Fabulous 50: Cathy Sterling, Student Body President, 1970

Fifty years ago, Cathy Sterling (also known as Kate) was the first woman to become Student Body President at NC State University.  Elected in May 1970, she quickly found herself leading protests against the Vietnam War.  During her term in office, Student Government focused on use of student fees and relationships between the student body and university administration.

In 2010, the NC State University Libraries conducted an oral history with Sterling and gathered information about her,  This material was captured as part of the Student Leadership Initiative, which resulted in a website with biographies, photographs, and oral histories about Student Government officers and other student leaders during NC State's history.  Sterling and other former student leaders also took part in a panel discussion hosted by the Libraries in 2013.

Sterling won the student body presidency on 5 May 1970, the day following the Kent State shooting in which National Guard soldiers fired upon a protest against the Vietnam War at Ohio's Kent State University, resulting in the death of 4 students.  In reaction, college campus across the country erupted in protests and violence.  The day after her election, Sterling found herself addressing a "convocation" against the war, held on NC State's Brickyard.  Then 2 days later she and other students leaders from NC State, as well as nearby colleges and universities, led thousands on a march to the North Carolina State Capital in downtown Raleigh.  Sterling also called for a Peace Retreat in which students could learn more about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (this will be discussed in a future Fabulous 50 post).

During Sterling's year as NC State Student Body President, she directed Student Government to examine the ways university administration used student fees.  The result was "Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control...: A Report on Student Non-Academic Fees at N.C. State University," issued in February 1971.  Sterling consistently called for more student involvement in decisions on how student fees would be used.

Photos, newspaper articles, and other resources on Cathy Sterling are available on the Libraries' Rare & Unique Digital Collections website.  Excerpts of Sterling's oral history interviews are also available online.  To request to see the full interviews or to get transcripts, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.  [Special Collections also holds Sterling's papers, which will be accessible again after the coronavirus emergency.]