Just beneath the academic surface of San Diego State University is an organization whose influence has been a constant. It is so significant to the student experience that for 75 years it has been a catalyst to some of the biggest changes on campus. A governing body elected by students, led by students yet independent from the university itself. That organization is Associated Students.

Over the past three-quarters of a century, the organization has not only led SDSU’s student body through generations of success and turmoil, but has produced an impressive group of student leaders who went on to become city councilmen, corporate executives and entrepreneurs.

“Restaurateur Norman Brinker, former Escondido Mayor Jerry Harmon and current councilman Kevin Faulconer, just to name a few, all used Associated Students as a spring board to success,” said Dan Cornthwaite, executive director of Associated Students since 1982. “All of them will say their experience leading this organization was instrumental to their success.”

Who knew when the original student governing body was established in 1921 that the organization would become the multi-million dollar corporation it is today?

At the time, State Normal School had just merged with the Junior College to create San Diego State College, and because of each school’s separate beginnings, each had its own student organizations and officers. The two organizations merged in the fall of 1922, and the first officers of the San Diego State College Student Body were elected, led by President Wilbert Anderson.

These first A.S. officers served in 1922-23.

It was from those humble beginnings that Associated Students (A.S.) grew to be a force to reckon with on campus. Over the next decade, and with a budget funded strictly by voluntary student fees of $1, the organization became the apex of student life; supporting the college’s student organizations, social fraternities and intercollegiate athletics.

In 1932, it became incorporated as a non-profit corporation. Today, as Associated Students marks the 75th anniversary of that milestone, the organization operates a $19.1 million dollar budget, employs 89 full time staff and fills more than 400 student leadership positions. It also manages six facilities on campus, including Cox Arena, the only major arena run by a student-led organization.

From the begining

As the first student body organization in the California State University system, the vision for the newly incorporated Associated Students was hazy. During its first decade, A.S. helped students adjust to the new, larger campus by helping establish new student organizations and develop a greater sense of campus camaraderie. As the campus grew and the country changed, so did A.S.

Associated Students holds a meeting in 1945.

In 1944, while most college aged men were fighting in World War II, the first female was elected president of A.S. Pat Fritzenkotter led an all-female executive board, during 1944-45. After her term, it would be another 25 years before a woman would serve as Associated Students president.

“It was very different then because it was wartime,” remembered Fritzenkotter. “Women were the majority, so instead of hosting gala dances we sold war bonds and stamps, held scrap drives and wrote Christmas letters to all the services men we could.”

A turning point

A defining moment for the organization took place during the 1956 school year. Under the leadership of President Norman Brinker, the first mandatory student activity fee was passed.

“Up to that point, we never knew how much money we were going to have so we couldn’t plan for the future,” said Brinker, chairman of the board of the successful restaurant group Brinker International, which owns chains like Chili’s, Macaroni Grill and On the Border.

Harvey Goodfriend, who ran against Brinker in the ’56 election and lost, said the mandatory fee became the basis for the way A.S. runs business to this day.

“When student activity fees were purely voluntary, we had to stand in line when students were registering for classes to persuade them to pay the extra dollar or two,” said Goodfriend, who served as the senior class representative during that pivotal year, and later returned to manage A.S. for 18 years.

With the mandatory fees in place and Brinker at the helm, the board worked as a team to plan ahead and expand; something they could never do before.

“Leading that organization taught me the importance of listening and including other people in the decision making process,” Brinker said. “To this day, I never make a arbitrary decision because of what I learned as president of A.S.”

Building for the future

Because of Brinker and the board’s forward thinking, A.S. had established a new way of doing business.

In 1963, a second mandatory fee was approved by students to fund the building of the student union, now known as Aztec Center. Former Escondido mayor, Jerry Harmon was on the board at that time and said the campaign to win approval from the student body was one of the greatest lessons he learned in college.

“I learned that getting people to vote for something that would be in their best interest, even with little or no opposition, was a difficult task when their pocketbook was affected,” Harmon said. “It was a better lesson than any class or textbook could have ever taught me.”

Aztec Center, completed in 1968, opened as the first permanent student union facility on any CSU campus.

Susan Heiser, who has been with A.S. since 1971, talked about the excitement of seeing students grow to become dynamic leaders, responding to the needs of their constituents and dedicating their time to the university.

