You went to work, did your homework and sat at home doing the bare minimum with your friends.

Here’s an idea, hit up 300 San Jose — located at 5420 Thornwood Dr. in San Jose near Westfield Oakridge Mall — for a night of fun and games without the ridiculous Dave & Busters prices.

300 is an entertainment center that focuses on the young adult by providing cheap bowling, pool and a pretty substantial bar and grill.

Each lane has comfortable leather seating and club style lighting.

The bowling drops to $3.50 per game, after 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and there is a 10:00 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors, creating a more college friendly atmosphere.

Happy hour, from 4p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, offers $3 domestic drafts and well drinks.

300 has several big screen televisions showing sporting events, music videos, and more and the bar section has excellent lounge style seating if you just want to sit and have a good time with your friends.

It’s an all-around place for the young adult looking to relax and have some fun.

For additional information on 300 San Jose visit their Web site.

Marlon Maloney

-Online Content Editor

As we all know, SJSU is referred to as a commuter school. Although many may not live on campus to experience or witness the fun that may go on after hours, they’re events that any student can partake in to enrich their college experience.

First and foremost, the one thing I would suggest for students to do is putting yourself out there and getting involved, go to events and try new things and meet new people.

A few fun things to do around campus are the events that Associated Students provide. Movie nights and campus fairs are a good way to meet new people.

SJSU lacks school spirit, so I would recommend attending a sporting event and showing your school spirit. Tailgating is another added bonus to participate in before football games.

The Event Center on campus also offers a vast amount of various musicians such as Kelly Clarkson and Slipknot. Tickets are affordable for poor college students.

If you fall short of finding fun things to do on campus, SJSU is conveniently located in downtown San Jose, home to a variety of clubs, restaurants and bars.

Exploring new restaurants is something I like to do. I love trying new food and new restaurants.

I would recommend finding a niche interest and exploring those options on and around campus.

Samantha Patterson

-Promotions Manager

All within walking distance of campus, students can break from the sobriety of class work — tests, papers, annoying teachers — and occupy themselves with a little fun.

Located just blocks away on Market Street is the San Jose Museum of Art.

If you need some quiet time, this is definitely the place to visit.

Full of contemporary and modern art, the museum currently has Ansel Adams’ work on display, photography depicting a naturalist state of mind, which is actually kind of ideal considering the closest thing to nature in the area is the ivy overgrowth stretched across the side of the museum’s building.

The downtown nightlife has its high points as well.

One of my favorite places to go is the Loft on Second Street.

It’s a bar and a bistro — meaning you can get absolutely tossed and then order some food without ever having to worry about arguing with your drunk friends as to who wants to eat where.

Both the first and second floors have a bar area, and the music, for the most part, is pretty varied.

There’s so much to do around campus, and these are just a few of the things I like to do when school drives me crazy.

Students should take advantage of the close proximity of campus to the downtown area.

There’s no reason why we can’t make the best of semester long redundancy.\

Angelo Scrofani

-Student Voices Editor

With so many restaurants, bars and clubs within blocks of each other, there’s an activity that almost anyone can enjoy.

To further my research on the thrills of downtown San Jose, I went out last night to a small bar located on Santa Clara Street.

Keep in mind that it was purely for the sake of this blog … and, alright, my friend’s birthday.

The crowd was diverse in ethnicities and age, and everyone was out just having a good time.

There are a lot of bars like this downtown that I feel encompass this energy — fun, carefree and a nice social spot.

Beware of the few bars/clubs that I’ve heard described by numerous people as “ghetto.”

I don’t quite understand what that means but I could write an entire blog venting on the term.

Let’s just not go there.

Another fun thing to do downtown would be to catch a comedy show at the San Jose Improv. They have a pretty decent repertoire and a good line-up at any given time of the week.

Who doesn’t like to laugh?

San Jose really does have a lot to offer. Some searching might be involved, but there’s a little something for everyone in this populated little city.

Andrea Muniz

-Managing Editor

Rather than spending your Saturday’s and Sunday’s at home in front of the TV or slaving over your homework for hours, take a break and check out these five free San Jose activities.

1)      If you enjoy modern art and are interested in environmental issues, stop by the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art for their upcoming Afterlife exhibition. Starting November 7th, visitors can admire a series of recycled objects that have been transformed into artwork. 560 South First St.

2)      Despite the quickly approaching winter weather, embrace the fresh air and immerse in the surrounding natural scenery of the Japanese Friendship Garden. You can sit on the grass and read a book for class or walk along one of the khoi ponds. 1300 Senter Rd.

3)      While sitting in the grass at a nearby park or garden is a great way to watch the clouds glide by, get an even closer look at the sky from atop Mt. Hamilton at the UC Lick Observatory.

4)      Shop for ripe vegetables and take home freshly cut flowers from the year-round Farmer’s Market on Santana Row.

5)      Get a sense of San Jose’s history while window shopping along the restored buildings of History Park. Visit one of the current exhibits including Santa Clara Valley’s World War II Experience in the Pacific Hotel Gallery. Corner of Senter Road and Phelan Avenue.

Andrea Pyka

-Art Director

It is fun to dress up and do the downtown circuit on a Friday — one that starts with Giza and ends with a 2 a.m. burrito at La Vic’s — but sometimes you need a change of pace.

The solution to that is on that little block between Philz Coffee and Starbucks — the San Jose Repertory Theatre.

It sounds like it’s only for theatre buffs or something to do for an assignment, but it’s really for anyone who likes their entertainment to be thought-provoking and interesting.

Plus, there’s the fun of knowing that what you’re seeing is a rare moment.

A movie always has the promise of being released on DVD. But unless you’re going to buy tickets for another performance, you’re probably only going to see that actor perform that comedic scene on this stage only once.

If the only thing holding you back from seeing a show yet is the ticket price, the Rep’s Pay What You Will Tuesday is the chance to pay whatever you can afford — suggested amounts start at $10, so don’t be stingy — and also do some good by donating canned goods to the Second Harvest food bank.

The arrangement only occurs one night a month though, so if there’s a play that catches your eye, make sure to check out the Rep’s Web site and mark your calendar.

Leave the sweats and Uggs/flip flop combinations at home, and bring your ticket money and theatre etiquette with you.

If you really did enjoy the performance, don’t hesitate to give a standing ovation.

Besides, when you recap your Tuesday night, saying you stayed out till 10 p.m. to see a live performance sounds a lot better than staying at night watching reruns, right?

Christine Pasetes

-Chief Designer

Let’s just talk about San Francisco.

I love San Francisco.

Here’s a list of fun things to do there:

The Mission/SOMA

-Dog Eared Books (I cannot recommend this enough.)

-X21 Modern (It’s a treasure trove of oddities, B movie props and effeminate Elvis paintings.)

-McSweeney’s 826 Valencia store (Watch their mascot/leader, Karl, in the viewing station.)

-Cha-Ya (AMAZING vegan Japanese food.)

-The Eagle Tavern for Thursday Nite Live (Again, I cannot recommend this enough.)

-Rainbow Grocery (Wonderful co-op with, among other things, a big selection of vegan baked goods.)

-Dolores Park (There’s always something going on — and they have swings.)

-Dandelion (It’s in the Design District over at Lower Portrero — just check it, and the surrounding stores, out.)

-Needles+Pens (For all your zine/DIY needs.)

-Modern Times Books (It’s run by feminists.)

-Valencia Thrift and Mission Thrift (Respectively.)

-Just wander around the whole area — there’s too much to mention here and it’s all worthwhile.

Bernal Heights

-MAGGIE MUDD (SAN FRANCISCO’S VERY OWN VEGAN (and regular) ICE CREAM PARLOR — SERIOUSLY GO HERE IT’S AMAZING OH MY GODDDDDD.)

-Red Hill Books (Great place—owned by the same people who own Dog Eared.)

-Moki Sushi (Family-friendly, vegan-friendly, taste bud-friendly sushi place.)

-Tacos Los Altos (Real good, real vegan-friendly.)

-Good Life Grocery (They always let you use their bathroom, even if you’re not buying anything.)

-Progressive Grounds (Good for people-watching.)

-Again, just wander around the area — it’s a nice neighborhood.

Haight Street

Don’t bother—it’s a tourist/douchebag trap and there’s nothing really interesting there. Just skip it.

Castro/Church/Noe Valley

-Castro Theatre (Always a fun time — try to go to a sing-along.)

-Chow (Fantastic, friendly, super diet-accommodating neighborhood diner.)

