The State of Higher Education at SJSU

Two short pieces in today’s San Jose Mercury News might best illustrate the priorities today at San Jose State University.

On page B3, the headline reads “SJSU water damage closes building,” and the building is where I taught journalism classes for more than twenty-four years, off and on.

It goes on to say that SJSU will not hold any journalism classes in the century-old Dwight Bentel Hall on the first two days of the new fall semester

Students assigned to courses in this building were instructed to report to the Student Union, and not to Yoshihiro Ushida Hall.

In the C6 piece in the sports section, you would have learned that renovations are nearly complete at Ushida Hall, with new locker rooms and office space for the basketball, volleyball and gymnastics programs. The locker rooms feature an area where there is “locked access so coaches and players can leave their gear in their lockers.” How novel to find lockers that lock.

The SJSU's athletic director called this "a significant improvement that is nice and adequate, and has a little glitz to it."

The Ushida project cost about $55 million, and there is no mention whatsoever as to whether or not there are any dry classrooms nearby.