In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, AU’s students got to hear lots of national acts right here on campus. Venues included the amphitheater, the baseball field, and Bender Arena. The Student Union Board organized concerts throughout the year but the main event was the spring concert. This annual tradition began in the 1960s and continued through the early 2000s. The 1984 concert featuring The Pretenders, The Alarm, and Stevie Ray Vaughan was cancelled due to security concerns. The 1988 concert was the last held outdoors.

AU Archives’ Top 25 Acts

• Duke Ellington 1964
• Simon and Garfunkel 1966
• James Brown 1968
• Allman Brothers 1970
• Byrds 1970
• Chicago 1972
• Grateful Dead 1972
• B. King 1972
• New Riders of the Purple Sage 1974
• Bruce Springsteen 1974
• Peter Frampton 1976
• Foreigner 1977
• Psychedelic Furs and Marshall Crenshaw 1983
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts 1987
• Squeeze 1989
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam 1991
• Violent Femmes 1991
• Salt N Pepa and De La Soul 1992
• Nirvana 1993
• Soul Asylum 1993
• Cypress Hill 1994
• Better than Ezra 1996
• Guster 2000
• Weezer 2001
• Bob Dylan 2004

Joan Jett performing on April 11, 1987

Gordon Gano of the Violent Femmes performing on April 20. 1991

Some of most popular acts to visit campus came in the fall including the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Nirvana.

Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead performing on September 30, 1972

Nirvana performed at AU on November 13, 1993

In honor of Women’s History Month, AU Archives is paying tribute to some of our early women leaders.

Mary Louise Brown (1887-1965) was AU’s first woman Dean. She served as Dean of Women from 1925 until 1944. She was also a professor in the English Department. Brown earned her B.A. from DePauw University and her M.A. from the University of Michigan. The Woods-Brown Amphitheater is named in her honor as well as that of the long time Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, George B. Woods.

Mary Louise Brown

Ann Henderson (1913-2000) was AU’s first female editor in chief of The Eagle (1934-35). She founded and edited for many years What Every Woman Knows, a publication for members of The Union Church in Hinsdale, Illinois.

Ann Henderson

Helen Miller (1919-1998) was AU’s first female student government president (1939-40). Miller went on to earn her M.A. from Syracuse and served in the Red Cross during World War II. She was awarded the Kinsman Cup and served as President of AU’s Alumni Association from 1953 until 1955.

Helen A. Miller

Catheryn Seckler-Hudson (1902-1963) became the first woman Dean of a school or college at AU when she was appointed Dean of the School of Government and Public Affairs in 1957. She was also the first woman to become a full professor. Seckler-Hudson earned her B.A. from Northeast Missouri State Teachers College, her M.A. from the University of Missouri, and her Ph.D. from American University. She also served as Chair of the Political Science and Public Administration departments. There is a student achievement award in her honor.

Catheryn Seckler-Hudson

The Organization of African and Afro-American Students at American University (OASATAU) formed in 1967 to improve the climate of AU for Black students. OASATAU’s initial efforts focused on “curriculum reform, more and better Black representation in social and political activities on and off campus, cultural awareness, Black consciousness, and pride in Black heritage.”

OASTATAU pushed for the creation of an interdisciplinary Black Studies program and the recruitment of more Black students and faculty. OASATAU partnered with the admissions office to recruit students. The initial focus was on D.C. but was expanded to include other cities on the East Coast. OASATAU organized a tutoring program for Black students at AU, several community programs, and a variety of social activities including concerts and dances.

OASATAU’s newspaper, UHURU, ran as a separate paper from 1971 until 1983 when it became a section of The Eagle. In 1996, it was replaced by Mosaic, AU’s multicultural student newspaper. OASATAU also hosted a program of Black music, news and current events on WAMU-AM.

UHURU, February 3, 1975

In response to the changing needs of Black students on campus, OASATAU revised its constitution and changed its name to the Black Student Alliance (BSA) in 1988. BSA called its main governing body, the general assembly. It consisted of 18 representatives from the African Student Association, the Caribbean Student Association, the AU Gospel Choir, the campus chapter of the NAACP, Greek organizations, graduate students, commuter students, Washington Semester students, dorm residents, UHURU and a parliamentarian.

American University first celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20, 1986. AU cancelled classes and gave its employees the day off. The AU Black Coalition called for AU’s celebration of the King Holiday to “capture the essence of the man and the movement that he represented.” In 1987 and 1988, AU held “State of the Dream” conferences which looked at what progress has been made in civil rights so far and what remains to be done. The speakers focused on the areas of education, skills, housing and economic mobility. Starting in 1989, AU held an annual commemoration ceremony with speakers and music. AU inaugurated its MLK Day of Service in 2003. AU’s current celebration includes a variety of activities including lectures, musical tributes, film screenings and a day of community service.

AU Gospel Choir performing at AU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony in 1998

Starting in the mid-1930s, female students living on campus participated in an annual candlelight ceremony featuring yule logs and a Christmas tree. The event began with a parade of students holding candles walking down the steps in Mary Graydon Hall. Starting in 1959, the women marched into the Clendenen gymnasium singing Christmas carols while holding candles.

Each December, the Women’s House Council held a secret ballot for “Best Loved Girl” and “Most Representative Girl” from each class. The winners were announced at the candlelight ceremony. Controversy over mandatory attendance and other issues led to moving the awards ceremony to the spring. The last “Best Loved Girl” was elected in 1966.

Female students heading to the 1958 Best Loved Girl Ceremony

Sadie Hawkins Day was first introduced in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner Comic Strip in 1937. Subsequently, students in the United States and Canada organized Sadie Hawkins Dances where the females invited the males. AU students held their first Sadie Hawkins Dance in November 1939. It was an annual event in the 1940s and 1950s though it was held in the spring starting in 1955. By 1963, AU students began celebrating Sadie Hawkins Weekend which included a variety of activities in addition to the dance. In 1966 and 1967, the students held a Li’l Abner election.

Students were encouraged to dress “Dogpatch style.” Appropriate attire included no shoes or sneakers, patched jeans or “ragged” shorts and wild hats. The girls presented their dates with vegetable corsages. The dances included mock weddings where the students exchanged pipe cleaner rings and received wedding certificates.

Sddie Hawkins Dance Photos, The Eagle, October 25, 1951

Sadie Hawkins Dance Photos, The Eagle, November 21, 1952