[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 57 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 31, 2022

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the College of San 
Mateo on its 100th Anniversary. The college, known to locals as CSM, is 
a shining star on the peninsula's hillside, set high above the City of 
San Mateo and serving as a gateway to jobs or additional higher 
education for tens of thousands each year. That includes me. I attended 
summer school one year on this beautiful campus.
  The numbers prove the college's success. CSM offers 68 associate and 
transfer degree programs and an additional 81 professional and career 
certificates. Students at CSM regularly transfer to San Francisco 
State, San Jose State and the University of California. CSM has 
contracts guaranteeing transfer with these universities, and more.
  The college started at a site in downtown San Mateo in 1922, the 
answer for a crisis in the affordability of higher education in America 
at that time. It seems like the same problem that we have today. For 
100 years, it's been the go-to place for students who needed a high-
quality education but couldn't afford Stanford, Yale, Harvard or even 
the University of California.
  Since its birth, CSM has innovated. For example, in recent years it 
began an innovative program known as Middle College, accepting high 
school students who take college-level classes while in high school. We 
talk a great deal about equal opportunity for all. After graduating 
from high school, many students in this program matriculate to CSM or 
state colleges and the University of California having earned thousands 
of dollars of reduced-cost college credits while in high school. I view 
this program as one of the most important offered by CSM because 
through affordable access to higher education our local students come 
one step closer to avoiding student debt while earning a valuable 
college degree.
  Even when students do not go to college during their high school 
years, the affordable classes at CSM are an enormous savings. A third 
of the college's students are even eligible for a waiver of all fees. 
As one former CSM student put it, ``Calculus is the same at the 
University of California as it is at CSM. It just costs thousands of 
dollars less.'' This young man transferred from CSM to the University 
of California, Santa Cruz and graduated with a Bachelor's in Computer 
Science. He estimated that he saved $60,000 and noted that he also had 
money in his college account--zero college debt--when he graduated from 
Santa Cruz. He enjoyed many of his CSM classes more than those at UC 
Santa Cruz and, at CSM, the professors even knew his name.
  So who are the dreamers of our current day who go to CSM? The college 
sends a message that all are welcomed, and that it is committed to a 
campus culture that is antiracist and equity-advancing, where students 
and employees who are People of Color, Indiginous, LGBTQIA+, 
differently enabled, justice impacted, and undocumented are included, 
embraced and celebrated for who they are. I also would be remiss if I 
didn't mention that the CSM campus and adjacent land is the site of the 
district's affordable housing development for faculty and staff. 
Employee turnover has plummeted since this development was created, 
offering rents that are frequently 50 percent or less of market rate. 
Other school districts in our county now plan to copy this strategy, 
and thus CSM, in so many different ways, teaches our community how to 
succeed.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to note that Dr. Jill Biden is 
right. Community college is the key to a great future for many 
Americans. We should do more to reduce the costs of attending community 
colleges like CSM. They are not simply a community jewel on the hill. 
They are a vital tool to shape an American economy that offers hope and 
lifetime learning opportunities for every inquisitive student. 
Congratulations CSM. They are 100 years old, and still packing them in 
like they're a youthful major league star on the playing field. Well, 
in fact, they are.

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