Humboldt State administration cash in at student expense

San Jose State’s football team steals on-campus resources from student body

***Editor’s note: SJSU football program was tested in congruence with Mountain West conference guidelines***

Humboldt State University’s administration continues to ignore the health and well-being of paying students and surrounding community members by selfishly prioritizing university funding and money opportunities.

On Oct. 2, San Jose State University’s football team arrived at HSU to utilize the field and training facilities. The team of 141 players, coaches and staff members are expected to social bubble, strictly quarantine with one another, on campus in Redwood Hall. Redwood Hall stands in the middle of campus, between the Student Health Center and the Depot, making it an unavoidable place for students on campus to pass by.

In addition, HSU students were notified via school wide email of the university deal less than 24 hours prior to SJSU’s arrival.

First and foremost, this deal did not involve the approval from either county’s public health officers. Since March, HSU has maintained a relatively low COVID-19 case count with only 11 confirmed cases. SJSU falls within Santa Clara County, and as of Oct. 6, has 50 confirmed cases.

The team is expected to self-patrol and monitor their own health. They will be tested once a week throughout their stay at HSU, which directly violated SJSU’s athletic conference guidelines provided by Mountain West.

The Mountain West Conference demands athletes be tested three times a week. If a test comes back positive, further testing is done to confirm the positivity. SJSU brought their own testing equipment, however, the heightened risk of contracting the virus extends beyond the student body and permeates into the town of Arcata.

There has been no confirmation of how long SJSU’s stay will be. Hearsay declares a week, but pictures of arriving Spartan football players holding flatscreen TV’s and luggages of equipment says otherwise.

Student facilities will cater to SJSU during their stay, closing off access to the Redwood Bowl from HSU athletes and students while also extending the Student Recreation Center hours beyond usual scheduling. A ‘no access’ sign currently hangs outside the gate entrance of the Redwood Bowl, HSU claims the sign is to contain SJSU’s football team and limit cross infection.

HSU students have been repeatedly denied access to on-campus resources, classes, labs, studios and housing since the beginning of the pandemic. However, SJSU was able to rent out the Redwood bowl, SRC and on-campus housing facilities and resources immediately. HSU is renting out campus resources we either don’t have or refuse to offer to students.

Administration stated that SJSU will be paying for all facilities, housing and resources being used during their stay. However, current resources occupied by SJSU at this time are paid for by student fees. Students believe the funds should be redistributed back to their accounts for a fair way to compensate for the loss of access.

It’s clear that this decision to move SJSU to HSU was made last minute and without the permission or acknowledgement of HSU students. HSU administration has proven time and time again that the students’ safety isn’t a top priority. The motivation to cut out students from participating in their own university outweighs the value of students altogether.

HSU continues to treat our campus like it’s closed or empty, forgetting an entire student body population of 6400 people.