University of California--Santa Cruz

About Me

Intro

I have a certain reputation. I'm known as a total hippie tree-hugger who would rather be sitting around a campfire playing my didgeridoo than doing almost anything else. I'm definitely not into sports—my mascot is a banana slug, for crying out loud. Just about the only sport I'm any good at is ultimate frisbee.

But you know how reputations are…most of the time they're only a little true. Clothing isn't actually optional, 4/20 isn't actually a (condoned) university holiday, and I do require grades now.

A lot of my reputation was built in the 1980s when things were wild and crazy. These days, I'm a lot more into my academics. Most people are surprised to hear how many of my undergraduate departments are top-ranked, like economics, linguistics, astronomy and astrophysics, marine biology, physics, and computer science, to name a few. I might not be the most prestigious UC campus, but I'm certainly no slacker.

And I still love my didgeridoo. So relaxing…

Name

Just call me Sammy the Slug. The banana slug, that is. Please keep an eye out for me if you go hiking in my redwood forests on a drizzly day. I'm easy to squash.

Hometown

Santa Cruz, California. It's a pretty sweet spot, if I do say so myself—right on the ocean between San Francisco and Monterey.

Birthdate

1965

Body Type

I've got about 18,000 students. That might sound like a lot, but it's only about half of my bro UC Berkeley's population. My campus is huge, however, and it's built into a redwood forest on a big hill—people who bike around me have glutes of steel (or motorized bikes), but most people walk or catch my frequent shuttles.

Current Living Situation

Man, I bulked up like crazy in the 1990s and 2000s. I've got it all now, from super nice apartments for the juniors and seniors to old-fashioned dorm rooms for the frosh and sophs. Where you live depends on which of the ten colleges you belong to. Even though I've got lots of space for everyone, some students decide to live it up in town. No quiet hours, no problem.

Relationship Status

I like everyone, but I'm perpetually single.

Politics

Like I said, I have a rep for being a hippie tree-hugger. You might even call me a bleeding-heart leftie.

You should apply to me if...

you're a dedicated student who's passionate about making a difference in the world and you think you could suffer through a few years of amazing (yet unpredictable) weather and jaw-dropping scenery.