Thirty-five years after Tommie Smith and John Carlos' controversial black power salute at the Mexico City Olympics, San Jose State students hope to memorialize the former Spartans sprinters with a statue on campus.

Initiated by a senior political science student who in October discovered Smith and Carlos had attended SJSU, the Associated Students have campaigned to commemorate the action that left an indelible mark on the 1968 Summer Games.

Smith won the gold medal in the 200 meters in a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Carlos took the bronze. They were suspended from the U.S. Olympic team after they bowed their heads during the U.S. national anthem and raised black-gloved fists to protest race relations in America.

The Olympians were given certificates as ``Unsung Heroes'' at an SJSU reception Tuesday night, the first step in an effort to honor their legacy as member of the school's ``Speed City'' track team.

``I couldn't understand why San Jose State wouldn't honor such students,'' Carlos told the audience while receiving the award.

Erik Grotz, 23, wrote the resolution to commemorate the athletes because he thought their deed resonated with students today.

``It just doesn't make any sense why the campus wouldn't promote student activists like that,'' said Grotz, of Belmont. ``It was a story that needed to be told.''

Alfonso De Alba, Associated Students executive director, said Wednesday: ``They were not given their due respect. It is so significant for the movement of civil rights, so significant that two black men without saying a word were able to say so much. Thirty-five years later San Jose State should be able to recognize them.''

Students plan to raise funds for the artwork, though they haven't yet set their goal. They have scheduled a reception for Oct. 16 -- the 35th anniversary of the controversial salute -- to name the sculptor after a selection process that includes art professor Robert Mills.

The latest recognition contrasts with the reception Smith and Carlos remember after their action on the victory podium.

``Our friends walked away from us,'' said Carlos, a track coach and counselor at Palm Springs High School. ``Now we're back home being honored.''

Smith has recounted being kicked out of the campus ROTC and losing a job washing cars at a San Jose Pontiac dealership. Both have talked about receiving hate mail.

``I know the feeling of doing things behind the scenes and not getting recognition,'' said Smith, a sociology professor and track coach at Santa Monica College.

SJSU did name Smith as its outstanding African-American alumnus in 1998. And not everyone criticized the sprinters when they returned to campus, according to a Sports Illustrated article in 1991.

``They do not return in disgrace, but as the honorable young men they are, dedicated to the cause of justice for the black people in our society,'' then-President Robert Clark said.