In 1858, a year after San Jose State University was founded, the students were given one of its most treasured artifacts. The Great Tower Bell which was given to the students from the community of San Jose. It weighs 10 tons and its main purpose was to announce the beginning and end of classes. It was first situated in the tower of the university, but in 1859 it was moved to the ground and used as a monument because it was too heavy. To this day the bell is still located in the same spot of the university. There have been reports that on the day of September 18 of every year there is noise that sounds like a bell that rings 210 times at 1:00am that is believed to come from this bell and that the number of times it rings signifies the 210 original scholars of the college.
In 1945, San Jose State University adopted another treasured artifact, the P.P.P (peace prevailing pole). This monument stands as evidence that after World War II everyone especially the students of this university wanted no more to do with war. The pole says “May Peace Prevail On Earth” and each student voted for the languages that would be placed with this quote. Inside the pole are letters with signatures written from important politicians, economists, intellectuals and artists that have visited the university and understood that the pole stands for honoring peace, and that at the end we are all just human.