1980s

Singer Mel Torme
1982 PAIR
“As Mel’s Band for an evening in the PAIR Celebrity Series, the Jazz Ensemble I students not only got to perform for a wider audience than usual, but got the experience of working professionally with a major icon in vocal jazz,” remembered Farrelly. “I can vividly remember the Titan pride swelling in me when, as an audience member at that concert, Mel stopped after post-song applause from the sold-out house had died down, lifted a hand to quell the last remaining accolades, and said, pointing behind him to the students, ‘Man, can you believe these students? Isn’t this the best band you’ve ever heard?’ The applause was deafening as more than 1,300 people rose to their feet. I can’t believe a single CSUF student from that band will ever forget that night.”

U.S. Secretary of Education
Terrel H. Bell
1984 25th Anniversary Keynote Speaker
Terrel H. Bell, secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan, helped Cal State Fullerton celebrate its silver anniversary in 1984 by giving the keynote speech. Bell stressed educational reforms and called for leadership to enforce reform. Among Bell’s concerns for nationwide reform were teachers’ salaries and obsolete textbooks. At the same time, he complimented CSUF.

“Some say if you raise standards you crowd out students; you haven’t done that here. You are the best example that we can have high standards and equality at the same time.”

President Ronald Reagan
1970, 1988 Political Rally for George W. Bush
President Ronald Reagan’s last appearance in Orange County during his presidency took place at Cal State Fullerton, and involved a campaign stump for George W. Bush. Reagan’s appearance on campus closed a circle of sorts, noted Political Science Professor Emeritus Sandra Sutphen. “(Then Gov. Ronald) Reagan had been on campus in 1970, and his speech was interrupted by two students who shouted bad words at him, and were apprehended by Fullerton police as they left while he was speaking,” Sutphen recalled. “Shortly afterward, as a ‘safety measure,’ Reagan shut down the CSU system to prevent riots over the Vietnam War. That precipitated a riot on our own campus.”

But in 1989, “he was campaigning and we were just a convenient stop as he mobilized his base in Orange County, then one of the most Republican areas in the country. There was monumental inconvenience (and expense) as the campus was made secure for his appearance, and entrance to the gym was a closely guarded event,” she continued. “There were, of course, a few protestors, but I remember it being pretty much a non-event from a political point of view.”

Political Science Professor Emeritus Barbara Stone disagreed, and said that anytime a president visits a university campus “it says to the world, ‘we’re here, we’re big, we count.’ Cal State Fullerton doesn’t usually receive that recognition except when our baseball team wins,” Stone said. “The sight of that presidential helicopter flying in... It was a fairly overwhelming coup by whoever was responsible for bringing him to campus. I assure you, most of the faculty couldn’t stand him, but nevertheless, presidential visits are highly coveted. Ronald Reagan was the greatest show on two legs. He was a spellbinder while he was talking. The greatest show around.”