Collage Town? Sonoma State? This place feels much more like an extended Community College.
Think of a university you would see in movies. You probably see something like UC Davis, UCLA, and SDSU. SSU does not stand in comparison.
The biggest issue: student-centered infrastructure. Sonoma County feels a wine country first and foremost. Factors that make these other college towns stand out are location, student-driven cultures, and surrounding businesses. Other campuses shine when it comes to giving students a “real” college experience.
Take UC Davis; the perfect definition of a “classic college town.” The entire town revolves around the students and is very bike-friendly. Everything that you could ever ask for or need is within walking distance. It’s incredibly easy to travel through campus because you can bike, walk, or skateboard anywhere you need to go.
Rohnert Park and the surrounding area, on the other hand, are incredibly flat and spread out. From our campus, the nearest walkable location is across the street on E. Cotati Avenue. There, we have “local” delicacies including Taco Bell, 7- Eleven, McDonalds or Starbucks to choose from. With only one standard bike lane, the roads are not bike-friendly.
UCLA is another big college that gives students that “real” college experience. This college is centered around sports and student life and has a top-tier academic reputation. Based on data from the U.S. News and World Report, UCLA is known as the number two public university and number 17 in National Universities. Whereas SSU is ranked number 13 in public universities, and ranked number 23 in Regional Universities in the West.
Another factor that sets UCLA apart from SSU is its sports teams. Their sports teams are part of the Big Ten Conference, with their most watched sport being the basketball team. Basketball, along with all of these other sports, build a strong community, environment and involvement due to the competitive league that this school plays in. Currently, SSU does not have any sports. When SSU did have sports teams, they were in Division 2.
Sonoma State University struggles to compare to these other universities. Along with the absence of sports, the walkability of the campus and the surrounding areas does not allow for SSU to have that true “college town” feel like many others.
At least SSU has Thursday nights at the crawl. The “Cotati Crawl” is a series of bars that invite students in for a drink, before allowing them to move to the next, getting a taste of all the places downtown. At least some of the local restaurants are taking steps in the right direction, offering many student discounts around town.
