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This spring, San Jose State University students will be given the opportunity to vote on a measure that could change the campus from a commuter school.

If passed, the measure would provide an hour in which no classes would take place, and students could participate in events and activities, said Alfonso De Alba, the Associated Students executive director.

Measure X, also recognized as "University Hour," will appear in the Spring 2003 ballot as an advisory vote.

An advisory vote means that students can decide whether they want to pass the measure but the ultimate decision to implement the idea would have to come from the SJSU president and provost, said A.S. Vice-President, Lorenzo Deveza.

The purpose of the measure is to provide an hour in the middle of the day, between noon and 1 p.m., in which no classes would take place, Deveza said.

Deveza, who proposed the measure, said the time would be used for organizations to schedule meetings, for events to take place on campus and for students to have an hour to interact with one another.

"It would allow for creating a better campus atmosphere," Deveza said.

The idea began as a suggestion from the Campus Climate Advisory Committee. The committee is a group that comes up with ideas to improve campus life at SJSU, Deveza said.

After the suggestion was made, it was taken to the SJSU Senate Executive Committee, which is part of the SJSU Academic Senate.

James Brent, chair of the Academic Senate, said the committee agreed that it was a good idea to improve campus life, but that it was denied for several reasons.

The main reason it was denied was because of budget problems, Brent said.

He also said that the university hour would take place at a popular time for students to schedule their classes.

"Those are prime time hours for classes," Brent said. "The budgetary implications would be quite large."

Brent said another problem with the idea is that the schedule of classes is very complex, and it would be difficult to re-arrange the classes to implement the university hour.

Deveza said the measure was almost thrown out all together, but said he decided to propose the idea to the A.S. to appear in the general election in March.

"I saw the potential for the idea and I don't see why we don't have it on our campus," Deveza said.

The idea of having an hour for students to have time to interact and attend events has been implemented at campuses such as New York University, Arizona State University and University of California Davis, Deveza said.

Deveza pointed out that one of the reasons the proposal was not originally accepted is because some SJSU faculty members do not feel students would utilize the extra hour for activities or events because the campus is known as a commuter school.

He also said that some faculty like to teach during the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and view the idea of a university hour as a waste of time.

Michael Beeson, a computer science professor, said he believes that most professors on campus would not approve of the idea.

He also said it would be difficult to make the schedule changes, and that most SJSU commuter students would not be interested in staying at school for an hour just to attend some events.

"Students commute and have jobs," Beeson said. "Students don't want to be stuck for an hour here without taking any classes."

Dawn Lee, the activities coordinator for the Mosaic Cross Cultural Center, heard about the idea from Deveza and believes it is a good idea.

"I come from universities that have a common hour, and I think it's a great idea for a commuter campus like this," Lee said.

Marcus Nolan, a first year business management major agreed that the idea would help to change the image that SJSU has as a school where students just come to school and leave.

"It would be good because since it's a commuter school, it would give more of a college atmosphere," Nolan said.

De Alba said if the measure is passed in the general election it will take a few years before the schedule could be changed, but said he believes it is a good opportunity for students.

"This campus is known as a commuter campus," De Alba said. "This is an opportunity for students to vote and make it something better than that."

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