Volume 24 · Number 2 · Winter 2007
(Click image to zoom)
This photo was sent to us by Brent Coleman ’80 (standing second from right), Aggie managing editor in 1979–80, now a features copy editor and occasional features writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer. He says, “It’s the middle of the night and the [Picnic Day] parade starts in just a few hours. We’ve just finished stuffing 15,000 Aggies to distribute when the sun comes up. That’s the old Davis Enterprise press behind us, and that’s real ink on our hands.”
Aggies Remember
Remembering the Aggie
In our fall 2006 feature “An Incomplete History of The California Aggie” we asked readers to send their favorite memory about the paper. From the response, it is clear that the publication played a particularly important role in the lives of its student staff and in the campus at large.
Todd Perlman ’96, Aggie editor in chief in 1995–96, now West County bureau chief for the Contra Costa Times:
I will forever be indebted to the Aggie for giving me the chance to meet Marcia Brady. I was managing editor in spring 1995 when Marcia (aka Maureen McCormick) visited campus to give a speech on birth control. Thankfully, I had skipped class and was sitting at my desk in Lower Freeborn when she returned a call I had put into her on a lark a day earlier. The call caught me so off guard that I was barely able to keep my composure enough to conduct an interview—all the while my staff, realizing who was on the other end of the phone, was laughing, pointing and making rude gestures. The next day, I was among a select few students who got to meet Marcia before her speech in Freeborn, and she gave me an autographed photo: “To Todd, Love Maureen.” I still have it.
Lisa Lundquist ’88, feature writer in 1984–86, now district manager for Blockbuster’s North Seattle region:
The story I remember most is one that I wrote about the then-new AIDS epidemic. It was one of my first articles, and I remember there was quite a stir in the newsroom because I wanted to use the word “rectum” when describing how AIDS was transmitted. I don’t remember if it made it into print or not. My, how times have changed.
Julie Dalrymple ’98, city editor in 1998, now works in marketing and development for the Diablo Regional Arts Association in Walnut Creek:
There were the countless parties, like my 1997 Halloween party, which ended up in our own paper’s “Police Briefs.” There were the perks, like sneaking in to hang out with bands that played in Freeborn Hall. And there were the challenges, like struggling together through rough editorial board meetings, staying up together till 2 a.m. to hit late deadlines.
Curt Robinson ’74, M.A. ’81, Ph.D. ’95, news editor in 1972–73, editor in chief in 1973–74 and Media Board member in 1990; now executive director of Geothermal Resources Council in Davis:
If I recall my Aggie history correctly, the April 1, 1972, (April Fools) issue carried a story written by Neil Barker ’74, which reported that The Who was scheduled to play at Freeborn Hall in the coming days. Needless to say, an enormous line developed at the Freeborn Hall box office. This spoof did create some disappointment but also some merriment by the Freeborn basement pranksters at the Aggie.
Jeff Aran ’80, staff writer and paste-up artist in 1978–80, now an attorney in Sacramento:
I used to write movie and theater reviews, as well as a column titled “Laughter & Tears shared by Jeff Aran.” My editor was Rick Kushman, who was Mr. Sports back then and didn’t care much for soft news. I learned a great deal from him, though, and now, ironically, he is the television writer for the Sacramento Bee.
Mark Clevenger ’51, editor in chief in spring 1950–51, now has his own public relations agency, which he operates from his home on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington:
Every Wednesday night we’d spend half the night in Sacramento proofing the paper. But back then the co-eds had curfews—they had to be in the dorm and couldn’t go out after 10 o’clock at night. So we had to get a special letter of dispensation for the gal editors to stay later.
Susan Stathas Houlihan, M.A. ’78, Aggie reader, now a communication studies instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College:
In November of 1972, I was a freshman at UC Davis. It was the first year that 18-year-olds had the vote, and I had just turned 18 in October, so it was my first time voting. Many students, like myself, favored George McGovern, the democratic candidate who opposed the war in Vietnam. We were heartbroken that Nixon won in a landslide victory.
The day after the presidential election, when I picked up my copy of the Aggie, the huge headline read: McGOVERN SWEEPS MASSACHUSETTS. Even then, I knew it would be a classic.