-Aardvark Books (Excellent selection of weird books.)

-Ike’s Place (Dee-lish sandwiches.)

-Just wander around here — there’s tons of stuff to do (Good stores, restaurants and great people-watching.)

Sunset/Richmond/Ocean Beach

-Arizmendi Bakery (The breads here are to die for.)

-Cha-Ya (Again!)

-Underdog (Vegan-friendly hot dogs/sausages — amazing.)

-Golden Gate Park (Really big, very pretty — look out for buffalo.)

-Ocean Beach! (San Francisco truly has everything.)

-The De Young (I don’t know if this qualifies as being in/around Sunset/Richmond/Ocean Beach, but they’ve always got some kind of cool exhibit there, and it’s nearby … whatever.)

-Again, just wander around this chunk of the city—there’s a lot more to see and do.

There’s much, much more to do in the city, but I’ll stop there for now.

In summary, if you’re in San Jose and you’re bored, you’re not going to find anything fun to do so don’t even bother trying.

Just get yourself to San Francisco and be done with it.

Kathryn McCormick

-Photo Editor

Recently, it seems that student burdens have intensified.

From increased student fees to reduced class sizes, SJSU-ers are feeling the weight of issues beyond their control, seemingly now more than ever.

Often, the stress and frustration students feel over these serious academic issues translates to helplessness or apathy.

Overwhelmed, students tend to ignore the problems, leaving the issues to grow and become even more unmanageable.

With that in mind, the Spring 2010 edition of Access Magazine asks students to question these important issues and begin speaking out about them, rather than continuing to allow the issues to happen around them, slowly crushing them.

That said, I would like to address the issue of post-childhood obesity, also known as fat students.

Since the grand opening of Panda Express in the Student Union food court, SJSU students have been boasting grand waist sizes.

Having a Student Union filled with a multitude of eating options is convenient, but it’s not so pleasant when our options are — grease, greasy-grease and grease-on-a-stick.

The more stress students feel, the more they want to wolf down a Panda bowl and cry into a damp rag.

The point is, I forget what I’m trying to say.

In summary, I think it’s important to live your dreams you can’t yet hope to one day wish for, and to accept the fact that yes, you have a gambling problem, and no, you’re not going to do anything about it.

Kathryn McCormick

-Photo Editor

No thanks.

I’m pretty sure I’ve paid for a desk and a lesson plan.

My tuition costs are climbing and I’m expected to be giddy about two class days a month where absolutely nothing is happening.

I better be getting a refund check somewhere in that illogical mess.

And while we’re on the topic of making cents, as in being nickel and dimed, I logged into the MySJSU Web site and did a once over of all the fees being assessed — what the hell is an IRA fee?

All I know is that I was charged $99 for that shit and my blood pressure is up. 

All of a sudden political agendas are burrowing themselves into the likes of education and tainting the idea that a school should be nothing more than a vehicle for higher learning.

Instead, it’s become a gauntlet of tuition hikes and smaller class sizes.

The question now becomes whether I’m going to graduate on time?

I have no answer for that.

Ask me again in three months.

I can’t be the only one pissed off … right?

Let’s talk about it.

Angelo Scrofani

-Student Voices Editor

“It is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could,” Cronkite said.

That night Cronkite tapped the most powerful aspect of journalism, stimulation.

He engaged the public and, while certainly stating an opinion, he also cultivated much needed dialog. It is through dialog and conversation that minds are change and minds are opened. Conversations at the bar or at the water cooler about Cronkite and his opinions led to discussions and an eventual swing of public opinion.

Many who study such things believe that this was a spark for the popularity of the eventual pull out of Vietnam.

Muckraking journalists of the early 20th century such as Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair sensationalized the corruption of the monopolies and industries that they covered, but their reports stirred the discourse and outrage that would presumably persuade the legal changes that soon followed.

Sinclair once said, “You don’t have to be satisfied with America as you find it. You can change it. I didn’t like the way I found America some 60 years ago, and I’ve been trying to change it ever since.”

These people realized that in our modern world it’s not enough to simply inform.

As a journalist one must actively attempt to open the channels that were previously only lurking in the subconscious.

It’s only in the minds of a talking public that problems get solved.

It is in their image that we publish.

Chris Curry

-Features Editor