I was SO excited to see you writing about the UCD graduations!! Until ….
I have to (respectfully) disagree about the UC Davis graduations being held not only NOT at UC DAVIS, but not even in Davis AT ALL. Now that The Enterprise is 🤷♀️ where can we raise our voices in support of our local restaurants and businesses that would love to continue to benefit greatly from the heavy influx of out of town families descending on our fabulous town (and downtown!) each June?
I personally attended my own graduation from UCD in the Rec Hall in the 1990s, and also my nephew’s graduation from UCD a year ago at Golden One Center in Sacramento. Last years ceremony felt very disconnected to me.
Then, last weekend I attended my nieces graduation ceremony at Cal Poly SLO…AMAZING execution and celebration! They split the majors into separate smaller ceremonies in the larger venue (stadium) and also each department does some sort of open house or smaller on campus graduation. (UCD would do well to take notes!)
Wouldn’t we all enjoy a more personal, more concise graduation ceremony? This way, we could keep each ceremony on the UCD campus, indoors (in one of the many indoor venues UCD has!) for the safety AND the more personal UCD experience, to be enjoyed by the families who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their student to be AT UC DAVIS (not Sac State or downtown Sacramento!)
Let’s put our stunning University campus, as well as our amazing student/family friendly downtown, and happy little city we love on display for all to enjoy each June!
Who’s with me in trying to bring graduation, and all that goes with it, back to our favorite little town??
Jenni - I'm not going to disagree with you. You make good points. We were pleasantly surprised by how well put together this year's ceremony was and our daughter, Maev, was thrilled by it. Then again, there are strong arguments for breaking the ceremonies up ever more and putting it in the basketball arena. One of my daughters graduated there and some of the smaller graduations are still on campus. Agreed about the downtown merchants, though I think a lot of the parents and other relatives and friends did spend a fair amount of time in Davis beforehand and many returned to Davis after the ceremonies. Two years ago was such a disaster that I don't think UCD wanted that ever to happen again. Thanks so much for your thoughts.
I think Chief Phil and future recipients deserve a Baskin Robins ice cream of their choice, double if the comment is especially noteworthy. Honorary mention could get a free bowling game at the MU. My Dad would regularly bet with his clients about most anything, highest roll of dice, one hand of black jack or poker, when the fog would lift… and happily paid the winner with a Baskin Robins ice cream, which just happened to be located across the parking lot of his first office. Of course he went the extra mile and accompanied the winner and ordered himself a cone just to be neighborly… This one trick drove home loyalty like you can’t believe. Being the persuasive guy that you are, you could work out a perferred price with the BR owners ahead of time so as to not cut into your advertising budget…
Re legacy admissions: I got into Cal on my own, but was also a legacy because Dad went there. I remember how annoyed he was that I was admitted in December, 1963, our senior year, because he felt admitting students early was 'picking the cream of the crop'. My credentials were nowhere near that good, so legacy may have had something to do with it. I thought I was getting away from home, only to have Chancellor Clark Kerr, when greeting me as a new freshman, exclaim on looking at my name badge: "Oh you're Larry's daughter'. At which point I wanted to fall through the floor.
I didn't have that experience. I just walked across Russell Boulevard with my 2.45 Davis High GPA and said "Here I am." I somehow fell through the cracks.
- We’ve got our tix for Lucas’ “Party with a Purpose” (but 45 as a milestone?…Pull-ease Mr. Supervisor!)
- And, alas, we won’t be able to make Wonderful Wendy Weitzel’s Launch Party…due to our attending another friend’s more likely milestone (70th) celebration 🥳
- Following previous year’s UCD “heat-related emergency” graduations…if, nothing else, the climate controlled Golden-1 does make good venue sense…and we’re glad it was memorable 🎓‼️
-Go Aggie preseason mentions…🏈👍🏼‼️
-As for a swell prize for Phil? I’m suggesting you get the Chief an Aggie football field pass, a press box pass, or an honorary Captaincy (sorry about demotion, Chief) for the coin toss …as, any of those are pretty swell prizes👌🏼
I was SO excited to see you writing about the UCD graduations!! Until ….
