SJSU president talks affordability
By Alina Ta COPY EDITOR
The Spartan Daily interviewed San José State President, Cynthia Teniente-Matson, on Friday to discuss three topics that are currently affecting students on campus. This interview was split into two parts. Part 1 was published in Tuesday’s edition and Part 2 will cover Teniente-Matson’s response to questions on student housing and financial aid.
Q: One of the more exciting things that’s happening is the Spartan Village on the Paseo. Could you tell me a little bit about it and tell me what students should be excited for?
A: We opened up 679 beds in that facility, and 124 of those — not just there, but across our inventory — are now available to be substantially discounted as affordable housing, which means it’s a subsidized housing allotment.
In working with financial aid, we were able to identify students who met the criterion to be eligible for the subsidized housing, which is significantly reduced.
Those beds are full, so we did a concerted outreach to make sure that students who needed or wanted housing who met this criteria could move in.
I feel very excited about it, and all the students that I’ve talked to are very excited about it as well. We have 5005 beds (at SJSU).
The only vacancy we have that we’ve intentionally taken out of inventory (is) for students who may face housing insecurity over the course of the semester to have access to temporary housing.
That program’s been in place for a couple years (and) it was in place before I arrived.
Q: I think we can all agree that only 30%
Correction
On Aug. 21 The Spartan Daily published a story, “Remembering SJSU Judo legend” in which we misidentified the youngest daughter of Yoshihiro Uchida, Aileen Reiko Uchida. The Spartan
of whatever you earn should go into housing.
However, most of the housing available still — even with what's available at the Paseo — could still be considered unaffordable at the moment.
The majority of those rooms are between $1,800 to $1,300 per month to house two to four people and (for) most students, that would not be 30% of their earnings.
Although I do understand it's very nice to hear that (around) 120 of the beds are affordable, it would also be nice to hear if both the dorms in the housing at the Paseo could maybe perhaps be lower than $1,300.
Is there any way the university has any other resources that can be provided to students to help them afford housing, especially after hearing recent news on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and the tuition increase?
A: We are working — like we always have — with all students on their financial aid options through the Pell Grants, which is a federal program, through Cal Grant, which is a state program.
Many other scholarship programs are available for students.
We’re working harder to ensure students — especially those in need — are aware of scholarship opportunities that may exist for them to help meet their immediate needs.
For both housing, food and other basic needs, and to get the support that they need at SJSU Cares, as well as through other case management type of services to meet their longer term needs.
Q: Do you believe at the moment that the housing right now is affordable, especially with access to these resources?
A: I believe that housing is affordable with access to resources.
And for those students who are truly priced out of the market, what we’re trying to do is — like I mentioned, (the) 124 beds (that) we didn’t have that before — to grow that number even higher to provide more options for subsidized housing for other students.
We’re working towards that within our housing resources and other external agencies that may have funding available for our students.
So we’re looking at all community assets and community resources to help us do that.
(Michelle Smith McDonald, Senior Director of Media Relations): We have a little more than 5,005 beds (overall).
So we’re 94% occupancy (overall). We have a small wait list for people who are looking for apartments. Spartan Village at the Paseo is at 96% occupancy so we're nearly full.
Q: The CSU has confirmed the tuition increase, — it's been around a year — and now that the pandemic has eased up a bit, and the university is trying to bring back that enrollment. I do want to see if there any resources for students to access certain grants, certain resources to help students afford not only housing on this campus, but tuition as well?
A: In terms of affordability, (SJSU is) affordable in comparison to all of the other national universities.
Similar to housing, we are working to provide more scholarship opportunities for students, ensuring that students know all the resources that are available to them.
I do think it's confusing to understand all of the federal aid and the pathways to that, and this year in particular with the kerfuffle with FAFSA, that had nothing to do with us but the Department of Ed-
ucation.
We’re working hard to ensure we are not dropping students for lack of non-payment early.
We’re doing everything we can to bring more resources to our university for scholarships and for aid purposes, so that it is attainable for them to complete their college degree.
I think the other real issue is ensuring that students have the pathway and the ability to complete their courses within four years.
When you talk about cost, you want students to complete their degrees in four years.
Which means students should be looking to maximize the units that they can enroll in to graduate on a timely basis, and making sure that they understand the trade-offs when they take fewer credits.
We also are looking to provide more internship opportunities over the summer for students (such as) paid internships so students are earning good wages and getting their foot into a career pathway with employers.
