Evolving, expanding, evoking Aggie pride

Last spring, Kimberly Miller strode across the graduation stage, squeezing her daughter’s hand with glee as their medals gleaned in the sun. Miller, now an animal biology graduate student, and her daughter, Evie, were each wearing a special medallion in recognition of their completion of all 50 Aggie Traditions.

“Most folks don’t get to wear a medal unless you’re the university medalist, which is only going to one person,” said Jennifer Thayer, the assistant director of programs for the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and UC Davis alumna. “So having a nice medal that’s just showing you have Aggie pride and Aggie spirit and just showing that you were really committed to being fully engaged on campus during your time here is pretty exciting.”

Back in 2008, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association collaborated with ASUCD to create a list of the most quintessentially UC Davis activities, which can be conveniently found online or on the mobile app, “Aggie Traditions.” Once all 50 traditions are completed — including visiting the Davis Farmers Market, reading a copy of The California Aggie and meeting Gunrock — students are given a medal at commencement to showcase their dedication to the authentic Aggie experience.

“I think so many times we focus on getting the grade, getting the internship, getting through school, paying their way, the kind of stuff where we forget we should be doing great, fun things,” said Carrie Wright, the associate executive director and chief programs officer for the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and a UCD alumna.

One of the most iconic events at UC Davis that makes the list is Picnic Day, the oldest and most popular tradition a student has the opportunity to experience. Not only do students partake in this annual event, but family, alumni and community members have enjoyed this event since 1909.

“Picnic Day is over 100 years old and was basically an open house where families would come and see where their students were going to school,” Wright said. “It’s the largest student-run event on a campus, so that’s clearly one of the most unique and long-lasting of the traditions we have.”

Miller considers Picnic Day the most classic from the list of Aggie Traditions. She attests that spending the day on campus visiting all of the open house exhibits and exploring areas outside of one’s own department is special and connects people to each other in a special way. To Miller, attending Picnic Day is a great representation of Davis culture; attending Picnic Day, in other words, is a rite of passage.

“I feel like a tradition is something that has some kind of special connection to it,” Miller said. “Something that after you’ve completed it, you’re now a part of something. Even if it’s as simple as eating lunch in the CoHo or studying at Shields, now you can share that experience with other Aggies who have done the same.”

Indeed, traditions surround UC Davis students. When Thayer was a student, she spent a lot of time in the CoHo, unaware that she was living an Aggie tradition every day of her college experience. As a freshman, visiting the cows by her dorm in Tercero was another effortless check on her own list of accomplished traditions.

“I think some of these are not what we necessarily consider traditions, but it’s something that the students or even a staff member or a faculty member are doing every day that they don’t even know is creating their whole UC Davis experience, whether it be visiting the cows or going to the Rec Pool for a swim or reading the book of the campus book project,” Thayer said. “All of these things that we do everyday […] are actually really cool fun things to do and [are] making your time here at Davis that much more memorable.”

The Aggie Traditions list also includes other signature Davis events like Pajamarino, which has its roots back in 1912, as well as rituals like rubbing or kissing the egghead in front of Shields Library during finals week — which was around when Thayer and Wright were students here in the 1990s and persists today. They can be as big as attending the Whole Earth Festival or as simple as riding Unitrans to campus. No matter the magnitude, all of these activities and customs are considered traditions for important reasons.

“To make something special enough to be considered a tradition, I think it needs to be something relatively unique to UC Davis (like the Pajamarino), something any student can reasonably accomplish, and something that will make the student experience more memorable overall,” Miller said.

Traditions have the capacity to evolve. Pajamarino started as a small gathering of students in their pajamas at the train station in order to greet returning alumni on the eve of Homecoming. Today, though, the event is a full-fledged celebration, complete with student performances and a parade through downtown.

Not only do traditions evolve, but they expand as time moves forward. Thayer and Wright both mentioned the possibility of adding eating Woodstock’s pizza to the list of Aggie Traditions, and Miller believes riding the draft horse wagon around campus would be another great addition. Both of these activities fit Miller’s definition of what makes a good tradition in that they are accessible to students and community members as well as offer a taste of true Davis culture — something that can’t be experienced just anywhere.

        “How [traditions] add to the UC Davis experience is that [they] make a student really appreciate their time on campus,” Thayer said. “If you’re here for four years and studying for four years, […] you want […] to be able to enjoy your time without having to feel like you’re rushing through your four years. I think some of the traditions allow students to be able to do that, […] to have a good, well-rounded experience while you’re on campus and so when you leave campus it gives you that warm and fuzzy good memories of your time here.”

Written by: Marlys Jeane — features@theaggie.org

Different resources help struggling Aggies stay in school

Deborah Agee, the director of the UC Davis Financial Aid Office, took out loans in order to earn her undergraduate degree. Since then, Agee has spent her career paying forward the help she received.

