It’s all too easy for college students to believe their challenges, achievements and world circumstances are unprecedented and entirely unique. The revolving door of the student population means those with the privilege of attending a four-year university have an exceedingly narrow and short-tenured view of their college community, leaving much to learn from our past peers.

Dating to the 1920s, The Collegian’s comprehensive archive collection allows members of the Colorado State University community to reflect on our history, and from it, approach the next 150 years with renewed perspective. A November 1957 feature revealed this is nothing new, with Collegian reporter Lorene Tyler reviewing a 1906 publication to examine evolving fashion trends in CSU’s growing woman student population.

A gleaming — although not entirely representative — example of student life throughout the decades is The Collegian’s complex and, at times, tenuous relationship with the Associated Students of CSU. While each student government administration faces their own unique challenges and the government-press relationship evolves accordingly, in reality, the challenge to engage with, serve and advocate for the student body has remained constant for two of CSU’s largest student organizations.

“I think the relationship that’s been established has that watchdog element, but it’s also a really collaborative and cohesive relationship.” –Nick DeSalvo, ASCSU president

This was first evident when The Collegian voiced its support to bring the existing student government body, formed in 1917, into the fold of university administration in 1954, using its established campus presence to advocate for more fair and comprehensive representation of CSU’s post-war student population.

ASCSU previously oversaw aspects of student life outside of the academic sphere, including the campus bookstore and the Student Resolution Center. Unfortunately, editions of The Collegian from this period were lost in the 1997 Spring Creek flood.

However, archives from 1957 reveal that accompanying the administration-sponsored student government were the Independent Student Administration and the Associated Women Students. Contrary to ASCSU’s current makeup of representatives from individual colleges, these organizations drew their membership from CSU’s residence hall population, representing students by grade level, with class administrations elected every fall.

While the ISA and AWS are long defunct, an AWS mission statement first published by The Collegian is undeniably familiar. Having run on the Liberal Party ticket — another bygone aspect of student representation — the winning first-year class representatives took advantage of their allotted column inches to thank the members of the student body and outline their goals for office.

“One: Promote unity and spirit of the class,” the statement reads. “Two: Promote interest and enthusiasm for activities and traditions of the Aggies. Three: Form a cabinet with representatives from each dormitory. Four: Have money-making projects — the money is needed for future class-sponsored activities.”

These priorities remain shockingly similar to ASCSU’s current mission and more recent goals and initiatives, with student organization funding, equitable student representation and campus engagement continuing to serve as core motivations for ASCSU members. This was especially evident during the most recent ASCSU election cycle in March 2024, in which each ticket made student engagement, representation and funding a hallmark of their respective campaigns.

Also in 1957, the ASCSU offices moved to the upstairs level of the original student center in what is now Johnson Hall. Citing a lack of campus engagement with ASCSU services, former President George Snyder worked with members of The Collegian staff to move the offices into the same space as the existing Collegian newsroom, linking government and press by location and mission.

The next 50 years were strewn with headlines not unlike those still observed today, with crises of leadership, election controversies and partisan infighting remaining common themes of student government. Following the annual legislative elections in early 1971, the ASCSU Supreme Court recommended the election be invalidated, citing several tickets’ failure to uphold campaigning and advertising regulations. The Collegian came to the legislature’s aid by publishing editorials defending the sanctity of the electoral process, a favor that would be returned in due course.

The fall of 2007 saw The Collegian embroiled in national controversy following the publication of an editorial that read: “Taser this… FUCK BUSH.” The publication of the four-word editorial denounced former U.S. President George W. Bush’s policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, resulting in extreme community backlash that threatened the survival of the one of West’s longest-tenured student newspapers. The Collegian and its broadcast and radio counterparts were under the supervision of university administration at this time. Arbitrations between student media leadership, university administration, The Coloradoan and ASCSU resulted in student media’s separation and rebirth as an independent nonprofit organization.

“We all had to take the same line, which was, ‘It’s not good journalism, but it’s protected by the First Amendment,'” said Jeff Browne, the student media advisor at the time of the publication. “Given the almost 17 years of hindsight, everything really worked out pretty well despite the horribleness of the moment and the pressure.”

ASCSU leadership played a leading role in advocating for the preservation of student media, both in published letters to the editor and official arbitrations with the other involved parties. The resulting decision allowed The Collegian to receive annual funding from ASCSU as a registered student organization, securing the publication’s survival and creating what sitting President Nick DeSalvo describes as a productive working relationship between government and press.

“I think the relationship that’s been established has that watchdog element, but it’s also a really collaborative and cohesive relationship,” DeSalvo said.

Reach Sam Hutton at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @Sam_Hut14.