The Daily Aztec again sat down with SDSU President Adela de la Torre – this time diving into criticism of SDSU administration’s response to immigration enforcement, the Time Place and Manner policy in relation to protests and demonstrations on campus, staff and faculty strikes, SDSU’s AI initiatives and enrollment outpacing upgrades and expansion.

Read last semester’s conversation here.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

Communities across the country have been feeling the effects of increased ICE activity and deportations under the Trump administration. Last year in San Diego, ICE conducted more than 8,300 arrests.

Throughout this time, students, faculty and staff have received a handful of communications from SDSU administration and de la Torre herself, informing the community of the university’s immigration enforcement non-compliance policy, particularly following national news events.

Many faculty and students argue that your communications approach to ICE and other national news events is reactive, not proactive and that it is doing little to calm fears. Why has this been the approach?

“We were very thoughtful about the trainings and the outreach to really work less in an approach like, ‘Here’s an email. Go look.’ But really create the space where we are thoughtful of not creating, if you will  —  the hoopla that can create when you do a massive email. And massive emails, first of all, most people don’t read them. But secondly, they don’t necessarily convey the information you really need.”

De la Torre emphasized the importance of “human touch” in university-wide communications, particularly among low interaction levels across emails, social media and the SDSU Alert app. She likened the university to an ecosystem, crediting the teams at the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity, the HR Department and the Monarch Unity Resource Center for their work.

“We often want to use technology, thinking it’s the best way to communicate. I would argue technology is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for communication, particularly in areas that are as sensitive as issues dealing with immigration. And that’s why we have to really be redundant on the human touch. When somebody provides feedback that we do not know [or] we haven’t heard, then we can have that face-to-face, the phone call communication, the ability to find out what is a barrier and improve on it.”

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I would argue technology is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for communication, particularly in areas that are as sensitive as issues dealing with immigration. And that’s why we have to really be redundant on the human touch.”

— Adela de la Torre

What is the most common method of communication?

“I’ll say what the most common complaint is. Let me reframe it. The most common complaint you’ll hear is we’re not responsive enough. Point. ‘You’re not responsive enough. Why didn’t we hear this?’ … The cycle of communication is, you have [a] constituency that is very, very engaged in the topic in the area, and is involved in the community. They have social media, they have been involved in training, they’re very much involved. Their criticism will not necessarily come from, ‘I haven’t heard,’ but perhaps, how you process this particular situation.”

De la Torre explained that there needs to be a better way to reach individuals who are knowledgeable about national issues, but not about the university’s resources.

“It’s not [that] they’re not engaged in the topic. They could be very engaged in the community, but they’re not as engaged in this community that’s really actively involved in the programs that we’re offering. They haven’t had the experience. They haven’t had the training. My God, of course, they’re frustrated.”

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It’s not [that] they’re not engaged in the topic. They could be very engaged in the community, but they’re not as engaged in this community that’s really actively involved in the programs that we’re offering. They haven’t had the experience. They haven’t had the training. My God, of course, they’re frustrated.”

— Adela de la Torre

What conversations are happening internally with the university to combat immigration enforcement-related anxiety?

“I really encourage [students] to reach out. In this case, I want to make it very, very easy for them. They should go to Student Affairs, speak to whoever is part of the campus diversity group, it could be [to] go to the dean of students, so they can connect with information with the Monarch Center. That’s the easiest entry point for students. For staff, I would say you can go to our HR department and the HR department with Jessica Rentto, can provide specific information for support if they need it. For faculty, they can go to Academic Affairs, and again, we can provide the support structure, and we can coordinate it so that they can have the information they need.”

Are there conversations that the university is having, in terms of advocacy, system-wide within CSU?

“I would say all the presidents are extremely sensitive to this particular issue, as well as the chancellor. This isn’t something that we’re not aware of. In fact, we were at Hill Day, all the presidents at Hill Day, and it was something that we’re concerned about in regard to — obviously, now that we have a new secretary for Homeland Security, — what’s going to be the tenor on in higher education? How is it going to affect it? We’re very much open about the fact that it’s creating anxiety and tension and fear and creating stress, not only on our students, but their families. It’s creating stress on our faculty and our staff.”

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PROTEST POLICY

In August 2024, the UC and CSU systems updated their Time, Place and Manner policies to include restrictions on encampments, temporary or permanent structures and the prohibition of masks for the purpose of identity concealment — which is left up to law enforcement discretion. Both the California Legislature and the federal government have threatened to withhold university funding if they did not place new restrictions on campus protests, particularly pro-Palestine protests.

Where do you stand personally on the new Time, Place and Manner protest rules? Do you agree with them and why? 

“Our TPM policies were well established before these occurred … We’re putting it within the context of a moment in history, but let’s put it in the moment of why we had to do this prior to all of these events, because that’s really what’s relevant here. What’s relevant is we’re in an urban campus. We really have to address the reality of an environment where anyone can come on the campus. Anyone could, if we didn’t have these, anybody can come on the campus, anybody could set up shop if they chose to.”

De la Torre also explained that the university had an issue with encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a public health and safety issue for the community. 

“[The TPM policy] isn’t new for us. Where do I stand? Well, we’re the ones who actually developed it. Our template was a critical template, but this was way before, way before this.”

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What’s relevant is we’re in an urban campus. We really have to address the reality of an environment where anyone can come on the campus. Anyone could, if we didn’t have these, anybody can come on the campus, anybody could set up shop if they chose to.”

— Adela da la Torre

Does recent historical context call for an update of the policy?

