Rebecca Bonebrake, a second-year Muir student, takes a breather while waiting for the countdown to begin.

UCSD's GPA Plummets

By Jaimie Bell
November 1, 2004

In the weeks before Halloween, the UCSD community has various traditions for welcoming autumn: Some decorate their offices, some make Halloween costumes and some hurl several-hundred-pound pumpkins off the tops of buildings.

On Friday, students dropped a 420-pound pumpkin named GPA from the 11th story of Tioga Hall, the tallest building on the Muir College campus. GPA is the largest pumpkin in Muir pumpkin-drop history, a tradition upheld by the Muir College Residents Executive Council for the last 30 years.

Members of the Muir College Residents Executive Council gathered together after giving the offial shove to "GPA". From left to right, second-year Meg Gullo, first-year Rebecca Schwartz and second-year Rebecca Bonebrake.

"The pumpkin drop is the outcome of the Revelle watermelon drop, which started as a class experiment 30 years ago," said Pat Danylyshyn-Adams, resident dean of Muir College and organizer of the pumpkin drop. "Muir thought that they should have a tradition too, so the pumpkin drop was born."

After carting the pumpkin to the top floor of Tioga hall, six men hoisted the pumpkin to the building edge and struggled to hold it in place as a couple of students stuffed the insides with candy. Several hundred people gathered below, including local grade school students, parents, and television crews, eagerly awaiting the countdown. After the drop, spectators swarmed the scene and picked through pumpkin remains as they searched for candy.

Although the pumpkin drop was the highlight of the day, spectators also were invited to a pre-drop carnival that included cake walks, hula-hoop contests, cotton candy, and a booth where students could take turns sliming each other. All in all, it was a smash-hit day!

Scene of the crime: Event goers wasted no time searching for candy.