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

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Senator Works to Adopt a New Cal Symbol Tv inkle, TAA inkle Little Stars What do Oski and the Cal Star have in common? They are both symbols of the University of California, Berkeley. The Cal Constellation, Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, has been a part of Cal tradition for over 1 00 years, first appearing in The Golden Bear song written by Professor Gayley in 1895. In the same light. Professor Alex Filippenko of the Astronomy Department has been pointing out Albireo, the Cal Star within the constellation, to his students for years. TOP: Cal adopts Albireo as Its official star amtd the pageantry of Big Game 2000. MIDDLE: The banner is prepped prior to its unveiling. BOTTOM: Professor Alex Filippenko speaks about Albireo at the Bonfire Rally before Big dme Oski and the spectators cheer him on . a Professor Alex filippenko -€y

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-r .V. . . ■■ .. .rf 3t. . ' »..» The Pelican may seem out of place In a school that embraces the bear as a mascot. Nonetheless, the pelican has remained for years in front of the current Graduate Student Union It used to be a symbol of The Pelicon. a now extinct student run humor magazine College of California dedicated the University on the corner of what is nowGayleyand Hearst on April 16, 1860. Founders Rock sits at this corner, remindingusof the vision of those men over 120 years ago. In the early days of the University, when North Hall still existed and the campus stretched no further than Strawberry Creek, students would [Tiill around North Hall, and a concrete bench known soon after as Senior Men ' s bench. Why did they hang around this bench, you ask? Well, to watch the lovely women go by, of course! Later, when North Hall was demolished, the bench lost its value, and was moved to Moses Hall before being completely removed very recently That isn ' t to say that senior men don ' t enjoy loungmg around the Dwinelle benches for a similar reason! During the 1960s, political unrest and activism hit Berkeley hard. At the time. Sather Gate served as the main entrance to campus, located at the end of Telegraph Avenue. As protesting and demonstration became commonplace, the university had to remind its students and faculty that protests on campus had long been banned. As such, many rebellious minds needed somewhere off-campus to voice their opinions. Sproul Plaza, outside Sather Gate, was a reasonably popular area to protest, since it was technically off campus and thus under Berkeley city jurisdiction. When this area later became part of the University, the protesting did not stop; it gradually became a part of the Cal experience. One of the oldest traditions at Cal is also one of the most bizarre. The Stanford Axe was originally an ornament used by Stanford students at the 1899 Cal Stanford Baseball Game. Held in San Francisco, this annual event helped energize the students, giving them a sense of spirit for their respective schools. The Axe was a symbol of Stanford ' s pride, so a few Cal students decided to liberate it. This theft caused a long chain of encounters between Cal students. Stanford students, and police officers over the course of 30 years. It also managed to give certain pi ited students bad names in the eyes of their peers and their rivals. One such encounter involved Stanford students stealing the Axe from the hands of the Cal ii r wheeler Hall and the Campanile stand solid and peaceful no matter what is happening on the ground beneath them. faithful, using tear gas and the element of surprise to their advantage. The violent pranks and thefts went on until 1931. when both schools agreed to make the Axe a trophy for the annual football game between Cal and Stanford. Since then, the Big Game (as it is now known) has been one of the biggest and oldest rivalries in all of college football. No great school is without an original mascot, and Cal is no exception. The University ' s mascot originated in 1895. when the track team that year returned from the East Coast with many viaories. Their banner was a grizzly bear embroidered in Gold As Cal grew, the students desired a mascot that adhered to the bear theme. Students experimented unsuccessfully with live mascots at home football games. Bear cubs, although cute at first, grew too quickly to keep as mascots for Cal. Thus Oski was introduced to the waiting students. Oski was a creation of William Rockwell, class of 1948. His idea was to dress a random student in oversized padded clothes and a cartoon bear head. The mascot struts around the sidelines, inciting the Oski Yell from rowdy Cal fans. Oski ' s identity has always been kept secret. The anonymity of Oski is what makes him so appealing to Cal fans even today. He could be sitting in class next to any one of us. on any given day without anyone knowing. However, on college football Saturday he is transformed into one of the most peculiar and interesting of Cal traditions - a mascot with a big belly and a taste for alcoholic beverages. Every student at Cal can appreciate its uniqueness as much as they do its prestige. Its atmosphere and character differ from every other University of California branch, having been the first college of the UC system. Its rich history of culture and diversity outweighs that of most other universities (especially a particular one to the south). It is probably safe to say Berzerkeley fits the school and the city perfectly. Nathan Kramer is a third year student and an intended Er glish major He co-controlled ind protected lf e California Victory Cannon for one year as an executnre rT efnbef of the Uniwnity Mfy Commmee. He remains a member, both In body and spim. iy

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Sparkling in the light from the fire, the banner makes its first appearance at the Bonfire Rally After I was elected to the ASUC Senate at the end of spring 2000, rofessor Filippenko asked me to pass legislation in favor of the ASUC nd the University formally recognizing Albireo as the Cal Star and Ursa lajoras the Cal Constellation. I was e.xcited to be a part of Cal history in le making as Cal students will enjoy this tradition for years to come. Known to astronomers as Albireo. or Beta Cygni (a bright star in the onstellation Cygnus. the Swan), the Cal Star actually consists of a ravitationally bound pair, with one blue star and one old star. Filippenko explains that the blue star is hotter fian the gold star, but the gold star is larger. Both stars re about 385 light years away from us. Filippenko offers this explanation as to the potentially lisleading name of the Cal star : It is a binary star tem. Actually it is a triple star system since the bright, yellow star is self a binary, but telescopes on the ground have a very difficult time eeing the two components of the yellow star. It is okay if we refer to it imply as a visual binary star, since the third star is so difficult to see. The dual star system is, though, according to Filippenko, easy to see. During the late fall and early winter months, Cygnus is far in the west uring the first few hours of the night. It looks like a cross - in fact, the onstellation is also known as the Northern Cross. Albireo is the bottom tar of the cross. From a darkish sky, the top four stars are easily visible. Jbireo is a bit harder to find, but still not too hard unless the sky is eally bright (like in the middle of a city). To adopt the Cal Star, I first wrote a bill to present to the Senate. 1 emember telling Chancellor Berdahl about Albireo at one of the senate story by photos courtesy of LAuncN Bausch - ASUC Senator meetings. He loved the idea of having our own star and declared his support. The Bill in Support of the Cal Star and the Cal Constellation passed in October 2000, making official the adoption of the new symbol of the University Next, I worked with Dean Karen Kenney from the Office of Student Life as my liaison to Chancellor Berdahl. Kenney was extremely helpful in coordinating all of the necessary checkpoints of the university, including speaking to Steve Finacom. one of Cal ' s historians, the UC Regents, and the Chancellor. The ASUC and the Chancellor have both officially adopted the Cal Star and Cal Constellation. This cooperation between the ASUC, the University faculty and the Chancellor is monumental, as it has only been a recent phenomenon that the ASUC and the University enjoy friendly relations once again. Thanks to Professor Filippenko. the University of California now has an official star. One of the most popular professors on campus. Filippenko has said that the Cal Star can bolster school spirit; We can look at it as a symbol of our school and our proud tradition of ' reaching for the stars ' - of striving for excellence and inspiration in all that we do. To induct the Cal Star into the Cal community. Professor Filippenko made a dynamic announcement at the Bonfire Rally In addition, newspapers and radio stations across the state featured the story. A special ceremony was conducted after the first quarter of the Cal vs. Stanford Big Came on November 18. 2000 to formally recognize the star. Now all members of the Cal family can celebrate past traditions and our new symbol, the Cal Star, during this millennium season. -€y