Jordan Guinn’s column in this space last week was ostensibly a report on the President’s Fall Address, but Mr. Guinn could barely control himself until he got to his real story – his opportunity to announce to all who cared to listen that “no one wants to be here (at Sac State).” I have heard this message from these pages before. In the past, I have let it go unchallenged but I cannot let it go this time.

I am not sure what kind of event in Mr. Guinn’s personal history triggered the kind of self-loathing that seeps from his column. I am sorry that perhaps the whole Berkeley or Stanford thing didn’t work out for him. Apparently the really hip people, the people in the know, the cool kids, have to declare to everyone that the appropriate attitude to strike is that no one wants to be here at Sac State.

Apparently Mr. Guinn’s social circle is so small that the only people he knows have had to “settle” to come to here and isn’t it all dreadful and how can anyone stand being here! (The appropriate pose at this point is to place the back of the hand artfully to the forehead and sigh audibly!) Apparently young Jordan has surveyed the entire population so that he can announce with certainty that this place is everyone’s third choice. Whatever your problem is, Mr. Guinn, get over it and stop projecting your disappointments on the other thousands of students here!

I am starting my 21st year of teaching at Sacramento State and I have talked to literally thousands of students who are happy to be here. I see it in the faces of the students at Orientation each summer who understand that this is their shot.

I see it across my desk a hundred times a semester when I confirm that a student has signed up for the last series of classes and really is going to graduate. I hear it from the students who write to thank me years later for being able to apply something they learned in one of my classes in their jobs or in their lives. I see it once a semester at Arco Arena during Commencement when students march in to the cheers of their families, all of their families, acting crazy and screaming out their approval.

In Guinn’s world, none of the professors really want to be here either; apparently they are bitter too because they didn’t get that job at the big Midwestern university with the doctoral program. Apparently they, too, had to “settle” for Sac State. Well you know what? I know literally hundreds of my colleagues who are here because they want to be here.

They are here because they believe in what California is selling at its state universities. They could have had jobs at other schools but they came to Sacramento because they came out of a similar system and wanted to work with students like the ones here at Sac State. Or maybe they didn’t know about what is happening at the CSU but they just landed in the system and decided to stay because they knew that this was the place that gave the right balance to teaching and research. They stayed because this place has the wild, wonderful patchwork quilt of diversity that is makes teaching here special. They stayed because this place allowed them to strike the right balance between teaching and research and between their professional and personal lives. We didn’t settle Jordan; we made a choice!

Jordan, you are right that there are a lot of things here we need to continue to work on. But to announce that no one wants to be here is to insist that people keep their pride in their back pocket. Perhaps you made that crass and hurtful generalization to cover your own self-loathing and disappointment for not ending up where you thought you wanted to. Fine, be depressed, and treat yourself to your own little pity party.

But to announce on the pages of this fine newspaper that no one wants to be here and we are all just suffering through until something better comes along, this time I put my foot down and say no! Maybe it is decidedly uncool to say you want to be here, but 29,000 students and thousands of faculty have voted with their feet to come to Sacramento State.

Mr. Guinn, if life is so oppressive here, if things are so awful for you, you might consider going to the fine little school over the causeway or better yet, I hear they have a lot of space down at UC Merced. I am sure they would love to have you!

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