Student Life in Color
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
The “Can Can Girls” showcase the campus’s early commitment to recycling during Picnic Day, 1974. AR-031.
Picnic Day canoe race on Putah Creek, 1979. AR-031.
Picnic Day float celebrates the Space Shuttle Columbia, 1982. AR-031.
Viticulture and Enology students transformed into rollerskating grapes for the Picnic Day parade, 1984. AR-031.
Students from the Dairy Goat Research Facility ride in style during the Picnic Day parade, 1984. AR-031.
Students playing “Ooze Ball” during Picnic Day, 1989. AR-031.
Two students pause during a Picnic Day “Ooze Ball” match, 1989. AR-031.
A woman looks through tie-dyed shirts for sale at the Whole Earth Festival, 1993. AR-031.
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.
Folk singer Storm Miguel Florez performs during Pride Week at Memorial Union, 2004. Photo by Matt Jojola. AR-200.
Students gathered on the Quad during Black Family Day, 2013. AR-229
Students performing on the Quad during Black Family Day, 2013. AR-229.
Students perform Classical Indian dance during Asian Pacific Culture Night, 2014. AR-229.
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.
Students perform Punjabi folk dance during Asian Pacific Culture Night, 2014. AR-229.
Sicangu Lakota hip-hop artist Frank Waln and dancer Micco Sampson perform during Native American Culture Week, 2015. AR-229.
Student Life and Activities
California Aggie Marching Band-uh! in the rain at a football game, 1982. AR-031.
Two students share a bicycle, 1999. AR-195.
Student employees of Unitrans have some fun in a group photo, 2001. AR-195.
Student mechanic works on a bus in the Unitrans Garage, 2001. AR-195.
Women’s rowing crew carry their boat to the water, 2001. AR-195.
Two members of the Spirit Squad, 2003. AR-195.
Women’s lacrosse player in battle against a St. Mary’s defender, 2003. Photo by Curtis Matthews. AR-200.
Students attending training for the Cross Cultural Center’s Peer Education and Community Empowerment (PEACE) program form a “Peace Circle”, 2007. AR-229.
Students celebrate the election of President Barack Obama at Memorial Union, 2008. AR-229.
“B roll” student staff photo from the Cross Cultural Center, 2011. AR-229.
Students take photos of the view during a Middle East / South Asian (MESA) Solidarity Retreat at Bodega Bay, 2014. AR-229.
Two workshop participants make rattles during Native American Culture Week, 2015. AR-229.
Academic Life
Students taking notes with an environmental horticulture professor in a greenhouse, 1979. AR-031.
Agriculture students with their professor in a crop field, ca. 1981. AR-031.
Viticulture and enology students load grapes for sorting, destemming and crushing, 1985. AR-031.
Students observe honey bees with entomologist Norman Gary, 1987. AR-031.
Veterinary Medicine students with a foal, 1988. AR-031.
Two engineering students working a transit level, circa 1990. AR-031.