“Nope. Not for our campus, because we are an urban campus. We’re in the heart of a city. It is very different than if we were in rural Minnesota.”

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RECENT STRIKES, RAISES FOR FACULTY AND STAFF

In February, the CSU skilled trades workers went on strike for unpaid contractual raises and step increases. While the strike ended, negotiations are still ongoing between the union and the CSU, with the CSU Bargaining Team citing the elimination of the original federal funding source as the reason for the raise denial. 

In their rebuttal, the skilled trades union has pointed to last year’s presidential salary increases — including de la Torre’s. The California Faculty Association (CFA) has also consistently cited CSU executive raises in their own advocacy. 

Do you believe the demands and concerns of the CFA and skilled trades union are fair?

“Let me be very clear, I am very committed to — and the system is — to raises for faculty and staff. Indeed, it’s been two years since we have been in an impasse, and I think everybody wants to have a resolution to ensure that. So, unequivocally, I think it is critical to understand that our faculty and staff need to have living and competitive wages, that step increases need to be reasonable. And the CSU is doing a salary survey of faculty and staff, which will right size, hopefully, many of the inequities that we currently see.”

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I think it is critical to understand that our faculty and staff need to have living and competitive wages, that step increases need to be reasonable.”

— Adela de La Torre

Are there any steps that the university is taking to support faculty and staff unions and their rights to negotiate?

“We have no jurisdiction at the local level on the collective bargaining agreement. But we have a council that we meet with, our labor leaders, and this occurs in the fall, in the spring, or whenever we need to have a conversation about specific issues unique to the campus. And we’ve had very productive relationships. I meet regularly with our CFA representative, Gloria Rhodes, [and] we talk about local issues. So, where we do have jurisdiction are local issues of concerns. They’re brought, we talk about it, we see if we can resolve it, and for the eight years I’ve been here, we’ve had amicable relationships.”

De la Torre poses in her office. Manchester Hall, April 23, 2026. (Roman Fong)

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SDSU’s AI INITIATIVE

The Daily Aztec previously reported on the CFA filing a charge against CSU management, claiming that they failed to consult faculty before launching a major OpenAI partnership.

Last year, the CSU secured enterprise licenses to Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, in addition to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to provide system-wide access in a closed information system.

What do SDSU’s AI integration plans actually entail?

“Over 90% of the students use ChatGPT. I mean, the data is real clear. Our students use AI … Now, granted, there’s nuance, so I don’t want to minimize that, but our students overwhelmingly use AI. Our staff, actually, [have] one of the highest rates of use of AI for their job. And then, of course, we have our faculty who, again, over 50%, but there’s an active engagement.”

At The Daily Aztec’s fall meeting with de la Torre, she discussed how SDSU’s AI Micro-credential and unusually high participation in an AI usage survey are signs of student interest.

“What’s really important — which I think is great about SDSU — is we understand that these are [tools] that we can’t run away from. We need to work with our students. We need to prepare them for the job market. We need to help our faculty.”

De la Torre uses AI herself as an economist to do large data analysis and replace what would normally take hours with the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). 

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“What’s really important — which I think is great about SDSU — is we understand that these are [tools] that we can’t run

— Adela de la Torre

What are companies like Microsoft and Google getting out of their partnership with SDSU?

De la Torre deferred to James Frazee, the vice president for information technology and chief information officer at SDSU.

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GROWING ENROLLMENT AND RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

For the last few years, enrollment at SDSU has been increasing at a much higher rate than in years prior. In Fall 2025, enrollment at the San Diego campus reached a record high of 40,110 — a 4.4% increase from fall 2024.

Additionally, The Daily Aztec has reported on unmaintained campus facilities and many faculty members have reported limited classroom space. 

How do you plan to prioritize campus facilities and educational quality in the classroom as enrollment continues to grow?

“For a number of years, we have not had access to state revenue bonds, unlike the community colleges that have revenue bonds for deferred maintenance or for new construction. Until we get funding at the level to support deferred maintenance, it’s going to be very piecemeal. That’s just a fact. So what I want to do is, say we have electeds right now, of the different legislative initiative towards looking at revenue bonds to allow us to address these issues, because we desperately need the funding. That’s going to make a huge difference.”

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We have electeds right now, of the different legislative initiative towards looking at revenue bonds to allow us to address these issues, because we desperately need the funding. That’s going to make a huge difference.”

— Adela de la Torre

As a result of growing enrollment, SDSU has altered its parking policies to limit overnight passes at certain garages.

“And in terms of the parking, parking is self-support, and this is true for every institution. And it’s a balance, because you want to keep parking at a reasonable level, right? Otherwise, you’re talking about shifting costs, but it’s a difficult balancing act. But again, what we’re trying to do is balance it with revenue to address the deferred maintenance in a way that we can assess priorities of investment. Third area is, if you know of any potential entrepreneurial ways, we’re open for suggestions.”

President de la Torre’s office is located in Manchester Hall, along the Centennial Walkway. April 23, 2026 (Roman Fong)

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THE KOALA

Since 2004, The Koala at SDSU has entertained students with its satirical, raunchy and comedic print newspapers, with its content typically not taking kindly to administration.

What do you think of The Koala?

“Let’s put it this way, The Koala, when I first came here was not very complimentary. That’s okay. I have a sense of humor. … But you know, it’s like, when you read something like that, you take in the context that there’s a humor that not everybody appreciates, but you’ll get a chuckle out of it. And that’s how I viewed it. I kind of viewed it as not something to take seriously, and I would have a good chuckle out of it.”