Volume 27 · Number 2 · Winter 2010
(Cheng Saechao/UC Davis)
End Notes
They're back!
With a crowd watching and video rolling, two of Robert Arneson’s famed Egghead sculptures took up residence in their new home on Mrak Circle in November. The sculptures, titled See No Evil, Hear No Evil, were two of seven pieces created by Arneson and originally installed in 1994 on grassy mounds beside King Hall. They were relocated in March 2008 due to the law school’s expansion. Each Egghead stands about 5 feet high and weighs a few hundred pounds.
New threads at last
Band members (from left) Arbel Bedak, Susanna Peeples and Olin Hannum in student director’s blazer.
(Michael Benson photo)
The Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh! took delivery on “cool” new uniforms — featuring the first redesign since 1982 — and debuted them at a November football game in Aggie Stadium.
The band, sponsored by Campus Recreation, acquired 200 uniforms at a cost of $124,000 that feature more dynamic colors, including gold accents — even sequins in the chest trim.
The new uniforms are two-piece, made from polyester gabardine with venting — definitely a cooler alternative to the old, three-piece uniforms made of wool.
“It’s like Christmas,” said Thomas Slabaugh II, band director. “The new uniforms will inspire greater performances. Morale will greatly improve, and the Band-uh! will provide much better representation of UC Davis.”
— Dave Jones
Making the final cut
(Mimi Schiffman photo)
Campus barber John Salido retired and closed up shop in December after four decades of giving haircuts to students, faculty and staff in the basement of Freeborn Hall. He was scheduled to end his run at University Haircutters the same way he started in September 1969 — cutting the hair of Emanuel Epstein.
Epstein (at right), a plant physiologist, had been Salido’s first customer. Now a professor emeritus, Epstein booked his appointment months in advance for the shop’s closing cut.
“It’s the end of an era,” he said on one of his last visits to Salido’s barber chair.
Epstein was fond of telling Salido over the years that his haircuts endangered his marriage. Epstein likes his hair shorter than his wife prefers. Salido was so successful at negotiating a compromise length that he attended the couple’s 50th wedding anniversary.
“I feel really close to a lot of my customers,” Salido said. “I mean, I’ve been cutting their hair for most of my life.” Salido, an Army reservist and an avid fisherman who also taught University Extension classes on stream ecology for fly fishing, planned to move to Hawaii’s Big Island after retiring.
— Mimi Schiffman
Muggle Quidditch
(Tracey Myint photo)
How can you play Quidditch without a flying broom? That minor detail doesn’t seem to stop UC Davis students from practicing the sport that’s popular with witches and wizards in the fantasy world of Harry Potter. Even without a flying snitch, Muggle Quidditch is sweeping the nation’s college campuses. The Intercollegiate Quidditch Association, established in 2007, is now an official sports league with more than 200 participating institutions worldwide, according to the association Web site (collegequidditch.com). So far, tryouts for the UC Davis team are not necessary and everyone is encouraged to bring a broom and come out to the Saturday afternoon practices. For more information, check out the team’s Facebook page “Muggle Quidditch at UC Davis.”