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

Page 24 text:

TOP: Members of Rally Comm. the Cal Band. and Cal Dance Team panicipate in the annual Pre-Big Game festivities at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco BOTTOM: The Rally Committee show their spirit at a Cal basketball game This year For the last 100 years, the University of California Rally Committee has worked diligently to spread the spirit of California throughout the University community. In that time, Rally Committee has led the cheering section to new levels of enthusiasm, invented card stunts, cared for the Big C, fired the California Victory Cannon, hung the California Banner, protected the Axe and much more. To understand all the Committee does, one must look back over the last 100 years to see where it has come from and where it is going. The Rally Committee was founded in 1901 as a men s group to plan and stage rallies on the University of California campus, replacing the chaotic rallies of spontaneous mobs that were more like riots than celebrations of spirit. Under the leadership of the first Chairman, Alex Adier. and his successor. Robert Sibley, the Rally Committee members quickly became known for their hard work and unselfish attitudes in all projects they undertook. Rally Committee originated bleacher stunts at the 1910 Big Game . The activity, which was to be known later as tard stunts. was so successful that it was later adopted by many schools around the country. Card stunts eventually became so time consuming that a seperate group. called the Card Stunts Committee, was formed to manage them. In 1927, the Rally Committee was designated as the official guardians of all campus traditions (except for The Axe). The Rally Committee was also put in charge of the rooting section, making sure that all men sitting in the rooting section wore white shirts and blue and gold reversible caps. In 1933. the Stanford Axe was made a perpetual trophy to be awarded tc the winner of the Big Game. Rally Committee, as the official guardians of lOO YeariS of Exoellende Rally Committee -€

Page 23 text:

UC Rally Committee 20 Your University 22 Cal Star 24 Homecoming 26 Cal vs. UCLA 28 ' KJien ' s Basketball 30

Page 25 text:

; w: LEFT: Rally Commrnee celebfated ' 100 Years of Excellence ' in 2001 as the official keepers of tradition at Cal. RIGHT: Natalie Le Slanc smiles with a Cal flag in hand after stepping off the cable car is San Francisco The Cable Car Rally IS an annual part of the Big Gamp Week events California spirit and traditions, was chosen to act as Custodian of the Stanford Axe. The Women ' s Rally Committee was formed in 1939. and it eventually took over the functions of the California Rally Committee during the years af World War II. as most of the men on campus were fighting in the war Following the war, the California Rally Committee re-formed. In the fall of 1963, the senior class donated the California Victory Cannon to the University. Since then, the task of operating and maintaining the cannon has been the Rally Committee ' s. In 1969, the Women ' s Rally Committee took over the management of card stunts from the defunct Card Stunts Committee. Once the ASUC Senate refused to fund student groups I that were segregated by gender, the all male California Rally Committee and the all-female Women ' s Rally Committee merged to form the University of California Rally Committee. Despite problems that occurred during i this union, the Rally Committee succeeded under the leadership of Co-Chairmen George Hendrickson and Lynn Nakada. In 1988, The Rally Committee and other spirit groups became a part of the Department of Recreational Sports in addition to the ASUC. In 1992, the Department of Recreational Sports, Women ' s Athletics, and Men ' s Athletics were merged, making the Rally Committee and other spirit groups apart of the Athletic Department. 1997 saw Rally Committee absorb the Califomians, another campus spirit group. In addition to all other activities. Rally Committee now took charge of all Big Game Week activities. This is just the beginning for Rally Committee. The members are constantly looking for new ways to spread the Spirit of California throughout the campus by reviving and improving our current traditions and looking to build on the foundation that the Committee has laid In the last 100 years. story by Chi»SVN£ M. Lrrw Chirs Cokomn photos by Xaviek Cok na Rally Committee has significantly improved its current traditions over the last year. Activities like Card Stunts, Homecoming Rally and of course Bonfire Rally were better than ever. This drive towards constant improvement has made Rally Committee great and will continue to push us forward. New traditions and projects are developing all the time. This year, the Committee has taken on the project of renovating the Big C, as well as Founder ' s Rock. In addition. Rally Committee has made an effort to bring the Spirit of California to more members of the campus community More students, employees, and alumni have been involved in ouraaivities than in years past, and our effort to educate even more people I will never wane. Rally Committee believes that spirit represents something very important. It unites the activities of the campus into a bond of common endeavor and it is a I common denominator that can give every individual a sense of belonging and accomplishment in the University. Of course, traditions and education are abound, but the Committee itself is a unique group of people, those who truly pride themselves on working for the betterment of the University These people are willing to get up at 6:00 in the morning to do early morning fliering for events, wear sandwich boards, yell FIRE at the top of their lungs without incurring the wrath of the fire department, and arrive at football games four hours early to tape up 2500 bags of cards to each seat in the student section. Hiking up to the Big C is a regular occurrence, and It ' s not just for one ' s physical health. The university may be a place In which fouryears out of one ' s life is filled with grueling midterms, tedious labs, and endless papers, but it is also a place in which some of the best (and worst) memories are to be found. In the words of Benjamin Ide Wheeler, Cheer for her: it will do your lungs good. Love her; it will do your heart and life good. It is to this ideal that the Rally Committee works so tirelessly to uphold. -€