“I certainly think it’s incredibly important for a land-grant institution such as ours to invest in the larger community,” Agee said. “It makes the world better for all of us.”

Students who take out loans, like Agee, may find themselves in a position in which they run out of funds at the end of each quarter. At UC Davis, a number of resources and organizations, including the Financial Aid Office, exist specifically for the purpose of providing assistance to students who are food-insecure or in need of financial support.

“The first thing we’re going to do with a student who comes in and tells us that they are struggling is […] to look at their whole package and see […] what the issues that they’re facing are,” Agee said. “If we can understand that more specifically, then we might be able to identify resources or other aid that the student may not have considered previously.”

75 percent of students at UC Davis receive some form of financial aid and 43 percent of students at UC Davis receive money from Pell Grants. Although the Financial Aid Office does not provide resources specifically for homeless students or students without primary incomes, Agee urges that such students seek university jobs and not hesitate to take loans. She also advises all students to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

“I have heard, anecdotally, that there are students who don’t take their loans and instead struggle,” Agee said. “The student loans are an investment in yourself. The small amount of student loans that you would have to take to get yourself through your undergraduate education [compared to] what you get out of a UC Davis degree is just tremendous. Go ahead and take the student loans.”

One organization on campus which provides financial assistance to students in need is We Are Aggie Pride (WAAP). According to Karla Timbang, a fourth-year psychology and communication major and the WAAP program director, the organization has been a student-run and largely student-funded resource for undergraduate students since 2012.

“Since it’s started, we were able to help over 80 students stay in school and finish college,” Timbang said. “We don’t have a budget [or] limit. If we awarded five students this quarter, it doesn’t mean we have to cut it off if a student comes and they need help.”

Students who receive help from WAAP must be fully-registered UC Davis students, must have exhausted all financial resources — including any possible loans — and must have a FAFSA on file. Though WAAP’s slogan is ‘Students Helping Students,’ the organization also receives donations from faculty and alumni including the UC Davis Foundation. Bruce Bell, a 1985 economics graduate and chairman of the foundation, said the board of the foundation decided to partner with WAAP. Together, the two groups raised $110,000.

“When you talk about funds for people in critical need, that is exactly what […WAAP provides],” Bell said. “We [helped] establish a $110,000 fund for We Are Aggie Pride that they’re wanting to use as […] the start of an endowment so it becomes a reusable [source] as opposed to a fundraiser.”

The UC Davis Foundation has in the past few years raised $1 million — which was then matched by an outside source — to create a fund for student scholarships.

“We’re looking, as a board, to find ways to involve ourselves directly with the students as opposed to just […] fundraising for some big project,” Bell said. “We find that involving ourselves in these types of projects is more fulfilling for us because you know that you’re helping someone stay in school and continue their education — which is obviously something that’s important to them and important to us.”

The UC Davis Food Pantry is visited by approximately 100 students every day who may identify as food-insecure, according to Rosa Maria Martinez, the organization’s director of external affairs. Martinez, a third-year human development major, said her parents struggled with food insecurity after arriving in the United States, so providing assistance to those who are in need of food is an issue of personal importance to her.

“I want to ensure a student’s pursuit of higher education is not hindered by their financial burden,” Martinez said. “A student should not be consumed by thoughts of where they sleep tonight, where their next meal comes from and making a choice between rent, tuition and basic needs. Basic needs are not the second choice.”

The Pantry has instituted a point system to divide and distribute the resources amongst students. Students who use the Pantry may do so with confidentiality and anonymity.

“The Pantry provides a service free of judgment — everyone is welcomed with open arms,” Martinez said. “We also provide fresh produce every weekday in the early afternoons and have a Calfresh — […] food stamp — representative that helps students fill out the application [which] can [help students] receive up to $194 a month to pay for groceries. On a monthly basis, we provide students with ten points worth of food through our Emergency Food Assistance Program.”

About 3,300 students utilize the Pantry in an academic year and, in the two years Timbang has worked at WAAP, 12 students have met the criteria and received financial support. However, Agee said the Financial Aid Office only encounters one to two students a year who are in need of immediate assistance.

“We’re here to counsel students,” Agee said. “I just want to say: we’re not scary, we do care about you and we will help you. You shouldn’t be afraid to come to us if you’re really in trouble because we can help.”

Because college is not free and will likely remain costly, at least for the foreseeable future, students like Timbang see the continued need for additional assistance.

“In a perfect world, We Are Aggie Pride shouldn’t exist,” Timbang said. “The university should be able to […] help out. I think it’s important that the university help these students because education is really important. It shouldn’t be about […] money, it should be about educating future leaders.”

Written by: Hannah Holzer – features@theaggie.org