Transcript of

50th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration

Chris Kim, Reporter:
Cal State Fullerton is kicking off its fiftieth anniversary and it held a birthday bash to celebrate the rich history of the university. The campus was transformed into a festive headquarters and even included dance performances to entertain the crowd. The fiftieth anniversary welcomed everyone to the campus: from current students, alumni, and faculty, as well as family and friends. School spirit could be felt throughout the university and displays of Titan memorabilia emphasized the deep history rooted in the university. The college of Engineering and Computer Science featured a booth that displayed the evolution of technology during the last few decades. Everyone kept busy spinning around the university and taking in the festive atmosphere that too over the university.

Various booths were set up by the different colleges to display the works and achievements compiled by current students and alumni throughout the history of Cal State Fullerton. The university showed off some of its historical heirlooms and both current and former students got involved to show their school spirit and involvement with the university as well as the impact that Cal State Fullerton has had on their life.

The day featured dance entertainment from the hip-hop club at Cal State Fullerton, showing off some of their moves for the audience, and interpretive dances were also performed to show the diversity in music and satisfy the musical appetite in everyone. The university featured a look back through the decades, beginning from the 1960’s, when Cal State Fullerton was known as Orange State College. In this decade, the Titans have achieved a national championship in baseball and the school has reached a record attendance of 36,000 students.

The university has transformed from a meager school with a couple of buildings into a grand campus responsible for the second largest attended university in California. Who knows what to expect in the next fifty years. As the day continued, the center stage was set to award and recognize the fiftieth anniversary.

U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, Cal State Fullerton Alumnus:
Happy birthday, Titans! This has been a great fifty years. We look forward to the next fifty.

Milton A. Gordon, CSUF President:
If you combine the greatest students with the greatest faculty and the greatest staff, what could go wrong with that university? That’s truly what has happened here.

Chris Kim, Reporter:
The celebration culminated with the cutting of the cake and a surprise visit from Tuffy Titan. The dance squad cheered and performed for the crowd and even Tuffy got into the action, showing off some of his moves for the crowd. The school recognized those who have left a positive mark on the university.

And what anniversary wouldn’t be complete without celebrating the traditional foundation that has made Cal State Fullerton what it is, and that, of course, are the elephant races. Robotic elephants were created to perform a mock elephant race and even students got involved by creating their own elephants to race against each other. A special award was even created for each of the winning teams that competed in the elephant races. A future generation of Titans held a race of their own and left with big smiles on their faces by the end of the day. The fiftieth anniversary brought together the past, present, and future, and displayed a tradition, history, and accomplishments that have made this university into what it is today.