Revelle: Then and Now

Revelle: Back Then
by Ernie Mort, Dean Emeritus

Happy 40th Anniversary to all former and continuing students at Revelle College. I had the good fortune of coming to UCSD in 1966,two years after Revelle opened. Three years later I began my service at Revelle College, first as a Resident Dean, and then as College Dean from 1972 to 1993. In 1966, I recall buying my first campus directory in the bookstore at Revelle. The directory listed 800 students, including the faculty and staff at UCSD. The directory was funded by the student government, and produced and distributed by the students in Beagle Hall. I still have a copy of the directory, and it is a reminder that from the very beginning, Revelle students were involved in governance and student activities in the college.

We all have great memories and stories about our time at Revelle. When I look back over the twenty-five year period I served at Revelle, there are some subtle differences in student attitudes and concerns during the past four decades. I suppose there is a lot of truth in the time worn slogan, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” When it comes to the Revelle curriculum, many Revelle students probably feel the converse is also true. The 60s’ and 70s’ were times of protest about the war in Vietnam, the draft and military recruitment. Demonstrations in the Revelle Plaza were a fairly frequent occurrence, but it was also a period of extraordinary idealism and community service among our students. Student involvement in governance, student activities and programs was at an all time high. Some of our most successful noon concerts took place in the same plaza. While the last two decades have seen more emphasis on career education and planning for their postgraduate future, I find that the values and concerns of Revelle students remain much the same since our founding.

Over the years at Revelle, I did pick up quite a few great memories and stories, and I would like to share a couple with you. In January of 1979, shortly after I became a Resident Dean, Dan Spellens (72) suggested that we needed to have a dance at Revelle. He told me that he knew about a great band that we could hire for around $500. At first I thought $500 was much too expensive. When I asked Dan the name of the band, he said something about the Turner Review, and I remember saying, “ I never heard of them.” The band that played in the Revelle Cafeteria was the band of Ike and Tina Turner, and it was a tremendous success. The entire front of the cafeteria was lined with immense speakers, and we got lots complaints from the neighbors in La Jolla Farms, but none from the students. Two years later, a student suggested that we invite an entertainer by the name of Bob Smith, who was known in television as Buffalo Bob. Given the fact that we had several big anti-Vietnam demonstrations going on at the time, my first reaction was that it seemed incongruous. However the Revelle Program Board supported the idea. Buffalo Bob was the originator of the Howdy Doody Show, with which every student at UCSD was familiar as a child. Buffalo Bob was a tremendous success, and the Revelle Cafeteria was packed with students, demonstrators as well as anti-demonstrators alike. The show went on until 1 am, and then a couple of hundred students followed him over to the nearby motel where he continued to entertain students until five in the morning. In the words of Walter Cronkite, “That’s the Way It Was.” Ernie Mort

And Now….
Revelle College, Our Home Away from Home
Melissa Tsang ’05 and Jenelle Dean ‘05

On Wednesday, September 22, 2004, Revelle College students rallied and barbequed on the historic Revelle Plaza before marching up the walkway to RIMAC field to take place in the annual UnOlympics festivities. In accordance with Revelle’s Homecoming 2004 Theme, Revellians decked out in football gear, blue and gold t-shirts, body paint, and hair ribbons. Pom-poms, megaphones, and other decorations bearing the college colors could be seen from miles away. Revelle College dominated the field by exuding more spirit, pride, and teamwork than any of the other five colleges competing for the illustrious Golden Shoe.

With our cheers and our chants, Revellians broadcasted that we were celebrating forty years of Revelle’s past, present, and future. This year Revelle won the Golden Shoe (and bragging rights for the year) beginning the 2004-2005 school year with the spirit, pride, and teamwork that Revelle College has been known for throughout the past forty years
As current students, it is hard to imagine what Revelle, and UCSD, must have been like in 1964. The world is a different place now, and many changes in higher education have created a new campus climate. Academically and socially, students look at college through different lens. From tuition and activity fee increases as well as constant expansion projects, the Revelle and UCSD campus is constantly growing larger and faster than ever before.

There are now six colleges within UCSD, each vying to offer its students the most well rounded experience, but no matter what others may argue, Revelle College is still the place to be. Revelle College is still one of the largest colleges on campus, attracting both science and non-science majors with its classic, well-rounded curriculum. The general education requirements have remained unchanged as students still must complete courses in Calculus, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Social Science, American cultures, Foreign language, Fine arts, and the Humanities series. Revellians still bond through the intense 5 quarter Humanities sequence, and rejoice at the end by distributing humorous “I survived Hum” buttons. Though other colleges still joke about Revelle’s intense requirements, Revellians themselves realize their well-rounded education will surely benefit them in the future. Revelle’s Academic Affairs and Student Affairs staff encourages success and student involvement in their educational experience at Revelle.

Revelle students not only come in first in academics, but they also are first in play! Throughout the year Revellians initiate and coordinate large-scale traditional events and also plan weekly study breaks that enrich the community and truly make Revelle their home away from home. Each year in the Fall students paint the anchor in tradition and sometimes suds the Revelle fountain for fun. Students hang around the new Why Not Here? Lounge by day and get snacks and coffee in Plaza on the Side (formerly WNH?) by night. Residents bond over trips to the Price is Right, moonlight kayaking and late night chats in their lounges. In Winter Revelle fights to win Spirit Night and sponsors the new traditional fireworks show at RIMAC after the games. We cruise in style as we fill the Revelle Plaza with cars, motorcycles and army tanks for our traditional car show. We get a little wild and throw an “Ode to the Avocado Festival” and “Shake our Groove Thang” into the night. We always remember to celebrate Roger Revelle’s birthday and remind ourselves of the great accomplishments our founder achieved in his lifetime. In the Spring excitement looms and we host the oldest UCSD tradition – the Watermelon Drop and add a little “Melon Madness” to the last day of the school year. Together Revelle students, staff, and faculty work hard to make Revelle College the place to be. After 40 years, Revelle’s excellence remains unparalleled and students of today continue the legacy of spirit and pride in Revelle College.