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March 3, 2003
Alumni to gather April 12-13 for Banana Slug
Spring Fair
By Doreen Schack
This year’s Banana Slug Spring Fair (BSSF) reunion weekend will
focus almost exclusively on alumni, offering them an unprecedented range
of reunions, tours, and receptions.
BSSF 2003 will take place on April 12 and 13, with most events on
Saturday, April 12.
The All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon will be the best opportunity for UCSC
graduates to reconnect with long-lost friends and classmates. This annual
event, on April 12, brings together more alumni than any other Alumni
Association program—close to 400 are expected. When they R.S.V.P.,
alumni may invite a favorite faculty member to join them for lunch.
Immediately following the luncheon, professor of anthropology Adrienne
Zihlman will present the BSSF Distinguished Faculty Lecture. Her talk,
entitled "Color Me Anthropologist," will encompass her personal
evolution as a teacher during a 35-year history at UCSC; the development
of her unique textbook, The Human Evolution Coloring Book, which
is used in introductory anthropology classes; and new developments in
the field of human evolution.
Some of UCSC’s earliest graduates—those from the Class of
’73—will celebrate their 30-year reunion with a reception
and dinner, including a "roast" of the year 1973. Newly released
videos featuring former fencing instructor Charles Selberg and late
founding professor of art history Mary Holmes will be screened at the
reunion.
Alumni celebrating their 15-year reunion, the Class of ’88, will
hold their own informal gathering on Saturday afternoon. They may recall—among
other things—a notable class accomplishment: making the banana
slug the campus’s official mascot.
Alumni can re-engage with the major they studied and the faculty they
fondly remember at reunions organized by the Departments of Anthropology,
History, the Journalism Program, Literature, and the Jack Baskin School
of Engineering. The Baskin School is the new home for all graduates
with majors related to computer and information science, engineering,
or bioinformatics.
Each of UCSC’s 10 colleges will sponsor an event for alumni, staff,
faculty and friends. Almost every college will hold a late-afternoon
reception on Saturday. College Eight will hold a 30-year anniversary,
including a faculty panel discussion about the college’s past,
present, and future.
Other colleges will offer such events as a discussion of the "American
Indian Colloquium Series" (Merrill); awards for outstanding students,
faculty, staff, and alumni (Porter); honors for Provost Conn Hallinan
and Pulitzer prize-winner Martha Mendoza (’88, at Kresge); and
the chance to tour newly built college facilities (Cowell). At Crown,
alumni may arrange "Tours Made to Order," view a display of
vintage photos by ’70s-era graduates, or experience a gastronomic
stroll down memory lane: dinner at the dining hall.
Affinity groups including the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society
(benefiting orphaned, foster, homeless, and runaway youth); Black Escargot
(for African American alumni); and alumni friends of UCSC’s Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center are holding events throughout
the weekend to facilitate networking among alumni and, in some cases,
share their ideas and perspectives with current students.
Details and updates on over 30 alumni events planned for BSSF 2003
reunion weekend can be found on the UCSC Alumni Association web
site. From that site, alumni are encouraged to use the alumni Online
Community to R.S.V.P. for events, see who else is coming, e-mail friends
and classmates, share favorite memories, and post photos, old and new.
For information by phone, call the Alumni Association toll-free at
(800) 933-SLUG.
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