UC Berkeley News
Web Feature

UC Berkeley Web Feature

Cal Day visitors tell what drew them to the university's open house


Cal Day in pictures
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– Saturday may have gotten off to a chilly, overcast start, but by 11 a.m. the clouds had been banished for Cal Day, UC Berkeley's annual open house.

Thousands of visitors in shorts strolled about the campus enjoying the sunshine and sampling the day's nonstop activities, which included Campanile tours, lectures on the avian flu, choral performances, ballroom dancing, and hands-on bug collecting. We stopped a few of the campus guests to ask what brought them to Berkeley for the day.

Jim, Kieran, Shannon, and Michelle Baack'This is our fourth year in a row. We come for the kids. They like everything at the Valley Life Sciences Building: Kieran held the boa constrictor. And Shannon just loves watching the cheerleaders.'
—The Baacks: Jim (Electrical Engineering '90), Kieran, Shannon, and Michelle (Business '90), Piedmont, Calif.
John Woo (right), with son Brian'My daughter is coming to Cal in the fall, and I thought Cal Day would be a good experience for my two other kids. We're just walking around, seeing what Berkeley is like. We wanted to see the fencers - both my kids are beginning fencers. It's too bad Berkeley doesn't have an actual fencing team, only a fencing club.'
—John Woo (right), with son Brian, Pinole, Calif.

Viviana Huang and Bin Xiao'We're students already. We're here to show school spirit and tell people how great Cal is. We're probably going to head over to Valley Life Sciences, because the paleontology museum is open today. Then we'll hit the student organization tables.'
—Viviana Huang (left), second-year Spanish/molecular and cell biology major, Mexicali, Mexico, and Bin Xiao, second-year Spanish/MCB major, Lake Forest, Calif.
The Anderssons'We came because I've been admitted to Berkeley, but I haven't made up my mind yet. We've just been walking around; we watched the band, and we'll probably go up to Haas because I think I want to major in business.'
—Angelica Andersson (second from right) with her family, Pleasanton, Calif.

 'We're on a field trip. So far we've seen some dancing; visited the library and the law school; done a little shopping on Telegraph Ave. We're going to do a bunch more stuff. It's pretty cool so far.'
—11th graders from Del Campo High School, Fair Oaks, Calif.
Devanei Hampton'I'm going to be a freshman in the fall. We went to a presentation this morning for Summer Bridge [an academic program for select incoming undergraduates], and I met the rest of the women's basketball team. We also got to talk to our new coach, who was just announced yesterday.'
—Devanei Hampton (left), with her sister Devonjah'nei and mother Demetria Frasier, Oakland, Calif.

 Amy (right), Michael and Devra Sholinbeck'We just got here. We came for the children's activities - the pottery lesson, the pinhole camera workshop, and the archaeology dig. My husband works in the Library; this is our first Cal Day.'
—Amy (right), Michael and Devra Sholinbeck, Richmond, Cal.
 Harold Ford'Well, I studied business here way back in '58. I've only missed two Cal Days since they started having them, and one of those times was because of a death in the family. I just went to a very good discussion over at Dwinelle, about Republicans and politics. In a minute I'll be meeting the group I came with to decide what we want to do next.'
—Harold Ford, Moraga

Dolores Calderwood and Imelda Dibble'Well, I was planning to go to the Peter Paul Rubens show at the Berkeley Art Museum when Imelda told me it was Cal Day, so we decided to do this instead. I've lived in Berkeley for so long but I don't really have an idea of the campus. We're starting with the Campanile, and then we'll probably go to the Botanical Gardens. We can see the Rubens show another time.'
—Dolores Calderwood (left) and Imelda Dibble, both from Berkeley, Calif.
Francisco Piceno'I'm on a field trip. So far the best things are winning a goldfish - I threw the ball in the glass - and touching the snake.'
—Francisco Piceno (left) and friend, 4th graders at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, San Jose, Calif.


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