Students and faculty may spend their time on the same campus as their president, but they sure don’t go home to similar settings. Outside of work, San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre lives a far-from-humble life supported by money that should be allocated to the community she works to serve. 

In 2018, the San Diego Reader published an article on the newly bought SDSU presidential housing, revealing that Aztecs Shops had purchased a mansion for $2.3 million.

After informing my peers around campus and getting their thoughts on this matter, I compiled a list of 20 ideas, some from students, some from me, for what we would do if we could spend the $2.3 million that paid for our university president’s house. Many responses included practical ideas that would improve daily life, along with a few more playful ones. 

1. Lower Aztec Market prices: First-year Lindsey Wielmet states that “food should be accessible to everybody.” Although Aztec Shops is a “self-sustaining” nonprofit SDSU auxiliary, and the president’s residence was not directly paid for by student tuition, much of its revenue comes from the SDSU community. 
2. Upgrade the residences: First-year Josh Thinh would “make the dorms look nice” and also improve the quality of housing bathrooms. He noted that “sometimes you go into the bathroom and there’s vomit.”
3. Free trolley: Many students use the trolley daily to commute from home to school, get to work, and some use it to explore San Diego.
4. Improving ventilation in the library: “It does get very hot in there and it feels very … suffocating,” said first-year Alex Lopez. 
5. Fund cultural clubs: Cultural diversity is a key part of what makes SDSU special, and investing in cultural clubs is an investment in the community.
6. Free merchandise: First-year Jackson Feeney wants SDSU to give out more Aztec merch to students. 
7. Safety education for Greek life: With “more than 40 recognized social fraternities and sororities, and over 4,500 affiliated student members,” informing the community is vital to keeping students safe. 
8. Fund academic programs: First-year Hugo Seuguin said, “if there’s certain programs that need more funding,” the money should go there. While de la Torre’s portion of the university’s budget is small in the grand scheme of things, it could amount to a number of positive possibilities for each student, rather than the opulence of one person.
9. Mold removal: “There’s mold in the bathroom vents as well as the air conditioning vents in the dorm rooms … it makes students get sick” said first-year Ava Kozlowski, who dorms in Chapultepec.
10. Free electric scooter use: When I’m running late to class, which happens often, I wish I could use one of the electric scooters that I see other students zip by on. 
11. Increase student job wages: Third-year Grace Longoria, working at the Huaxyacac front desk, said “Our wages need to be raised.” 
12. Scholarship opportunities: Fourth-year Joshua Gilbert said, “I know there’s a lot of students who are struggling to afford to be here, so I’d put the money into more scholarship opportunities and make them more accessible to students.”
13. Make housing more affordable: First-year Arely Perdomo said, “Because I was gonna dorm, and then I had to cancel it and everything because it got way more expensive. And now I commute two hours.”
14. Free laundry: Every student needs to do their laundry and we shouldn’t have to pay for a basic amenity on top of our expensive housing fees. 
15. 24-hour food spot on campus: Fourth-year Cameron Henderson said, “I would love a 24-hour food [place] on campus.” 
16. Add funding to more departments: First-year Ella Taylor says departments such as Performing Arts are overshadowed by the Athletics Department. 
17. More restaurants: It would be nice to see a wider variety of cuisine on campus, such as a Thai restaurant or a ramen spot. 
18. Air Conditioning in all classrooms: First-year Jerzel Ramirez shared that, “Half of them don’t have AC … our classroom in Lamden Hall was out for a week.”
19. Better Wi-fi: With such a heavy emphasis on digital work and sharing information online, Wi-fi supports students to succeed. Lagging Wi-Fi means lagging work. 
20. More parking: First-year student Caroline Nave noticed a problem with overpacked parking garages and even “sees it on TikTok.” 

Although it’s hard to say exactly what $2.3 million could do, suggestions such as increasing department funding and improving Wi-Fi could become reality. The ideas that require a bigger budget exhibit the imagination and hope that students have for a better life at SDSU. 

Gilbert also mentioned, “It’s just crazy. She has that much money [and] has a crazy mansion. There’s people who really would love to go to school here, but aren’t able to afford it, or just don’t have as many options.”

In a letter to the school sent last May, Adela de la Torre included SDSU’s “conservative budget practices” in its list of accomplishments from the year, which seems contradictory to the multimillion-dollar house she resides in. 

Henderson was already aware of some financial inequities that de la Torre had been involved in. 

 “It’s a state-run school … you’re getting funded by the government and then you’re adding all this stuff. It’s kind of ridiculous. But again, it’s a capitalist society and capitalist mindset.” 

On the SDSU Catalog, you can find a section called Principles of Community, including a point that states: “We acknowledge that imbalances of power, accessibility, equity, and privilege persist in higher education and in society and are committed to addressing and dismantling these imbalances.” 

When a school builds itself a certain image, the community expects that to be true and upheld — hence a disappointment upon discovering inequitable funding. 

With Adela de la Torre making more than three times the Area Median Income for San Diego County, she doesn’t need to use money that could be aiding students to live in an extravagant mansion. This inequity brings up questions and controversy when you think that the lives of so many could be made easier, less stressful, or more exciting if the president of this school paid for her house with the salary that she already receives. 

This is not about legality or exposing a slip in the university code, but rather a call to question if the values that this university sells itself on are being upheld. This is about equity, accountability and hope for a more socially conscious SDSU.