University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

September 4, 1880 was an impor- tant day in the life of Los Angeles. Between five hundred and a thou- sand people (nearly one-tenth of the city ' s population at that time) came to Agricultural (Exposition) Park to witness the founding of the first ma- jor, permanent institution of higher learning in southern California. De- spite transportation difficulties, the intolerable late summer heat, and a thick layer of dust which had settled everywhere, the ' immense throng, ' as the Los Angeles Daily Herald called the audience, watched the laying of the first cornerstone of the new university. Regarding the site of the event, one viewer noted, " standing in the midst of a vast stretch of unoccupied, uncultivated plain covered with a rank growth of wild mustard, the unfinished build- ing was indeed a lonely object to those who saw only the present. " mmm. mmt ' ' ^^^d^ ' r..-;] »ymm • 4. " r. t^ ,. . 1 Given its humble beginnings as a school of 53 students in a single wooden building on donated land, that university has traced a tremen- dous academic, cultural, and athlet- ic course for more than a century. What began as a seemingly overam- bitious dream by the Bovard family has now become one of the coun- try ' s major centers of higher educa- tion. And it is the aura of that university, our University of Southern California, that we attempt to reveal in this book. From the sword held in Tommy ' s right hand to the existence of the globe atop the VKC tower to the multitude of trophies which our ath- letes have earned over the decades, our campus is adorned with stories that reflect the image of Southern Cal. From the end of ' reality ' at the Cinema school to the tales of the Bovard gargoyles, our university continually embraces and embel- lishes itself throughout its 105-year history. From the mustard fields of the 1880 ' s to the multitude of build- ings and campus extensions today, use possesses a great deal of heri- tage, tradition, . . . and mystique. by Russ Whismore Photos by Rex Price 5 ^ II nun I ^ iUJ-lil " ? - SL Opening 5