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March 4, 2002

Banana Slug Spring Fair showcases the campus on April 19-20

Applicants may go online now to see if they have been accepted to UCSC

By Doreen Schack

UCSC will throw open its doors on April 19-20 as alumni and newly admitted students gather for the Banana Slug Spring Fair--a weekend of activities including guided tours, reunions, a block party, academic fairs, and special lectures.

Events for prospective students will be on Saturday, April 20, while alumni events are on both April 19 and 20.

Activities on Saturday include a block party at the Quarry Amphitheater, an academic advising fair, open houses, and special-interest presentations. The College Nine Taiko Drummers and Shakespeare To Go will also perform.

A schedule of the events on Saturday for prospective students is available online.

Banana Slug Spring Fair, a campus tradition, has undergone a slight change this year. All alumni will be welcome as in the past, but the potential students must be admitted by UCSC for fall 2002. Before, Banana Slug Spring Fair served as an open house for all interested students. Preview Day, tentatively set for October 19, has now taken on that role.

Students eager to find out whether they have been admitted to UCSC may log on to a special admissions web site that began operation March 1.

Admitted students planning to attend Banana Slug Spring Fair are encouraged, but not required, to make reservations online with the Admissions Office.

An array of alumni events are planned. Alumni can reconnect with former teachers by dropping in on classes Friday afternoon, including "Science and Human Values" with Frank Andrews, professor of chemistry and biochemistry; "Labor and the Working Class" with Dana Frank, professor of American studies; and "Magmas and Volcanoes" with James Gill, professor of Earth sciences. On Saturday, five lectures will take place throughout the day.

Saturday's All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon will be the largest single gathering at BSSF. Guests will be seated together by year of graduation, and the graduating classes of '72, '77, '82, '87, '92, and '97 will be given special recognition. The 11:30 a.m. luncheon at Porter costs $12 and requires advance R.S.V.P. (see below).

A Saturday Provost's Reception will be held at every college at 4:30 p.m. for alumni, faculty, staff, and current and prospective students. A few colleges will also hold special receptions. At Cowell, the life and work of founding faculty member Mary Holmes, an artist and art historian who died in January, will be honored. The Crown reception will feature early-era photographs by Lisa Rose (Crown '72) and others.

Other BSSF events are designed for specific groups of alumni. Two class reunions are planned. The Class of 1972, with graduates from Cowell, Crown, Kresge, Merrill, Porter (College V), and Stevenson will celebrate its 30-year reunion at Cowell. The reunion begins with an afternoon "Conversation with Faculty" featuring emeriti professors John Dizikes (American studies), Richard Randolph (anthropology), and others. The reunion dinner will feature several speakers, including campus architect Frank Zwart (Cowell '71) who will reflect on the campus's unique physical environment. The 30th Reunion Dinner costs $35 and requires an R.S.V.P. in advance. (See below.)

The Class of 1992 will celebrate its 10-year reunion with a free informal reception at the Porter Library immediately following the All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon.

Two "affinity group" reunions will be held during BSSF. African American alumni will gather at Cowell on Friday evening for a reception and fundraising dinner hosted by Black Escargot, the African American alumni affinity group. David Anthony, Oakes College provost and professor of history, as well as current students and alumni, will speak. The gathering also includes a performance by UCSC's African-American Theater Arts Troupe. The Black Escargot Dinner costs $25 and requires advance R.S.V.P. (See below.)

On Saturday afternoon, "Living History Circles," held at Merrill from 3:30 to 5 p.m., will bring together gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender alumni to discuss their experiences as students. Their discussions will be audiotaped as part of a campus-based documentary history project called "Out in the Redwoods." Also on Saturday, UCSC's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center will hold its annual Lavender Reception from 2 to 4 p.m.

One reunion during BSSF is planned specifically for alumni from the Politics Department. Professor of politics J. Peter Euben, who retired in December 2001 after 34 years of teaching at UCSC, will be honored on Saturday in morning and afternoon academic panels at Merrill. After these discussions of political theory at 4 p.m., former students and colleagues are invited to spend an hour sharing "testimonials, insults and innuendos" about Euben, followed immediately by an alumni/faculty reception.

Another Saturday event, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Cowell College Fireside Lounge, will promote the work of the Page and Eloise Smith Scholastic Society. The society offers scholarships, mentoring, and outreach in support of the educational aspirations of foster youth, wards of the court, and orphans, with particular attention to those enrolled as students at UCSC.

For detailed information about BSSF, or to R.S.V.P. for events requiring advance registration and payment (the All-Alumni Reunion Luncheon, Class of '72 Reunion Dinner, and Black Escargot Dinner), call the Alumni Association at (800) 933-SLUG or go to the Association's web site. The Alumni Association's web site offers online registration and lists of those planning to attend reunions.


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