SE Valley Times

More than 50 years ago, a young Vietnam veteran enrolled at Arizona State University (ASU) on the GI Bill. Amid the conflicts and protests of the late 1960s, he left campus before graduating.

Alfredo Gutierrez went on to become a state legislator, political consultant, and prominent human rights activist in Arizona. He helped establish the Hispanic Convocation at ASU and received an honorary doctorate from the university.

In May, the 78-year-old Gutierrez finally graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

“To me, it was one of the things I felt like I had to do,” he said.

Back in the 1960s, there were only a few dozen Hispanic students on campus at ASU. There was no Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrate people like Gutierrez. Now, ASU is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution, with an enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students that is at least 25% of the overall student body.

“Just the fact that I walk around this university now and you know, there's Latinos everywhere,” he said. “The change has been immense. So as much as we have a fight to go forth, we’ve come a long, long way, and I celebrate that.”

Gutierrez grew up in Miami, Arizona. At age 17, he joined the Army and served in Vietnam. When he returned from Vietnam in 1967, he worked in mines before enrolling at ASU on the GI Bill.

“The GI Bill would not only pay for my tuition; it would offer a stipend. And that was enough to live on,” he said.

“No one in my family had been to college, and I didn’t have any friends at the university.”

However, his life experience prepared him for college life.

“Any intimidation I had about the university being full of people who were so intelligent that I would feel like a fool was really diminished by the time I got to ASU,” he said.

He helped form a Mexican American student group involved in community activities and activism. The group discovered poor working conditions for laundry workers serving fraternities and sororities at ASU but faced resistance from university administrators when they tried to address these issues.

“Essentially ‘This is not your business’ was the response,” Gutierrez said.

The student group took over the president’s office until they secured some changes regarding worker conditions. Despite facing potential expulsion due to his activism during an antiwar protest in 1968, Gutierrez chose to leave with less than a year left until graduation rather than face legal repercussions or expulsion.

Gutierrez continued his activism after leaving campus. He won a fellowship created by Robert F. Kennedy's family after Kennedy's assassination which allowed him further community involvement. He helped form Chicanos Por La Causa and Valle del Sol social-justice advocacy organizations.

In 1972 Gutierrez was elected to the state Senate where he became majority leader two years later. During his tenure he played key roles including securing funding for South Mountain Community College and establishing budget formulas for Arizona's public universities.

In 1984 Gutierrez helped organize ASU’s first Hispanic Convocation which initially took place off-campus before becoming an official event held at ASU.

Over time Gutierrez remained academically engaged lecturing at Harvard teaching through Fulbright programs while contemplating completing his degree.

Despite discovering limited eligibility remaining under updated GI Bill provisions post-Vietnam War last year enrolled anyway enjoying classes ultimately fulfilling what felt like an unfulfilled commitment.

Reflecting mixed feelings about celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month amid current political discourse disparaging immigrants: “You’re happy (Hispanic Heritage Month) recognized but points alarming hypocrisy this country presents us…maybe set aside celebrating devote all energy ensuring no one vilifies us again.”