
Top left: Raquel Flores, a Chicana and Chicano studies graduate student at San Jose State, talks with other students in support of faculty pushing for a 12% overall raise. Top right: SJSU sociology lecturer Chris Cox speaks to other California Faculty Association (CFA) members. The CFA is a faculty union that represents coaches, tenure-track faculty, lecturers and librarians. Left: SJSU union chapter members gather for a picture in front of the Olympic Black Power Statue during Tuesday’s demonstration.
PHOTOS BY EVAN REINHARDT
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OPINION
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2021
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Metaverse isn’t the future, it’s a simulation Evan Reinhardt STAFF WRITER
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg announced last month the company’s name will change to Meta in a desperate attempt to save his dying social platform and flee to a virtual world with no consequences. Virtual reality is the perfect distraction from the crumbling society Facebook helped create and it’s up to Zuckerberg to decide if video games are more important than the future of humankind. Zuckerberg said the company will shift its focus to virtual and augmented reality experiences in what he called the “metaverse,” during an Oct. 28 Facebook Connect 2021 event. Facebook Connect is a one-day remote annual event that explores the future of augmented reality where industry leaders share the latest technologies and how to use them, according to its website. As Earth creeps toward a climate change-driven death, Zuckerberg is making sure privileged tech users can experience the virtual world’s fun as the real one burns around them. The Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms will remain the same but they will fall under the umbrella company of Meta, according to an Oct. 28 founder’s letter from Zuckerberg. Although the metaverse is
ILLUSTRATION BY BIANCA RADER
now the main focus of the company, it’s good to know Facebook will stick around to allow hate groups and conspiracy theorists to plan their next insurrection. The term “metaverse” was first coined in the 1992 science fiction novel “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson, according to a Nov. 3 CNBC article.
book was a stereotypical sci-fi trope that coincidentally predicted future events or if Zuckerberg is avidly trying to create a global hellscape where people are reliant on his technology for happiness. The metaverse announcement comes shortly after a former Facebook employee testified in front
Zuckerberg’s efforts to pursue virtual reality make him seem like a child eager to take out new toys before cleaning up the mess he already made. The novel depicts a version of the future where individuals enter a virtual world with digital avatars to escape their dystopian reality in which corporations wield more power than governments. It’s unknown whether the
of Congress to describe how the company ignored several signs of “combustible election misinformation” following the 2020 presidential election, according to an Oct. 22 New York Times article. The Facebook whistleblower
CLASSIFIEDS CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Frances Haugen said Zuckerberg’s decision to focus on his new video game endeavour indicates his ignorance to Facebook’s security downfalls, according to a Nov. 1 Reuters article. “Over and over Facebook chooses expansion and new areas instead of sticking the landing on what they’ve already done,” Haugen said in her first public address at the opening night of the Web Summit, which was livestreamed on YouTube Nov. 1. The Web Summit is an annual technology conference held in Lisbon, Portugal that was founded in 2009, according to its website. Zuckerberg’s efforts to pursue virtual reality make him seem like a child eager to take out new toys before cleaning up the mess he already made. If he wants to spend his time in the metaverse, it’s his duty to
SUDOKU PUZZLE Complete the grid so that every row, column and 3x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 9 inclusively.
hand control to someone with more dedication, responsibility and sufficient human emotion. Calls for Zuckerberg to step down from his position have increased, with encouragement from Haugen, according to the Reuters article. “I think it is unlikely the company will change if [Zuckerberg] remains the CEO,” Haugen said at the Web Summit. “Maybe it’s a chance for someone else to take the reins . . . Facebook would be stronger with someone who was willing to focus on safety.” It’s time for Zuckerberg to decide whether he wants to live in the real world and face real consequences or hide from them in the metaverse’s comforts.
Follow Evan on Twitter @ReinhardtEvan
JOKIN’ AROUND “What car does a chicken drive?”
“A coupe.”
