After a short trip to the Bay Area, staying at and working around San Jose State University (SJSU), one cannot help but notice the amenities and conveniences the campus offers. From cheap, quick eats to spacious dorms, the Spartan lifestyle is one that UNR should strive to emulate.
For four days I stayed in SJSU’s Spartan Village On The Paseo — a converted hotel and the university’s newest student-housing option. Offering an on-site gym along with spacious, cushy rooms, the dormitory’s style and size put even Nevada’s best student-living choices to shame.
Not only is the building itself a few steps above what UNR has to offer, but the immediate area surrounding the housing offers much more than the west side of Virginia Street. Upon stepping out onto the walkway that connects the dorm to the school’s main campus, one can expect to walk by countless shops and cafes. And the kicker to it all: the dormitory is attached to a Morton’s Steakhouse.
Spartan Village On The Paseo and the Morton’s Steakhouse located below the dorm.
While you may assume that a school year in this building will cost you a pretty penny compared to Nevada’s options, you would be wrong — to some extent. An August-to-May stay here in a three-person room would run a student $7,190, a bit less than UNR’s Great Basin Hall ($8,600), which, of course, does not feature the same amenities as Spartan Village On The Paseo.
Great Basin Hall, which is the nicest and newest of UNR’s undergraduate living halls, lacks the in-house dining and gym that Spartan Village On The Paseo has. The Spartan Village also features a much better bathroom than its UNR counterpart, having an entire bathtub to go along with its spacious vanity.
A Spartan Village On The Paseo bathroom. Image taken from SJSU’s virtual room tours.
Perhaps the most striking find of my trip to San Jose was a fast food restaurant just a block off the university’s campus. Campus Burgers is a simple, small restaurant offering only a few items, with a vibe that is almost In-N-Out esque. Its main draw, however, isn’t its looks or food, but its prices, with a regular hamburger starting at $1.99 and a full meal (burger, fries and a soda) going for $8.97. The dirt-cheap establishment puts the prices of any dining options in or around UNR to shame. And to top it all off, Campus Burgers makes a pretty dang good late night snack, as they are open until midnight.
Outside of housing and food options, SJSU provides other on-campus opportunities for students that Nevada lacks. For example, the Spartan’s student government operates a public garden, where it is free for all students to grow and harvest produce on campus.
While Northern Nevada may not be the most opportune climate to grow fruits and vegetables, the effort from SJSU’s student government to establish community spaces is something that is seemingly overlooked by UNR’s ASUN.
Nevada’s student government has yet to provide students lasting community spaces. ASUN has made a concerted effort to bring short-term events to campus, such as the Mackay Week celebrations, featuring different games and activities for anyone to participate in. Aside from celebrations and special occasion activities, the students’ governing body could do more to provide permanent installments for socialization and community, much like what SJSU did with their community garden.
A flyer for SJSU’s free community garden.
One might imagine that SJSU’s location in the heart of Silicon Valley plays a factor in the university’s successes, as they may operate on an exponentially higher budget than UNR. While the school’s location in the center of one of the wealthiest downtowns in all of America certainly isn’t a drawback, SJSU itself is not funded nearly as much as one may very well assume.
SJSU operated on a budget of a little more than $500 million during the 2025-26 school year, whereas UNR’s budget for that same year came in at $431.7 million, just 13.7% less than San Jose’s.
Of course, the Spartans are technically richer, though not by much, but upgrading the student experience can certainly fit into Nevada’s budget. The disparity in student accommodation is best observed in SJSU’s Campus Village B, a vibrant student-living community that sports coffee shops, a serviceable market and even a large aquatic center nearby.
Image courtesy of Spartan Recreation.
This living community certainly offers a richer experience than UNR’s counterpart — headlined by the infamous Nye Hall (a 59-year-old building featuring communal bathrooms and no air conditioning).
Though, none of this is to say that UNR does not have upsides in its own right;the beautifully historic campus and surrounding wilderness offer things that SJSU cannot compete with, not to mention Nevada’s superior football program (the Wolf Pack routed the Spartans 55-10 last season, though neither team is particularly competitive).
So, while UNR does not need to become SJSU, Nevada’s flagship university could learn some lessons from their in-conference rival.