By Happy Birthday wishes, ’70s and ’80s music and “Protect Puvungna” chants filled the West Lawn of the Walter Pyramid on Sept. 28 for Long Beach State’s 75th-anniversary kickoff concert celebration.
The event welcomed students, staff, faculty, alums and the greater Long Beach community to celebrate the university’s first day of classes 75 years ago to the date, from 3 – 8 p.m.
Decorated in black and gold, the commemoration included a tent for alum reunions, a tent for campus history, a beer garden and live music on a stage directly in front of the Walter Pyramid, featuring three bands connected to CSULB.
Over 30 campus departments, including Long Beach State Athletics, the Shark Lab and the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, represented themselves among attendees.
An audience sits on lawn chairs on the West Lawn to witness the live music of Mariachi Los Tiburones de CSULB, Higher Ed and Knyght Ryder at the 75th Anniversary Concert on Sept. 28. Photo Credit: Samuel Chacko
Beneath the history tent, examining the displayed school yearbooks, was 62-year-old alumni Donn Oswald.
Looking for himself between the pages, Oswald graduated from the Psychology department in 1987 and came to the celebration to revisit his memories.
“I know it started from humble beginnings and the university has grown and grown,” Oswald said. “I always think about it and about the students that come here, like myself, how leaders came out of this place. A lot of my classmates, my friends, were great people – just people from Long Beach.”
Chris Reese, associate vice president for university relations, and Noemi Guevara, director of alumni engagement, said planning the event “took a village.”
“I think I just wanted to create an event that brought out our students, alumni, faculty, staff and community in this beautiful space,” Guevara said. “We wanted to celebrate what this intuition is, the city of Long Beach, and for kids like me.”
Monica Lounsbery, dean of the College of Health and Human Services and Higher Ed’s lead vocalist, dances with the crowd during the 75th Anniversary Concert. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko.
As Guevara spoke of what the event meant to her, the sun’s glint revealed welling tears in her brown eyes.
A first-generation college student and an alumnus herself, Guevara studied human development at the Beach and graduated in 2008.
The Sept. 28 date commemorates more than the university’s origins to the Friends of Puvungna President Rebecca Robles and activist member Michelle Castillo.
Five years ago and one day prior, Robles and Castillo said Long Beach State dumped 6,400 pounds of contaminated debris and dirt from the construction efforts at Parkside dorms onto the sacred Puvungna site.
During the event, Castillo gathered among a community of activists to draw attention to the protection of the 22-acre ceremonial Indigenous site for the Gabrielino-Tongva, Acjachemen nations and several other Southern California tribal groups.
Chants of “Protect Puvungna” and “75-year anniversary of occupation” could be heard as activists marched alongside the sidewalk of the West Lawn. Chalk writing displayed phrases like “You are on Indigenous land” and “Five years since CSULB dumped toxic arsenic-contaminated soil on sacred Puvungna.” Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Once encompassing 500 acres, upon which the university, southeast Long Beach and Seal Beach now sits, Robles said the land is thousands of years old and holds significance as a burial ground, creation site and a religious, spiritual center.
As a member of the Acjachemen nation, Robles said she and her family have been working to preserve Puvungna since the ’90s.
“This is important history; it is California history. It is not mentioned in the 75 annual celebration of history,” Robles said. “That was the purpose of our presence today. It wasn’t really a protest – it was a calling to attention.”
A 2021 settlement agreement required permanent protection of the sacred site and the university’s decision on a conservation easement over the site; however, Puvungna currently has no official steward.
Robles said their community feels the land has been mistreated, and they want the university to move forward with the land trust to heal and restore the land.
“We want it to be a place of healing, a place of gathering, a place that we can continue to celebrate our history, culture, spirituality and provide all of those things for our youth and the public,” Robles said. “We want to be able to share that. The time is now.”
Chants and chalk displays coincided alongside the event as attendees socialized, visited department stands and watched the concert.
At 6 p.m., event organizers, including Reese and CSULB President Jane Close Conoley, addressed the crowd on the main stage in a speech about the university’s legacy and future.
“75 is a milestone; it shows we have the same power as any university,” Conoley said. “Sometimes at a birthday you kind of look back, but I want us to look forward. I appreciate what we’re doing now, but also keep making plans for our next 25, 50 and 75 years.”
The speech concluded with a celebratory cake and the audience singing “Happy Birthday” to the university.
As the sun descended, the band Knyght Rider closed out the night with covers of hit songs, including “Jesse’s Girl” and “Take on Me.”
The Knight Ryder’s were the last musical performance to play on Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. Students, faculty and alumni jived to the music in the front as the sun slowly set. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko.
The anniversary concert kicks off the first of many celebrations. According to Guevara, university officials are working alongside campus partners to curate more events over eight months.
Future announcements for the 75th celebration season can be found here.
