Memories of UC Davis: bonfires and tarring the lions
Jack De Wit
Jack De Wit (B.S. '66)
After transferring from Santa Ana College in Orange County, I did not know what to expect for Homecoming at UC Davis. Along with several teammates from Southern California, we came to UC Davis to play football for the Aggies and to get an education. Football was our focus.
The first fond memory was the bonfire rally. Hundreds of students would gather in some open space (there were plenty of open spots back then). A pile of lumber had been gathered for the blaze. At the appropriate time after dark, the fire was ignited and the Cal Aggie All Male Marching Band would play and march. The cheerleaders would lead the crowd in "Bossie Cow
Cow" and other familiar cheers.
Our highlight as Aggie football players was to hear inspiring words from Coach Herb Schmalenberger and to be introduced as individuals ball players on the Aggie squad.
The second focus for us as ballplayers was the Saturday football game against Sacramento State. Emotions were high on the team and coaching staff with victory not always measured by the final score. Playing ball for Herb was special. We gave Herb a trophy after the season which said, "To win is the goal, to be a man is the end." That was the way most of us felt about our team, our coach and the UC Davis athletic program.
After the game, we usually had an informal gathering of a few ballplayers, their significant others and enjoyed adult beverages.
All in all, the events at Homecoming at UC Davis were a highlight in the great experience of being a student athlete in the well-balanced program.
Jack De Wit was captain of the football team in 1965.
Wayne Bartholomew
Wayne Bartholomew (B.A. '64, J.D. '71)
I remember participating in Pajamarino as a student, going out to meet the train and the bonfire afterward. What's exciting now is that Homecoming is a way for alumni to connect with campus in a lot of different ways; it's not just about athletics.
We have the Mondavi Center now, so activities can have a cultural as well as a sports focus…. Homecoming is a way for alumni to reconnect with the past, but also find out what's new at UC Davis.
Mary (Bigelow) Horton (B.S. '63, M.S. '66)
I was living in Malcolm Hall my sophomore year (the first year the Segundo dorms were open), and a couple of my girlfriends and I got the idea to tar and feather the lions out in front of the SAE [Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity] house on Pajamarino night.
So, we left the dorm after dinner, dressed in our nightgowns, and we set to work with the cold-tar and feathers, but we were caught red-handed. The other girls managed to get away, but the guys in the house literally caught me. They rubbed a little bit of tar in my hair, but they were actually pretty nice about it.
They made me try to clean the tar off the lions, which of course got it all over me, and by the end of it I was a real mess. As they talked to me and teased me, one of them realized that we actually had a class together! He was even able to describe where I sat in Dr. Cole's AH 7. It was all in good fun.
Greg Ortiz (B.A. '03)
The year after I graduated, in 2003, I boarded the train in San Jose. When I arrived in Davis, the band was there and so were the alumni center and the cheer and dance team, and they even had milk and cookies. It was a really cool feeling to see everyone out there. Then we walked though downtown to the bonfire, and it felt like the whole night was all for me.
Francisco Rodriguez
Francisco Rodriguez (B.A. '85, MS '97)
While on campus as an undergraduate, I took advantage of the vast array of opportunities afforded to me. I was in many ways naive to the culture and expectations of the university as a first-generation college student, but I was curious and wasn't afraid to try new things.
I fondly remember participating in student clubs and gaining insight of my leadership strengths, being employed on campus through the Work-Study Program in outreach, recruitment and retention programs, and feeling good about giving back through service volunteerism in the community.
The experience I recall, though, with great fondness are my Sunday mornings spinning vinyl at KDVS, the campus radio station. I worked on a radio program called, La Onda Chicana, with fellow student Arturo Rodriguez.
I enjoyed it so much, I volunteered at the radio station for a few years after I graduated from UC Davis. The station staff and programming were eclectic and diverse -- qualities that I admire. We had wide musical interests, from Santana and Cold Blood to Banda Sinaloense El Recodo and Los Lobos.
Folks would call in from the surrounding areas while they were enjoying their menudo or carnitas and request songs in celebration of their birthdays, weddings and just about any special occasion.
It felt good to bring joy to others in the community through song. Along the way, we had lots of laughs, a few desveladas (sleep-deprived mornings) from staying up too late the night before, and warm memories of spinning LP's to last a lifetime.