Former Associated Students (AS) presidents dating back to the 1970s returned on Monday morning to the USU Grand Salon and over Zoom to reflect on student leadership, campus activism and how CSUN has evolved across generations.

The special Presidents’ Day session brought together past and present student leaders, offering a historical perspective as AS prepares for upcoming elections. The meeting gave current candidates and students the rare opportunity to hear firsthand how student governance has shifted over time.

Former AS Vice President Lupita Montoya, class of 1989, reflected on how serving in student government shaped her long after graduation during the open forum.

“What we learned on this campus was not just academics, but also the activism that comes with organizing people,” Montoya said.

After spending decades away from California, Montoya returned as an alumna and helped establish a Minority Engineering Alumni Chapter at CSUN. She also challenged assumptions about who belongs in leadership roles.

“We want people to be comfortable with the fact that engineers can be leaders,” she said. “They can care about people.”

Montoya also described organizing in a campus environment that looked very different from today’s – long before social media amplified student voices.

As the current elections approach, student leaders said those lessons remain relevant.

Current AS President Keiry Saravia said hearing from past leaders reinforced how long student initiatives can last.

“A lot of the projects that AS presidents have initiated in the past are still implemented to this day,” Saravia said. “We’re still impacted by the work past presidents, vice presidents and senators have done.”

Saravia pointed to the campus’s Blue Light emergency phones as an example of long-lasting student initiatives. The program, originally developed as a student-led safety escort effort in the 1980s, later evolved into the permanent Blue Light system still used on campus today.

Applause followed each reflection as current senators and students listened from the Grand Salon, some taking notes as former presidents described both victories and challenges from their time in office.

As former presidents encouraged students to “take advantage” of their time in leadership, the message was clear: the legacy of AS is not static; it is passed down.

Monday’s session underscored that student government is not temporary, as its impact can span decades. For those preparing to run or vote, the legacy now rests in their hands.