SOLUTIONS
ACROSS 1. Small drum 6. Small island 10. Spouse 14. Bay window 15. Half-moon tide 16. Frozen 17. A pinnacle of ice 18. Against 19. Novice 20. Severe 22. Burrowing marine mollusk 23. Before, poetically 24. Kind of alcohol 26. Wound 30. Poison plant 32. Child of a male horse and female donkey 33. Besmirch 37. Away from the wind 38. Relating to a city 39. Emanation 40. 19th century riding coat 42. Later 43. Primp 44. Votes that block a decision 45. A type of dance 47. Coniferous tree 48. Relating to aircraft 49. Fully and exclusively control
56. Remain 57. Black, in poetry 58. Open skin infections 59. Head 60. Part of a plant 61. Sea 62. Sleigh 63. Cravings 64. Fine threade DOWN 1. Nonsense (British) 2. Region 3. Ethiopian monetary unit 4. Its symbol is Pb 5. A pseudoscience 6. Absurd 7. Transmit 8. Tardy 9. Outbreak 10. Sorcery 11. In a cold manner 12. Not domesticated 13. Biblical kingdom 21. Genus of macaws 25. Children’s game 26. Part of a comparison 27. Anger 28. Again 29. Jobless 30. One more than 6 31. Module
33. Water barrier 34. Car 35. Tall woody plant 36. Hearing organs 38. Dairy 41. Biblical boat 42. Atomizer 44. Very Important Person 45. Floral leaf 46. Give a speech 47. Typefaces 48. Vipers 50. Double-reed woodwind 51. Midday 52. Hubs 53. Angers 54. Ardor 55. Feudal worker
Nov. 9
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 2021
Notes, quotes inspire race conversation By Christine Stevens STAFF WRITER
Several San Jose State students, faculty and staff shared their thoughts on music’s power, it’s relation to racial justice in front of the Olympic Black Power Statue Monday afternoon. The “Skin Tones: Notes, Quotes, and Community” event organizers shared songs and quotes picked by university community members that illustrate the systemic topic. The event’s entry form stated: “When you hear the phrase ‘Racial Justice’ what is the very first song or quote you think of and why?” Humanities senior and attendee Justise Wattree submitted the song “Panther Power” by late rapper Tupac. “[That song] just talks about the falseness of the American dream and how Black people were made to aspire to be in the American dream but that American dream really isn’t meant to be for us,” Wattree said. He said music has a revolutionary purpose that can “start something on its own.” The two-hour event was part of the annual series, “Transforming Communities: A Movement to Racial Justice.” The Transforming Communities: A Movement to Racial Justice series, put on by the Office of the President, aims to make change in the community by creating a more racially just and equitable city and county, according to its website. The two-week series was started by Jahmal Williams, director of advocacy for racial justice, and Edwin Tan, director of advocacy and community relations. “The idea [behind the Transforming Communities series] is that we can continue the conversation around racial justice and equity throughout the city and
EVAN REINHARDT | SPARTAN DAILY
Jahmal Williams, director of advocacy for racial justice at SJSU, introduces his chosen song to the attendants at the Skin Tones event on Monday.
county by partnering with community organizations, faculty, staff and students,” Williams said. The Skin Tones event was organized by Walter Adams, department of biological sciences assistant professor. Adams said the planning for the series started in April but his idea for Skin Tones came about in September. He said one of the unique aspects of the entire series is that anyone can participate in the planning. Adams said he wanted to create an inclusive and accessible place for everyone because starting conversations about racial justice and diversity can be tough. “I really wanted to try and create a space that had almost no barrier to entry and use
something that’s universally accessible and, to me, that’s music,” he said. “I think because there’s so much emotion that is tied into music, having an event that centers music and connects it directly to racial justice is a way to open up some of those conversation spaces.” Some of the songs submitted include: “This is America” by singer, rapper and producer Childish Gambino, “Fight the Power” by hip-hop group Public Enemy and “Where is the Love?” by musical group The Black Eyed Peas. Patience Bryant, director of Black/African American Equity, chose the song “U.N.I.T.Y.” by Queen Latifah, singer-songwriter, rapper and actor. Bryant said that song
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blooms empowerment within the Black community, specifically Black men empowering Black women. In the chorus, Queen Latifah raps, “U.N.I.T.Y., U.N.I.T.Y. that’s a unity (Here we go, you gotta let him know) (You go, come on, here we go) U.N.I.T.Y., love a Black woman from (You gotta let him know) Infinity to infinity (You ain’t a bitch or a ho, here we go).” “[U.N.I.T.Y.] talks about doing the work within your own community so hopefully it’ll empower some students to do that as well,” Bryant said. Williams also talked about music’s revolutionary power and why he chose “You Can’t Stop Us Now” by rapper, songwriter Nas to play during the event.
STAFF WRITERS AMANI HAMED EVAN REINHARDT CHRISTOPHER NGUYEN SAUMYA MONGA DON LE CHRISTINE STEVENS ESTEVAN LOPEZ SANDRA SANTOS-CRUZ
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“I think music speaks to experience, music speaks to history, music speaks to perseverance, music speaks to change and what needs to be done,” he said. Williams said the lyrics of You Can’t Stop Us Now show the perseverance and resilience of Black people throughout hundreds of years of oppression. Nas raps in the chorus: “No matter how hard you try/ You can’t stop us now (oh, no matter)/ No matter how hard you try/ You can’t stop us now/ Can’t be stopped (no).” Williams said he hopes students will be inspired to think about what change could look like when they hear that song. Adams said the Skin Tones event form also welcomed
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quotes as a connection to racial justice because not everyone relates to music. “Maybe when you think of all the great quotes from our racial justice advocates and leaders, there’s a lot of history and power there,” he said. Justise Wattree shared a poem during the event’s open mic portion. “I like to share my poems,” he said. “I believe I have a voice so I like to share my voice.” The event lasted until 4 p.m. The next event in the series is the 2021 Silicon Valley Pain Index: Inequality Soars by Race and Class under COVID-19 scheduled for Wednesday at noon on Zoom. Follow the Spartan Daily on Twitter @SpartanDaily
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