From the Editor

One hundred years ago, San José State officially adopted the Spartan as our university mascot. But what is a Spartan at SJSU? A soldier, an athlete, a scholar, a professor? On our campus, a Spartan can be an engineer, an educator, an artist, a philosopher, a scientist — an advocate for justice and equality.

In my eight years interviewing SJSU students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members, I’ve observed that Spartans share a common value: A strong desire to create a better world.

Some lay the foundation on the mat in the dojo, à la Yoshihiro Uchida, ‘47 Biological Sciences, ’04 Honorary Doctorate, who dedicated more than 75 years to training Olympic-caliber judokas. Others establish spaces like the Kogura Gifts store in San José’s historic Japantown, surviving and thriving beyond World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic.

No mention of San José State athletics history would be complete without the late Lawrence Fan, proverbial torchbearer for generations of student-athletes, coaches and sports media professionals.

Some Spartans make their mark in the arts and sciences. Pioneering Professor Emerita of Music Charlene Archibeque paved the way for singers, performing artists and music educators. Librarian Mychal Threets, ’18 MLIS, has expanded the definition of “library joy” by creating inclusive spaces in the public library and online. As for the future: the sky’s the limit for Spartan entrepreneurs seeking innovative solutions in every field.

While we shed light on tremendous Spartan achievements, we also recognize how common it is to encounter impostor syndrome — the perception that we don’t belong. It is hard to learn, teach and achieve when faced with institutionalized and systemic obstacles. And yet, our students, faculty, alumni and staff prove day in and day out that San José State is a place for “firsts:” first public university on the West Coast, first city-university library, first-generation students.

There’s no way to squeeze a century’s worth of Spartans into 32 pages, which is why we invite you to contribute to the San José State story. Tell us about the spaces you found at SJSU — or the places you’ve created since. Show us what being a Spartan means to you.