California State Student Association

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The California State Student Association or CSSA is an organization for university students in the California State University system.

[edit] History

In 1958, three years before the formation of the California State University (CSU) system, a group of Associated Student Body presidents founded the Student Presidents Association. This group initially served mostly as an informational forum for the campus student associations, but the fact that a well-organized statewide student association was firmly established when the CSU was founded ensured that the students had a place in the CSU's internal policymaking from the beginning. The Student Presidents Association was formally recognized by the Trustees in 1963, only three years after the formation of the system itself and only two months after the statewide Academic Senate held its very first meeting.

The 1970s saw a revival in student governance in the CSU that carried through to the present day. In 1972 the Student Presidents Association sponsored legislation which authorized the expenditure of student body fees to fund a lobbyist for CSU students (Ed Code § 89300). The bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by then Governor Reagan.

By 1974, the student leadership had moved beyond the activism of the 1960s to become more articulate, intelligent, and politically astute. The student leaders of this era were quite successful both in the legislature and within the system, and are responsible for much of the foundation of student leadership that still exists today. Through their successes with Governor Brown and many legislators, they started the tradition of seeking victories in the legislature if they are not forthcoming from the system.

By 1979 CSSA had become extraordinarily active, and many student body presidents were finding it difficult to fulfill both their campus and CSSA responsibilities and thus began appointing CSSA representatives (a few campuses had already started electing separate representatives). The Association decided to recognize this reality by re-naming itself the California State Student Association in 1979.