Is there anyone in here that lives in San Francisco?

Question

I would like to visit San Francisco State University, but I can't go so if anyone knows about this university please tell me about it.

Answer 1

The campus itself is arthitecturally unremarkable (think...1950s Stalinist) and crowded (30,000 students, graduate and undergraduate).

It's actually on the border with the bedroom community of Daly City, so there's a somewhat suburban feel. It's literally next to a shopping mall anchored by Macy's and Nordstrom, in fact. Many students simply walk across the street during lunch break to use the food court.

However, the real attraction is that you can get away from campus really easily without a car...and actually enjoy the city (unlike at other universities, the students at SFSU are not isolated from the rest of the community).

There's a free shuttle to BART and the M-Line tram runs through the university. You're only a short 15-20 minute ride away from downtown San Francisco's many bars and nightclubs. Lots of partying goes on, just not on campus.

Academically, SFSU has strong political science and cinema/film departments. Alumni in "the industry" include Annette Bening, Danny Glover, BD Wong, Dana Carvey, David Carradine, Delroy Lindo, and Denzel Washington (attended only one semester). Politicians coming out of SFSU include Willie Brown (former Democratic Speaker of the California Legislature), Bill Thomas (Republican Congressman), Javad Zarif (Iranian Ambassador to the UN), Saeb Erekat (former Palestinian Foreign Minister).

Other departments are hit-and-miss. Depends on how well you get along with the faculty and what resources are currently available.

It's a pretty politically charged campus too...on all sides of the spectrum. SFSU has had some well publicized conflicts over the years. There were free speech protests in the 1960s. Jewish and Palestinian students threw punches at each other in 2002, prompting arrests. There has also been incidents of violence between white and black students recently. Many students participate in peaceful activist organizations as well. Some people find this sort of thing exciting, others are horrified. It's not a dull place to study, however.

Answer 2

It's a big public school, mainly a commuter campus I believe (so even if there are dorms, most people live off campus). It has a reputation for leaning more left (politically) and has a film dept. with a good reputation. It's very close to stonestown shopping mall.

Answer 3

I used to live there. I went to the University one time when I was in 10th grade with some friends and we go tore up!!! From what I can remember it was a nice place. We were drunk though, so it's kinda hazy.