Sacramento State student: I’m worried about the direction of my university | Opinion

I decided to attend Sacramento State because everyone told me that if I wanted to study politics, this is the best university for it. My professors work at the state Capitol, organize in their communities and bring real-life experience into the classroom.

I love this university, and that’s why I’m worried about where it’s heading.

Sacramento State’s nearly 31,000 students — including 62% from right here in the region — are juggling jobs, commuting from home and trying to earn a degree without sinking into debt. We didn’t come here for celebrity post-game concerts. We came here because California built the California State University (CSU) system on the promise that education shouldn’t depend on wealth.

Lately, however, it feels like our university under President Luke Wood is trying to become something it’s not.

A commuter campus with a $172 million dream

Sac State is exploring a $172 million football stadium off-campus at Cal Expo and a move into the Football Bowl Subdivision. It’s a big vision, and I understand the excitement.

But this proposal is a gamble at a time when the state budget is in the red, the City of Sacramento is cutting services and the CSU system is reducing programs and laying off faculty and staff.

Meanwhile, students are struggling with rent and rising costs. Student fees were raised by more than $500 per semester, and a 34% CSU tuition hike is pushing the cost of attendance toward $10,000 a year. In that context, a nine-figure stadium financed through long-term bond debt raises questions about priorities.

Yet, instead of providing clear answers, the university often offers polished PR language that sounds optimistic but hollow and vague. Transparency feels like it has to be pried out of the university.

And here’s what never makes it into the marketing: Most college sports programs run annual deficits, and shortfalls usually get absorbed by student fees or campus budgets.

Sac State still has not explained how the stadium would be financed or what protections would prevent student fees or academic budgets from covering unexpected gaps. The university has not outlined what happens if donor funding falls short or if economic conditions shift. Despite calling the project “student-centered,” most students were not meaningfully included in the decision-making process. And the university has not shown how a commuter campus facing shrinking academic budgets can responsibly take on decades of stadium-related debt.

These aren’t “gotcha” concerns. They’re the same issues any family would raise before taking out a mortgage. If we’re going to build something this big, students and the community deserve a clear understanding of the long-term costs.

A housing mandate that clashes with reality

Meanwhile, the university plans to require freshmen who live more than 50 miles away from Sac State to live on campus for two years, starting in 2026. The intentions are good: Wood has spoken about his own struggles with housing as a student, saying he lived in his car and skipped meals while attending Sac State.

But intention doesn’t erase impact.

Living on campus costs nearly $20,000 a year — double what many local students spend at home, and potentially more than a student might spend renting an off-campus apartment in or outside of Sacramento. Sac State has always been commuter-friendly: students live with family, care for siblings, work long shifts and drive to campus because it’s what makes college possible.

A mandatory two-year housing requirement risks turning that strength into a barrier.

None of this is about being anti-football or anti-growth. Hornet spirit is real; and athletics and student life matters.

The concern is about a broader shift in the university’s identity.

Right now, Sac State stands between two possible paths: remaining a university centered on students, learning and access, or drifting toward a model that resembles a private business where expansion outpaces transparency and affordability. The decisions being made signal a move toward reshaping the university around a lifestyle most students cannot realistically afford, rather than strengthening the public mission that has defined the CSU for decades.

Sac State doesn’t need to reinvent itself as a private enterprise to succeed. It’s already an anchor of the region that provides affordable, accessible and quality education. Sacramento deserves a university that measures success by how many students it lifts into the middle class, where “innovation” means expanding courses, research opportunities and student support rather than increasing sponsorships.

We all want Sac State to rise, but not at the expense of the people it was built to serve.

Michael Lee-Chang is a fourth-year student at California State University, Sacramento studying political science and Asian studies.

This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.