Withstanding bone-chilling fog on a typical August night, 7,194 incoming students squeezed together on the field of California Memorial Stadium to form a perfect, giant C. Not only did the event signify a unified start to their educational journey, it broke a Guinness World Record. Two judges certified that our bright-eyed Bears had just created the largest human letter, surpassing by almost 3,000 participants the number of students who assembled the University of Tennessee’s T last spring.
The affair was part of Golden Bear Orientation, an ambitious new program for all incoming students that offers training sessions, tours, academic events, and more over an eight-day period. Reflecting on how proud she was of the historic C, Chrissy Roth-Francis, director of New Student Services, says, “In just their first full day on campus, they’ve already left their mark on the world.”
