SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — A longstanding San Diego State tradition is being reimagined this Homecoming season for a new generation of Aztecs.
Cowles Mountain was the perfect billboard to advertise Aztec pride. It all started when a group of 12 students brought a crazy idea to the president of the university.
They proposed students create a 400 ft. “S” out of rocks on the side of Cowles Mountain. President Hardy loved it and on February 27, 1931 hundreds of students trekked up the mountain.
“Cleared all the brush, cleared all the rocks and arranged the rocks in this giant 'S' and that's the start of it,” said SDSU Historian Seth Mallios.
Maintaining the “S” became an important campus tradition. Students would carry up heavy bags of lime and paint it into the rocks. The bright white color would make the “S” stand out for miles away.
“They took it as a huge achievement,” said Mallios.
Wooden panels were built to keep the rocks in place throughout the year. In the spring of 1942, it had to be covered up.
“The city is so worried that the Japanese will be able to triangulate off of that symbol and drop bombs on San Diego,” said Mallios.
Once the war was over the tradition was back alive.
“In the '50s and '60s, it’s all the rage. This is not an unofficial part of orientation. It’s actually on people’s calendars as an official event,” said Mallios.
This CBS 8 archive footage from 1958 captured when students climbed Cowles Mountain to paint the giant "S" visible for miles around.
Cowles Mountain is the highest spot in the city. This long-standing tradition quickly died in the '70s when environmentalists wanted to preserve the area.
“It’s a sensitive biological habitat,” said Mallios.
Today, SDSU students still celebrate homecoming and honor the “S” in a similar way with it visible in different locations on campus throughout the week. Mallios said most students won’t know where the tradition started but hopes that changes this year.
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