#ThrowBackThursday with the Guardian

UCSD MEMES, CONFESSIONS AND SNAPS DIDN’T EXIST

Instead of these Facebook pages, we had “Like-a-Little,” a website where people would anonymously post about cute people around campus. You’d fill in their gender, hair color, location and a comment about them. Now with a central place for UCSD inside jokes and strange confessions, the approach is less creepy and more of a dialogue. Our Confessions page is so hoppin’ that students from other schools follow it to liven up their newsfeeds.

STUDENTS SMOKED HOOKAH ON THE ERC GREEN

Before the smoking ban on all UC schools took place this year, students could smoke hookah on the picnic tables as long as they were at least 40 feet from the building. It was nice to look out on the green and see a table of giggling freshmen learning how to blow O’s. Now students tape over their fire detectors and puff in their apartments — the proof is in the burn marks on the university-owned tables and carpeting.

GRAFFITI HALL EXISTED

The wound is still fresh on the shutdown of Graffiti Hall, which happened in September of 2013 when administration painted over the graffiti in the Mandeville stairways and installed seven security cameras. It was a place of free expression and a popular spot to bring campus visitors — eliminated due to the assumption that graffiti in the hall would lead to graffiti elsewhere and other illegal activity.

GREEK CHAPTERS PERFORMED SERENADES

Serenades are a long-standing tradition in UCSD Greek life, where every fraternity and sororities’ new pledge class learn high energy dances and visit chapter meetings to perform them. The whole spectacle involves matching outfits, audience participation, crude humor — it was overwhelmingly people’s favorite part of meeting. But by decree of the Greek Advisor, the tradition ended in winter of 2013, leaving every pledge class since then without a proper introduction.

CLICS WAS THE FAVORITE, 24-HOUR STUDY SPACE

CLICS library once stood where Galbraith Hall is now and was, dare I say, the most popular spot to study for finals prior to its closing in 2011. A.S. Council’s “Save Our Libraries” campaign garnered a lot of student support to keep CLICS open but ultimately went unanswered by administration. Students responded by breaking into CLICS during finals week of Fall 2011 and reclaiming it as a student-run study space. It was a triumphant time in undergrad history but was still met with an official closing that winter break.

STUDENTS WERE ANGRY ABOUT THE FALLEN STAR ART PIECE

While the Fallen Star is a whimsical place for underclassmen to show their visiting friends, it is a source of contention for those students in 2011 who saw it as a waste of taxpayer money. Though the piece did use $90,000 from taxes, the majority of the funds were from private donations, bringing the total to $1.3 million. No one can stay mad at an adorable, miniature house, so much of the contention has dissolved into mild amusement.

BACK TO SCHOOL DANCE WAS ON SUN GOD LAWN

Just as Sun God Festival originated on Sun God lawn, the largely attended “Back to School Dance” raged under the arch until last year. It was pretty amazing energy focused in the center of campus (if we have a center), with the DJ stage set up directly under the dramatically lit Sun God statue. Now the dance is annexed to RIMAC field, and I’m pretty sure only ERC students are stoked about it.

UCSD HAD THE OPTION TO MOVE TO DIVISION-I SPORTS

In 2012, students had the opportunity to boost UCSD’s reputation and athletic prowess when the Division-I referendum was introduced that March. UCSD dominates Division-II sports and is the largest Division-II school in the country, so the move only seemed logical that we would join the ranks of our Division-I neighbors, including six of the UC campuses. Yet students voted it down, and it’s still a sore subject among the referendum’s supporters.

THE FOOD HAS CHANGED

In 2010, Pines wasn’t built yet — it was Sierra Summit prior to 2009, and then was completely redone to be the dining hall we know today. Then in January of 2012 UCSD saw its first vegan dining hall built under Pines and playfully named it Roots. There used to be a Tacone in PC, which sold wraps and sandwiches until Panda Express expanded to replace it. Cafe Roma is to be replaced by Starbucks, and D’lush is in the corner where we had never seen anything built before. Cafe Ventanas was actually one of the best dining halls in 2010, and we were here to witness the rise and fall of Ocean View Terrace’s all-you-can-eat buffet style dining, which began in the fall of 2012, only to conclude the following year in the fall.

TUITION HAS GONE UP

Every undergraduate student pays at least $2,500 more annually to attend UCSD than they did in 2010. I know, it hurts. It’s because every student fee has increased since then, except for the University Center fee. Yet every two years, there is a proposed referendum to increase the University Center fee, and students fortunately failed the referendum in 2009, 2011 and 2013. The worst fee increase has to be the mandatory health insurance, which was $290 in 2010 to the current $484.