ALINA TA | SPARTAN DAILY
San José State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson who assumed her position in January of 2023, speaks out to an audience of students at Transformation 2030.
Daily regrets this error.
SJSU clubs take over 7th St. Plaza
By Jackson Lindstrom STAFF WRITER
This week, many clubs at San José State gathered in excitement to table on 7th Street, where current members had the opportunity to advertise themselves to the campus community.
Club tabling is just one of 130 events during the first few weeks of the semester to welcome new and returning students as part of the Weeks of Welcome programs, according to the SJSU Student Involvement webpage.
SJSU alumnus Victor Magallanes said he came to support the school's student radio club KSJS 90.5.
“It’s a place where everybody is welcomed,” Magallanes
said. “We have a really good community (and) a really good network of folks who support this station.”
The student-run college radio station has been around since 1963 and claims to be the “radio voice” at SJSU, according to the KSJS FM website.
DJs play music students find underrepresented and give information about unique public affairs, according to the same website.
“(KSJS FM) is run by alumni that passionately love this radio station, such as myself,” Magallanes said.
“We make this a place where everybody is welcome, where everybody is free to contribute to the station and its promising future.”
part time so they can afford (to attend) this university.
Continued from page 1
Q: You mentioned students should try to complete all their coursework in four years, and try to maximize those credits. However, a lot of students are working
What’s your response to those students?
A: We have a lot more hybrid options and online options now for students that are available, and there’s jobs on campus where students
Some clubs also offer career opportunities that may not be easily available to students at SJSU, such as Spartan Analytics.
The goal of the club is to further the knowledge of data analytics, enhance
Everyone around me made me feel very secure and very welcome ... If I'm on (the team), anybody could do it.
Jonnel Nomberto Film, video and photographic arts freshman
professional career skills, and create networking opportunities, according to the SJSU Student Organization web-
can work and also take the courses that they need.
All of us support students’ schedules when they're working on campus and also taking courses here.
Disclaimer: The Spartan Daily interviewed Teniente-Matson on
page.
Kelly Chou, business analytics major and vice president of Spartan Analytics was at the event table for the club, according to the club’s social media pages.
“We want to offer our members networking opportunities and professional development workshops,” Chou said.
Business administration senior, Nima Teymourtash, currently serves as the director of events for Spartan Analytics.
“It gave us a lot of insight into what goes on not only in the company of Adobe, but the data community as a whole,” Teymourtash said.
SJSU’s Marketing Association members were also tabling on 7th Street and pitched oppor-
Friday before Mari Fuentes-Martin, the vice president for Student Affairs, sent a campus wide email on Monday regarding the death of a student in Spartan Village at the Paseo.
tunities to help SJSU students grow their careers.
Marketing senior Timothy Pak serves as the co-mentorship director for the Marketing Association club and says the club is open to all majors.
“We really focus on teaching everyone how to market yourself and just about marketing in business in general,” Pak said.
He said while working in his position thus far, the club has been focused on building a community and working towards the message of being self-made.
Another club that was tabling this past week was the SJSU Spartan Mambo club, a Latin dance team at SJSU.
Film, video, and photographic arts
freshman Jonnel Nomberto said he had no experience when he joined the SJSU Spartan Mambo club.
“Everyone around me made me feel very secure and very welcome,” Nomberto said. “We are very beginner-friendly. If I’m on (the team), anybody could do it.”
SJSU Spartan Mambo is the official salsa performance team on campus, according to the Spartan Mambo website.
“Anyone can come out here and join, and they’re gonna have a great time because everyone here is like a small family,” Nomberto said.
JACKSON LINDSTROM | SPARTAN DAILY
Students walk through the center of campus and explore different clubs and groups during Weeks of Welcome at SJSU on Tuesday af ternoon.
Spartans level up at the SRAC
#1: SJSU Cycling club president Remington Newkirk, an industrial design senior, poses for a photograph at the Rec Fest: Level Up Spartans! event.
#2: Two yellow rubber balls with faces drawn on them are displayed as decorations at the Spartan Recreation and Aquatics Center entrance.
#3: Two Spartan Mambo club members, Carina Bardo (left) and Julian Marmolejo (right), perform for event attendees on Tuesday. #4: Parker Olvera, president of Club Archery at SJSU, draws a bow and arrow in a game of archery tag.