I have to (respectfully) disagree about the UC Davis graduations being held not only NOT at UC DAVIS, but not even in Davis AT ALL. Now that The Enterprise is 🤷♀️ where can we raise our voices in support of our local restaurants and businesses that would love to continue to benefit greatly from the heavy influx of out of town families descending on our fabulous town (and downtown!) each June?
I personally attended my own graduation from UCD in the Rec Hall in the 1990s, and also my nephew’s graduation from UCD a year ago at Golden One Center in Sacramento. Last years ceremony felt very disconnected to me.
Then, last weekend I attended my nieces graduation ceremony at Cal Poly SLO…AMAZING execution and celebration! They split the majors into separate smaller ceremonies in the larger venue (stadium) and also each department does some sort of open house or smaller on campus graduation. (UCD would do well to take notes!)
Wouldn’t we all enjoy a more personal, more concise graduation ceremony? This way, we could keep each ceremony on the UCD campus, indoors (in one of the many indoor venues UCD has!) for the safety AND the more personal UCD experience, to be enjoyed by the families who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their student to be AT UC DAVIS (not Sac State or downtown Sacramento!)
Let’s put our stunning University campus, as well as our amazing student/family friendly downtown, and happy little city we love on display for all to enjoy each June!
Who’s with me in trying to bring graduation, and all that goes with it, back to our favorite little town??
Jenni - I'm not going to disagree with you. You make good points. We were pleasantly surprised by how well put together this year's ceremony was and our daughter, Maev, was thrilled by it. Then again, there are strong arguments for breaking the ceremonies up ever more and putting it in the basketball arena. One of my daughters graduated there and some of the smaller graduations are still on campus. Agreed about the downtown merchants, though I think a lot of the parents and other relatives and friends did spend a fair amount of time in Davis beforehand and many returned to Davis after the ceremonies. Two years ago was such a disaster that I don't think UCD wanted that ever to happen again. Thanks so much for your thoughts.
I think Chief Phil and future recipients deserve a Baskin Robins ice cream of their choice, double if the comment is especially noteworthy. Honorary mention could get a free bowling game at the MU. My Dad would regularly bet with his clients about most anything, highest roll of dice, one hand of black jack or poker, when the fog would lift… and happily paid the winner with a Baskin Robins ice cream, which just happened to be located across the parking lot of his first office. Of course he went the extra mile and accompanied the winner and ordered himself a cone just to be neighborly… This one trick drove home loyalty like you can’t believe. Being the persuasive guy that you are, you could work out a perferred price with the BR owners ahead of time so as to not cut into your advertising budget…
That is a great idea, Mark. And Baskin Robbins does make the best ice cream in the world.
Forgive Chief Coleman's student loans.
That's for Biden to do
Re legacy admissions: I got into Cal on my own, but was also a legacy because Dad went there. I remember how annoyed he was that I was admitted in December, 1963, our senior year, because he felt admitting students early was 'picking the cream of the crop'. My credentials were nowhere near that good, so legacy may have had something to do with it. I thought I was getting away from home, only to have Chancellor Clark Kerr, when greeting me as a new freshman, exclaim on looking at my name badge: "Oh you're Larry's daughter'. At which point I wanted to fall through the floor.
I didn't have that experience. I just walked across Russell Boulevard with my 2.45 Davis High GPA and said "Here I am." I somehow fell through the cracks.
You have a beautiful family, many good friends, and an incredible career. Grades are definitely not everything.
Amen, Robin.
This is a lot to digest, Bob…
- We’ve got our tix for Lucas’ “Party with a Purpose” (but 45 as a milestone?…Pull-ease Mr. Supervisor!)
- And, alas, we won’t be able to make Wonderful Wendy Weitzel’s Launch Party…due to our attending another friend’s more likely milestone (70th) celebration 🥳
- Following previous year’s UCD “heat-related emergency” graduations…if, nothing else, the climate controlled Golden-1 does make good venue sense…and we’re glad it was memorable 🎓‼️
-Go Aggie preseason mentions…🏈👍🏼‼️
-As for a swell prize for Phil? I’m suggesting you get the Chief an Aggie football field pass, a press box pass, or an honorary Captaincy (sorry about demotion, Chief) for the coin toss …as, any of those are pretty swell prizes👌🏼
Great ideas, Bill. Or I could just make him one of my famous tuna sandwiches, a Catholic Lenten special.
Capital Idea! Brilliant!