Dress up and dance like it's 1965

Retro hairdos, hats, props, and selfies were the order of the day on Dress Up Like it's 1965 Day. Top two photos by Carolyn Lagattuta.

I haven't seen so many beehive hairdos, white gloves, and skinny ties since, well, 1965!

The campus kickoff last week of our 50th anniversary was thoroughly entertaining. The theme was "Dress Up Like it's 1965," and we did. I donned a black fedora, skinny tie, and dark-rimmed glasses. Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor Alison Galloway outdid me by a mile with a vintage I. Magnin coat, pearls, a pillbox hat of her own making, and period sunglasses she couldn't even see out of because they were someone else's prescription. Talk about sacrificing for fashion!

A group of us walked from Kerr Hall to Quarry Plaza, where we were met by dozens of students in a range of outfits from beatnik to mod. KZSC was blasting tunes from 1965, dancers in mini skirts and go-go boots were twisting and shaking, and everyone posed for many, many photos. Alumna Tiffany White Stanton, who designs costumes for Mad Men, couldn't make the party so she reviewed photos to pick the winners of the most authentic 1965 costume. She had her work cut out for her, but check out the results online.

And true to the era, a group of students protesting the proposed tuition hike marched through the plaza chanting and banging drums. As Kevin Karplus, a professor of biomolecular engineering, was quoted in the Santa Cruz Sentinel article saying of the student demonstration, "It wouldn't be the '60s without one."

If the rest of our 50th year is half as much fun as the kickoff, we'll be in great shape. The month will wrap up with more five anniversary-related events: a remembrance of founding Chancellor Dean McHenry on January 27; the inaugural conversation in the new Questions that Matter series on January 27; Angela Davis will be the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation on January 28; and Cowell College will celebrate "Three Generations of Smiths," including founding provost Page Smith, on January 30. Full details are available online.  

Comments or questions? Write to chancellor@ucsc.edu and put "Kickoff" in the subject line.