CMU’s 100th Anniversary year kicked off with the premier of “Long May We Live” at Asteria Theatre. In a crowd of professors, alumni, administrators and donors the school’s history was laid bare.
The documentary moved sequentially through history starting in the ‘20s. It focused on the university’s perspective, the valley’s perspective and then the national perspective. It even highlighted some of the more troubling aspects of the school’s history, especially its origins.
Special Collections & Archives Librarian Amber D’Ambrosio really dug into the history and found that there were quite a few questions left unanswered. The documentary showed that the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) almost prevented Mesa from ever getting off the ground in the ‘20s.
“It’s really hard to know why the KKK and the general assembly, like why the KKK and the house was against us,” said D’Ambrosio.
Most of the documentary focused on the community-based aspects of CMU throughout its life. Former CMU President Tim Foster was featured heavily, and spoke about the struggles to keep the school afloat during thin times.
Will Hays is on the CMU Foundation Board and the President of Hilltop Family Resources in town. He attended the event and said the documentary was very illuminating.
“From the outside, it seems like it’s so seamless,” Hays said. “To know how hard leadership here and the trustees really had to fight to make it happen – I was not aware of that.”
Rowdy Brass Band made an appearance after the documentary premiere during the reception hour. The Ambassador program was greeting guests and handing out t-shirts. Many in the program are seniors and felt it was special to be able to graduate during the 100th Anniversary.
Senior mechanical engineering student Logan Maier-Wlaford felt proud to be part of the kickoff event.
“I’m proud to have been a part of this event and to come in at just the right time. My sister deferred enrollment for a year so now I’m laughing at her like ‘oh, you missed out, sucks to suck,’” said Logan.
Brianna DiGiulio, another Ambassador and a senior in environmental science views the anniversary as a once in a lifetime opportunity. She said her time here has been special, and this event has added to that.
“The professors have made, like, a huge impact,” said DiGiulio. “We only have, like, four professors in environmental science. All of them know me by my first name.”
Grand Junction City Council member Scott Beilfuss worked with CMU for decades with cap-and-gown supplier Jostens, outfitting professors and students for graduation. He wished the documentary included more focus on the connection between the professors and students.
“Those people, those staff members back then, were very close to their students,” said Beilfuss.
Professor of sociology Dr. Brenda Wilhelm said she wanted to see more of a focus on academics in the documentary and during the presentations.
The documentary is going to have a public screening in the fall, as well as many other 100th-Anniversary-themed events.
In the spring, Foster will host a lecture series that takes a deeper dive into the history of CMU.