In response to a changing student body and more non-traditional students returning to school, A.S. created the SDSU Children's Center. It allows students with children to attend classes during the day, Heiser said.

“A.S. makes decisions based on the needs and demands of the student body,” Heiser said. “When a need for childcare was determined, A.S. found a solution.”

Lessons in leading

Cornthwaite has seen dozens of students flourish and excel in their post-university careers, many taking the skills they learned in student government into the real political arena.

Among them is San Diego City Councilman Kevin Faulconer, who says his experience as president of A.S. in 1989 gave him the political itch to run for public office.

"When I was A.S. president, I learned to cherish two valuable tools: listening and compromise," said Faulconer. "Today, as a city council member, those qualities have taken on even more value. My first priority, on any issue, is to gain feedback from the community, appreciate the different perspectives they hold and assure them that their input is valued. SDSU continues to teach young, aspiring leaders these same tools. Their success at producing dynamic leaders remains unmatched."

Another alumnus who first spread his political wings leading SDSU’s student body is Tom D’Agostino.

A.S. President in 1974 and 1975, Agostino has made a career representing organizations in the state’s capital, SDSU included. The first and only person to serve two terms as president, D’Agostino led the SDSU student body during the tumultuous end of the Vietnam War era.

“There was a culture of activism at that time and we were heavily engaged in serious debates that extended beyond the campus,” D’Agostino said. “We dealt with issues like Title IX and collective bargaining for faculty, I learned a lot about Sacramento where I later made my career.”

Previously a consultant for former Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, D’Agostino said being president of A.S. helped him to learn how to balance the emotional side of the issues and deal with a wide spectrum of constituents.

“As students, we tried to be part of the process and the solution, instead of being part of the problem,” said D’Agostino, who now serves as an SDSU Ambassador for Higher Education, engaging in public policy to support higher education.

Another former A.S. president, Larry Emond, now chief marketing officer for The Gallup Organization, also got a crash course in leadership as an A.S. member.

It took three student body votes to get approval for the construction of the Aztec Recreation Center and Cox Arena, certainly the most prominent venues in the organization’s business profile.

“I met every week that summer after I was elected with SDSU President Tom Day, Athletics Director Fred Miller, and Associate Athletic Director Jim Herrick planning out the campaign,” Emond said. “We got the YES vote March 3, 1988. I will never forget that date.”

Some of the thornier issues place A.S. in a mediator’s role. Ronald C. Williams, served as executive vice president in 2000 when the Native American Student Association brought forward a resolution to get rid of the SDSU mascot. Williams, now a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Berkeley, said it was a complex problem that needed a creative solution.

“That issue put us in a position of having to balance the values of the majority with those of the minority opinion,” Williams said. “It was frustrating because people did not understand that although they accounted for less than one percent of the student population, the Native American community had valid concerns that needed to be addressed.”

Though the controversy died down after the university redesigned “Monty Montezuma” to become the “Aztec Warrior,” it remains one of the most memorable debates in recent years.

A new era

As Associated Students approaches its anniversary celebration this year, the organization continues to grow and change. In March, the $10 million Aquaplex will open its pools to the community.

On the drawing board and already approved by students is a student funded project, to renovate the 40-year-old Aztec Center and build a new student union. Modern Space, a $44 million project, has already generated its own controversy, once again challenging A.S. to balance growth with respect for tradition.

At the core of the debate is the original sycamore tree planted during the construction of Aztec Center. With the renovation, the tree and its ever expanding roots might have to go. Goodfriend, still on staff at SDSU, wants to keep the treasured tree right where it is.

“We built Aztec Center around the tree and it would be criminal to remove it,” said Goodfriend.

Growth and tradition in perfect balance. It is that kind of heartfelt dedication to Aztec tradition that student body leaders of SDSU have carried over the past 75 years of the organizations history, and one that will likely be carried on through another generation of spirited SDSU leaders.

Related information

• Associated Students
• SDSU Children's Center
• Aztec Center

Credits

• Story by Gina Speciale
• Photographs courtesy of SDSU Library Special Collections
• Graphics by John Signer

This story originally appeared in 360: The Magazine of San Diego State University