Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 11/17/04 Section: Campus News

The debate whether or not to change San Jose State University's name continues to spark controversy among students, faculty and administration.

The debate has gained renewed life after Cal State Hayward successfully put together a proposal that would change its name to "CSU East Bay".

The CSU Board of Trustees was given the proposal at its Tuesday meeting to decide if it is a voting matter.

If the Board of Trustees deems the proposal to have merit, it would vote on the proposal in its January meeting.

On one hand, there are those who insist that the current name remains intact, while others believe a name change would help boost the university's national profile, which in turn would aid athletics.

Michael Harold, founder of the group Go State!, which calls for SJSU to adopt a name that reflects its status as a state-run university, said the current name creates an extremely narrow identity.

"Our current name has a super-localized identity attached to it," Harold said. "It really hurts our ability to attract students nationwide."

Harold, who earned his master's degree in business marketing from SJSU in August 2003, said he came up with Go State! after reading online discussions at the Spartan Thunder Web site.

"I posted the idea on the message board and a lot of people liked it," Harold said. "And so Go State! was born."

Harold said other schools such as UC Berkeley, Ohio State University and Washington State University enjoy strong recognition because of they choose to embrace their state identities in their names.

"State identity is an extremely powerful force," Harold said. "Even more so than a city identity."

Steve Shuy, a sophomore international business major, agreed with Harold and said people have an easier time finding out where certain states are than cities.

"Take Oregon State, for example," Shuy said. "The school's in Corvallis. Would people be able to figure out where the school is if they were called 'Corvallis State University?' "

Harold said the school should change its name to commemorate its status as the first public institution of higher education in California.

"It wouldn't be fair to avoid embracing that city-state dual identity," Harold said. "It's a travesty the school refuses to acknowledge that fact (that the university is the first public university in California)."

Mike Hentrich, a graduate student in business administration, said he thinks changing the university's name would make it stand out in terms of athletics.

"I envision SJSU as representing the entire CSU system," Hentrich said. "Seeing 'Cal State' on a sports ticker or a box score and knowing that's us would be amazing."

Hentrich, who did his undergraduate work at Cal State Hayward, said he was attracted to SJSU because it was the nearest school that had Division IA athletics programs.

A name change might make it easier for recruiters to get better players from across the nation, Hentrich said.

"I think it gives recruiters an easier time explaining where we are and what we're all about," Hentrich said.

Shuy said the current name doesn't promote the kind of geographical diversity that other schools have.

"I've talked to a lot of people here and they're from in the state," Shuy said. "In fact, a lot of them are from the Bay Area. It's like being at a community college."

Having a campus in a downtown area shouldn't be an excuse, Shuy said.

Shuy said the University of Southern California is also located in a downtown area, but still continues to enjoy strong national recognition.

"It works because everyone knows where Southern California is," Shuy said.

Not everyone is receptive to the idea of a name change.

Meredith Moran, director of Student Life and Leadership, said the school takes pride in keeping the same name for so long.

"There's a great deal of pride at this university for having the same name over all these years," Moran said. "It's something we fought the system over."

Annette Nellen, chair of the Academic Senate, said the current name was the result of a hard-fought battle between the California State University system and the university.

SJSU was briefly known as CSU San Jose in 1972, when it joined the CSU system, Nellen said.

"The students and faculty hated it," she said. "There was a huge push to change the name back to San Jose State."

The students and alumni had their way in 1974, when State Senate Bill 381 allowed CSU San Jose to revert back to the previous name of SJSU.

Nellen also said the name should remain because it is distinct compared to the other 23 CSU campuses.

"We're only one of four campuses that don't use the CSU-city designation," Nellen said. "If we changed our name, we'd sound like all the other CSU schools."

The other three schools that do not use the CSU-city designation are San Francisco State University, Humboldt State University and San Diego State University.

Fresno State University is not the official name of that school, said Thomas Uribes, university communications staff member at Fresno State.

"California State University Fresno is what appears on official university letterheads and documents," Uribes said. "Fresno State is our designated alternate name for media stories."

Uribes said Fresno State proposed the alternate name and had it approved in the 1980s.

Clara Potes-Fellow, representative for the Chancellor's office, said the board of trustees must approve all university name changes or alternate name designations.

"There's no set policy on how a school can go about changing its name," Potes-Fellow said. "It depends on each university and their timeline."

Some students were also skeptical about the positive effects a name change might bring.

"I don't think it matters what we're called," said Al Sado, a senior computer engineering major. "Our name stands out from the other CSUs."

Sado said if someone could provide concrete proof, such as statistics, that a name change would be beneficial, he might be receptive to the idea.

Tim Opyd, a junior kinesiology major, said a name change wouldn't have much effect on the school's national profile.

"It's pretty trivial," Opyd said. "I think we should let our academic reputation speak for itself. It's pretty good."

Opyd said if prospective students were interested in SJSU, they'd be inclined to do the research to learn about the university.

Interim President Don Kassing said in a press conference on Nov. 10 that the fact there is even a debate is a good thing.

"I think it's good energy," Kassing said. "It shows that people care about our school."

Sylvia Hutchinson, director of communications and public affairs, said there hasn't been any formal initiative for a name change from students, faculty or administration.

Hutchinson added that the campus is welcome to voice its concerns to the administration.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion," Hutchinson said. "We're receptive to new ideas from our campus community."

TIMELINE OF SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

1857

George W. Minns founds California's first public institution of higher education, located in San Francisco.

1862

The Minns School becomes California State Normal School.

1871

The State Normal School moves to San Jose.

1881

A branch campus is established in Los Angeles. This branch later becomes UCLA.

1887

The State Normal School becomes San Jose State Normal School.

1910

Tower Hall (State Historic Landmark No. 417) and new facilities replacing those damaged in the Great Earthquake of 1906 are dedicated.

1921

The school is renamed San Jose State Teachers College.

1935

The college becomes San Jose State College.

1949

San Jose State College awards its first master's degrees.

1961

San Jose State College is incorporated into the California State Colleges (now the 23-campus California State University system).

1972

San Jose State College becomes California State University, San Jose marking the achievement of university status.

1974

CSU, San Jose is renamed San Jose State University.

1990

The number of students tops 30,000.

1991

Campus reaches cultural pluralism, with no ethnic majority.

1994

San Carlos Street is closed, from Fourth through Tenth streets, unifying the campus.

1996

SJSU begins competition in the Western Athletic Conference. The city and the university celebrate the official opening of Paseo de San Carlos.

2000

Construction begins on the new joint city/university library - the first such collaboration between a major city and the university in the nation.

SOURCE:

"San Jose State University: An Interpretive History 1950-2000" by James P. Walsh.

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