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Student Life in Color

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Shields Library (Lobby - Archives and Special Collections)
Permanent Exhibit

History is not black-and-white. Student life at UC Davis is vibrant and multifaceted; rooted in tradition, yet full of renewal. The images in this exhibit, drawn from the University Archives, capture UC Davis student traditions, activities and academics during a period spanning the late 20th century to the present era. From Picnic Day to athletic events; from hands-on learning to cultural performances, the students in these color photographs demonstrate the diversity of the Aggie experience and the persistence of the “Aggie Spirit.”

This exhibit, installed on the first floor of Shields Library along the courtyard, features images from archival collections stewarded and preserved by the UC Davis Library’s Archives and Special Collections department, including: Strategic Communications Records (AR-031), Neil Michel Axiom Photograph Collection (AR-195), California Aggie Photographs (AR-200), and Cross Cultural Center Records (AR-229).

Traditions and Events

Female students on a float in a parade wearing skirts made out of soda cans and blouses made of newspaper. The float is also decorated with aluminum cans.

The “Can Can Girls” showcase the campus’s early commitment to recycling during Picnic Day, 1974. AR-031.

Two canoes full of paddling students are on the water in the foreground, while spectators watch from a grassy hillside in the background.

Picnic Day canoe race on Putah Creek, 1979. AR-031.

A parade passes between spectators lining each side of the road, with a two story building and trees in the background. A tractor pulls a float featuring the space shuttle and planet earth, and several students are sitting on the float.

Picnic Day float celebrates the Space Shuttle Columbia, 1982. AR-031.

Several students on roller skates covered in purple balloons appear in a parade.

Viticulture and Enology students transformed into rollerskating grapes for the Picnic Day parade, 1984. AR-031.

A person dressed in medical scrubs holding a large pair of scissors sits on a cart being pulled by a goat during a parade.

Students from the Dairy Goat Research Facility ride in style during the Picnic Day parade, 1984. AR-031.

Several students play volleyball on an outdoor court covered with muddy water.

Students playing “Ooze Ball” during Picnic Day, 1989. AR-031.

Two young men covered in mud smile at the camera with an arm around each other's shoulders.

Two students pause during a Picnic Day “Ooze Ball” match, 1989. AR-031.

A young woman's face is visible under a row of tie-dyed clothing hanging on hangers.

A woman looks through tie-dyed shirts for sale at the Whole Earth Festival, 1993. AR-031.

A man with ear and eye protection indoors holds a rod as a fireball erupts from the end of it.

A member of the UC Davis Chemistry Club lights a hydrogen balloon during the Picnic Day Chemistry Magic Show, 2003. Photo by Tim Hemesath. AR-200.

A person with sunglasses and a hat plays a guitar and sings into a microphone during an outdoor concert with an arch of rainbow colored balloons in the background.

Folk singer Storm Miguel Florez performs during Pride Week at Memorial Union, 2004. Photo by Matt Jojola. AR-200.

A young woman sitting in a booth smiles at the camera, as other people stand and sit behind her wearing Black Family Day shirts.

Students gathered on the Quad during Black Family Day, 2013. AR-229

Three women dance on an outdoor stage wearing coordinated outfits of tank tops, skirts, and black tights.

Students performing on the Quad during Black Family Day, 2013. AR-229.

Several young women in Classical Indian dance attire squat with their palms down toward the stage.

Students perform Classical Indian dance during Asian Pacific Culture Night, 2014. AR-229.

Several young women pose in a line wearing matching outfits with colorful skirts in an outdoor setting.

Established at UC Davis in 1977, Danzantes del Alma is a student folklorico dance troupe celebrating traditional and contemporary Mexican, Chicanx and Latinx performing arts. AR-229.

Men and women on an indoor stage dance wearing colorful outfits with arms outstretched holding decorated poles.

Students perform Punjabi folk dance during Asian Pacific Culture Night, 2014. AR-229.

Two men perform on stage against a deep blue curtain. The man on the left dances wearing elaborate Native American regalia and face paint, while the man on the right wears slacks, a white shirt, a backwards baseball cap, and a medallion, and sings into a microphone.

Sicangu Lakota hip-hop artist Frank Waln and dancer Micco Sampson perform during Native American Culture Week, 2015. AR-229.

Student Life and Activities

A section of stadium seats full of students holding umbrella and marching band instruments on a gray, raining day.

California Aggie Marching Band-uh! in the rain at a football game, 1982. AR-031.

Two female students ride on a single bicycle with one standing and pedaling and one sitting on the seat holding a small bouquet of flowers.

Two students share a bicycle, 1999. AR-195.

A man wearing a beige coverall works beneath a red double-deck bus raised up on yellow automotive lift while a second man looks on. Sing on the front of the bus reads London Bridge Station 17.

Student mechanic works on a bus in the Unitrans Garage, 2001. AR-195.

A large groups of students pose in front of two red double-deck buses parked end to end.

Student employees of Unitrans have some fun in a group photo, 2001. AR-195.

A row of women wearing dark blue unisuits carry their yellow boat over their heads outdoors.

Women’s rowing crew carry their boat to the water, 2001. AR-195.

Two female cheer leaders pose smiling for the camera with their heads placed side by side holding gold pom-poms.

Two members of the Spirit Squad, 2003. AR-195.

Action shot of a woman wearing a UC Davis uniform with the number 2 clashing with woman wearing a dark blue uniform with the number 29. Both hold lacrosse sticks.

Women’s lacrosse player in battle against a St. Mary’s defender, 2003. Photo by Curtis Matthews. AR-200.

A group of smiling students form a circle with their faces by standing over the camera and looking down.

Students attending training for the Cross Cultural Center’s Peer Education and Community Empowerment (PEACE) program form a “Peace Circle”, 2007. AR-229.

A group of people with joyful expressions stand outdoors with a red brick building in the background. One woman is speaking into a bull horn.

Students celebrate the election of President Barack Obama at Memorial Union, 2008. AR-229.

A young woman poses with six books stacked and balanced on her head while she puffs out her cheeks and cradles her face with her hands.

“B roll” student staff photo from the Cross Cultural Center, 2011. AR-229.

Two young women sitting indoors, one holding a thing paint brush, are focused on making rattles.

Two workshop participants make rattles during Native American Culture Week, 2015. AR-229.

A young woman in a headscarf, seen through a reflection on a large window, takes a smart phone photo of the photographer while others look on.

Students take photos of the view during a Middle East / South Asian (MESA) Solidarity Retreat at Bodega Bay, 2014. AR-229.

Academic Life

An older man examines a flower with three younger people inside of a greenhouse full of green leaves and flowers.

Students taking notes with an environmental horticulture professor in a greenhouse, 1979. AR-031.

An older man wearing a baseball hat kneels in front of some vegetables growing in a field while surrounded by students taking notes.

Agriculture students with their professor in a crop field, ca. 1981. AR-031.

A bustling outdoor scene of young people moving crates full of purple grapes.

Viticulture and enology students load grapes for sorting, destemming and crushing, 1985. AR-031.

An older man kneels next to a beehive box holding out his hand while six students look on in an outdoor setting.

Students observe honey bees with entomologist Norman Gary, 1987. AR-031.

Three people, two wearing tan jumpsuits and holding medical equipment look at a baby horse with an adult horse standing behind them in an outdoor setting.

Veterinary Medicine students with a foal, 1988. AR-031.

Close up photo of two young people looking into a telescope-like piece of equipment.

Two engineering students working a transit level, circa 1990. AR-031.

Exhibit Location

This exhibit is located on the main floor of Shields Library along the courtyard.

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