April 3, 2000
UCSC hosts Banana Slug Spring Fair
By Erika Heet and Dori Schack
Alumni wistful to revisit their alma mater; current and prospective students and
their families wanting to get an up-close look at the university; and friends of
the campus curious about UCSC's current programs will want to mark Saturday, April
15 on their calendar. That's the date for UCSC's Banana Slug Spring Fair campus open
house, featuring information fairs, workshops and presentations, events and receptions,
artistic performances, facility tours, and alumni reunions.
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| Prospective students and their families can visit fairs and take tours of the
campus. Photo: Shmuel Thaler |
Three major fairs will take place: the Student Support Fair, with information about Housing Services, Financial Aid, Educational Opportunity Programs, and the Disability Resource Center; the Academic Advising Fair, featuring faculty and students advising about academic requirements and programs; and the Student Center Block Party, which will highlight student government, media, resource centers, organizations, and clubs contributing to student life at UCSC.
Tours will take place at the arts facilities, UCSC's eight individual colleges, the new Seymour Marine Discovery Center at Long Marine Laboratory, the Alan Chadwick Garden, and the East Field House and new Wellness Center. Visitors may also purchase a barbecue lunch at several sites on campus.
Faculty and staff will provide in-depth workshops on academic programs, financial aid, Educational Opportunity Programs, how to choose a college, transferring to UCSC, and life outside the classroom.
Other events include a library open house, music ensembles, the Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender Resource Center Open House, art gallery exhibits, the African American Student Life and Resource Center Homecoming 2000 reception, and the Chicano/Latino reception and cultural performance featuring the traditional dance group Grupo Folklorico Los Mejicas.
An outdoor afternoon performance of Love's Labours Lost by Shakespeare To Go begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Music Center courtyard, and tickets are available for the evening performance of the Lula Washington Dance Company's Rites 2000 at the Theater Arts Mainstage at 8 p.m.
There are many alumni events planned for this year. Some of them require an advance RSVP and fee; contact the Alumni Association at (800) 933-SLUG.
The All Alumni Reunion Luncheon seats alumni guests by graduation year so alumni can find their old friends. UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood gives special recognition to the classes of '95, '90, '85, '80, '75, and '70.
Encuentro 2000 will bring together Latino and Chicano alumni from 1965 through the present for the first time. The full weekend of events will include a reception with Latino and Chicano faculty and staff, an alumni panel discussion, performances by UCSC's folkloric dance troupe Los Mejicas, opportunities for dialogue with current and prospective students, and a Saturday night dinner, program, and dance.
African American Alumni Reunion 2000 will bring together UCSC's African American graduates from all eras, their families and friends, for the first time. Three days of events will include a reception with African American faculty and staff, a Mentors' Circle with current students, a Saturday night dinner, program and dance featuring Oakes founding provost J. Herman Blake, and more.
The Oakes College Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration will offer Oakes alumni, current students, staff, and faculty an opportunity for lively discussion of the Oakes legacy. Oakes founding provost J. Herman Blake will attend.
Founding faculty member John Dizikes, professor of American studies and former Cowell Provost, will be honored for his 35 years of teaching at a Cowell reception. Dizikes is retiring in June.
The Women's Studies Founders' Luncheon on Sunday, April 16, will honor that department's founding faculty and students. Special guests include Professor Bettina Aptheker and Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood.
A public lecture, "Making Light Work of Biology: Using Lasers to Understand Biomolecules," will be given by David Kliger, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and dean of the Division of Natural Sciences. Kliger is a pioneer in the use of extremely fast laser pulses to study how molecules interact with light, and he now heads one of the top laboratories in the world in this field.
Every college will offer daytime tours and a late-afternoon reception, generally at the provost's home. At Porter, taiko drummers will provide afternoon entertainment. At Merrill College, guests can enjoy watching students in their annual rite of painting the moat, or can make a souvenir T-shirt.
For a complete Banana Slug Spring Fair program and schedule, as well as directions to the campus, visit the BSSF Web page. Visitors should arrive at the base of campus the morning of the fair and follow signs to the free parking areas. Call the Office of Admissions at (831) 459-4008 for information about disability-related needs for the day of the event.
