Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Corinne Speckert During a tour of Speed City Tuesday, Urla Hill, SJSU alumna and guest creator for History San Jose, points at Ray Norton a former SJSU member who was named "Worlds Fastest Man."

As alumni shared memories and swapped stories, students wandered through an exhibit featuring a collection of photos and sports memorabilia from the civil rights and Black Power movements titled "Speed City" Tuesday evening honoring past SJSU athletes and coaches, and learned about the unsung heroes of San Jose State's past.

"I'm very interested in civil rights, my grandfather was a Black Panther, so when I heard about the exhibit I volunteered to help out," said Ashley Bedford, a junior nursing major. "I thought it would be really informative to come."

Marie McCann, events and outreach coordinator for the alumni association and a 2004 graduate of SJSU felt that the event would be a great opportunity for students to come learn about SJSU history.

"I think it's really important to learn about the traditions of your school and why you're proud to be a Spartan," McCann said. "I think it instills a sense of ownership, and that's also very important."

Monique Hughes, a junior majoring in marketing, said she learned about the exhibit in the fall welcome week brochure and volunteered to help at the event.

"I think it's interesting to learn more about the history of SJSU because we are one of the CSU's with more history and it would be good to know what got us to this point," Hughes said. "Coming here, all I really knew about San Jose State and the civil rights movement was Tommie Smith and John Carlos, but I'm interested to learn more about civil rights and how athletics played a part."

The exhibit featured brief histories on coaches as well as collections of athletic equipment, uniforms, Olympic programs, medals and trophies.

Urla Hill, a graduate of San Jose State University, said she began researching and collecting for the exhibit in 1995.

"This was when SJSU was king. We don't have this anymore. It's sad that San Jose doesn't realize what it had and isn't celebrating what it had," Hill said. "When I go to Cal Berkeley and Stanford to do research, you see all their history on display. When I come to San Jose, I have it all here. It saddens me."

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools