Following the San Jose State football team’s arrival at Humboldt State, students from both universities used social media to voice their concerns about the team practicing at another campus.
The SJSU football team traveled to Arcata, California to prepare for its first game against the Air Force Falcons on Oct. 24 because the Santa Clara County Health Department has yet to approve team practices.
Angel Cumbo, an HSU criminology and justice studies sophomore, said she thinks it’s extremely unfair to have student-athletes from another school take over campus facilities and risk HSU students’ health.
“Many of my friends are on sports teams and are restricted from practicing or were barely granted approval to practice,” Cumbo said over text.
According to The New York Times’ California COVID-19 map and case count, Santa Clara County has had more than 22,000 coronavirus cases compared to Humboldt County, which has a total of 529 cases as of Monday.
Under an Oct. 2 Instagram post by the Lumberjack, HSU’s student newspaper, HSU students said they were not informed until a day before that the SJSU football program would be staying on campus.
In previous reporting done by the Spartan Daily, senior director of media relations Kenneth Mashinchi said SJSU Athletics’ estimated expenditures for HSU trip.
“Based on current projections relative to length of stay at Humboldt State University, SJSU estimates expenses — including meals, housing, use of their facilities and round trip bus fare — will fall between $100,000 [and] $150,000,” said Mashinchi in the email. “All costs for temporarily relocating to Humboldt State University will be paid for through the SJSU Athletics’ budget, similar to all football expenditures.”
SJSU students said it’s unfair that their tuition, along with other money from donors, is being used to pay for student-athletes practicing at a different campus instead of it going toward improving the student experience.
In previous Spartan Daily reporting, SJSU graphic design junior Moises Cartachea said that SJSU Athletics could be investing the money into other university projects that could benefit the campus community.
HSU students living on campus are also raising noise complaints about the SJSU football team staying in the campus dorms.
“Looking at social media as well, it has been made very clear that the school [resident advisers]’s are also dealing with difficulties when their residents are making complaints about the SJSU football team being disruptive,” Cumbo said, “Even as I have walked around campus, I have seen many boys in their SJSU shirts without masks or not wearing them correctly and it’s extremely frustrating.”
HSU zoology freshman Patricia Flanagan said she could hear the football team being extremely disruptive on campus.
“At least be respectful when you’re on our campus and stop being loud and disrespectful to the rest of us just trying to study,” Flanagan said via Instagram DM.
Flanagan said she feels like she’s paying thousands of dollars in tuition for football players from another school to do more on her campus than her.
While SJSU football players are taking full advantage of campus facilities, HSU students are told by their administration, they cannot use their football field and are not allowed to have visitors in their dorms.
Flanagan said that HSU has shown its students that it will not respect their opinions and will put money before their students.
“I am very proud of being able to call HSU my school and attend such a wonderful establishment, but this has caused a lot of anger within many students and myself,” Cumbo said, “As students who live on campus, we have mandatory COVID testing and if we bring other students who do not live on campus into our dorms, we are at risk of being written up.”
