University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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cs, elections, protests. . . these are the events that line oLir war. Whether jilanned or unplanned, successful or unsuccessful, our experience at Cal would not haw been the same widioul them. Ev- ery oil spill cleaned up, ewrv ralK organized, ev- erv concert j)lanned, the eftorts ol Cal students did not Lzo unnoticed. 23 features

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22 feotures

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(wel)cx)me one, (wel)come all Oriianizers work year-round to plan Homecoming Storv by Coitlin Green w hilt ' liiil( ' nls Mia Ium- hail no liiii- thai lli)mi-ci)ming was just ariiiiinl tht- lorncr, thi- Calilor Ilia Alumni Association and thi- LK Rails (. onunittiT had boon working for months as oarix as Spring 2007 in an olTort to iroato a Homotoming Wook stuilonts would novor lorgot. The organizers ' greatest challenge was student apathy. In high school Homecoming was a pretty big deal, but not so much in college, said sophomore Ke in Chou. If 1 see something going on I might join, but I have no idea il I h ill. I should kind ol leel bad about it. ■■Mthough Homecoming has traditionally focused on the football game and alumni, organizers have been working to increase awareness and student en- gagement. The Student Homecoming Team, a subset of the .Mumni Association, started in 2005 to help facilitate this participation. Wo dellnilolv try to incorporate a larger group on campus than just the ' ra-ra go Bears ' group, said Jaz i Junge, co chair ol the 2007 team. Junge said the Student HomccomingToam works to attract a variety of students through their wide range of events. Thev hosted lour to five events per day during the week, including a competition lor students to act or grow I like Oski and a photography contest called Caltographv 94720. The events built up throughout the week, culmi- nating w ith a football game against Oregon State and weekend activities such as the Homecoming Pre Came Rally, which had an attendance of 10,000 stu- dents, alumni, parents and community members. One of our goals is roallv to build the Cal com- munit , said Junge. S ' e tr to make every effort so that |sludents| feel connected to the generations of Cal Monica Porter, Vice Chair of Spirit for the lIC Rally Committee, agreed, saving that Homecoming is a time for students to learn about Berkeley ' s hi-, torv and evolution. It is our hope that alumni and students will com. together in order for alumni to share stories and i periences of the past and students to continue li build a solid network lor when thev leave Berkeley, she said. The LIC Rally Committee also hosted numerous student oriented events during the week, including their annual free Homecoming barbecue, the first ever Berkeley Throughout the . ge.s iashion sho«, and a Homecoming Collocjuium leaturing lormer Cal foollial! coach Joe Kapp in a discussion ol tin 25th anniversary of The Play. Bringing everyone back to campus at one time over Homecoming builds a great sense of commu- nity anti Cal pride - and getting the students involved during Student Homecoming Week w ill encourage them to come back to campus after they graduate to enjoy Homecoming as alums, said Erin Proudloot. a UC Berkeley alumna and the manager of .Mumni and Student Relations. Though Homecoming becomes more anti mon popular each year for alumni (2007 had about 1 ,000 more alumni attend over 2006), increa.sing student involvement remains hard to achieve. Still, students from the Homecoming Team to the Rally Commit- tee are committed to making this event memorable. Alter all, if the wittv-named events don ' t draw peo- ple, the free food always will. ||(I1 OH tnHIll Im ' s t II ' ) tut I HonECon RRur MiM ' «■«•» ' 4 ,. M«i1 tW iM ' t ' RRUtI tw !itir On the record with University Relations .More than 8,500 alumni, parents, and students - the most ever gathered at Homecoming 2007 to celebrate Cal. FestivitiMl began with the Blue and Gold Reunion Dinner for alumni and a reception for Cal parents and families. On Saturday, thou.sandf j of fans got revye l up at the Bear AITair Barbeque before heading olTto the Cal vs. Oregon State football game. Throughout the! weekend, guests enjovid lai ult seminars, campus tours, spirit events, and more. Hundreils ol stall, students, faculty, anti volunteers worked hard year round to ensure that Homecoming was unforgettable. In) addition, alumni celebrating their reunions spend the year raising money lor student, faculty, an l research programs. In 2007 thcyj raised more than S 19 million. ...Homecoming offers the best chance to feed your inner bear! 24 feoturi I J