Campus
'Seussified' in Honor
of Famous Author's Birthday
By Ioana Patringenaru | March 6, 2006
A two-story giant inflatable
birthday cake was spotted
in front of the Geisel
Library Thursday, along
with a giant inflatable
cat wearing a white
and red striped hat.
Later, employees donning
similar hats played
a toy piano and a harp.
Students, faculty and
staff hovered around
and polished off 2000
slices of cake in just
about half an hour.
These mysterious events
actually had a simple
explanation: UCSD’s
campus came together
last week to celebrate
Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
The author, whose real
name is Theodor Seuss
Geisel, would have been
102. His widow, Audrey
Geisel, joined Chancellor
Marye Anne Fox at noon
to blow out a candle
on a real birthday cake.
Later that evening,
the chancellor thanked
Geisel for her generosity
and her advice. Meanwhile,
that morning, more cake
and punch were on hand
to feed students, faculty
and staff who started
lining up around 11:45
a.m. to join in the
celebration.
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Chancellor Marye Anne Fox reads “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” by Dr. Seuss to children at Doyle Elementary School in San Diego as part of “Read Across America.” Schools across California take part in the literacy event every year to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
See more pictures... |
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The goal of the celebration
is to “seussify”
the campus, said Lynda
Claassen, curator of
the Dr. Seuss collection
and director of the
Mandeville Special Collection
Library. Students Tasha
Mohney and Brandi Martinez
seemed to embrace Claassen’s
agenda. They were enjoying
slices of chocolate
with raspberry cake
and vanilla with chocolate
fudge cake in the shade
of the Cat in the Hat
inflatable statue.
“I think it’s the cutest thing ever,” said Mohney, a third-year psychology major.
Mohney said her favorite book is “Green Eggs and Ham.” Martinez said she likes “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” and always reads Dr. Seuss stories to her 5-year-old brother.
Later during the day, Chancellor Fox confided that her five sons and her four grandsons also learned from Dr. Seuss’ stories.
“Several generations have benefited from his wonderful contributions,” she said.
She spoke during an
invitation-only reception
at the La Jolla Playhouse.
About 150 guests watched
graduate students from
UCSD’s theatre
and dance department
put on a production
of “Horton Hears
a Who.” The department
is ranked third in the
nation, the chancellor
told the audience. In
the story students acted
out, Horton the elephant
pledges to protect the
Who, a microscopic people
who live on a speck
of dust. The book has
been called a rhymed
lesson in protecting
minorities and their
rights, said University
Librarian Brian Schottlaender.
“A person is a
person, no matter how
small” is a recurring
sentence in the book.
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Students
from UCSD’s
theatre and
dance department
performed
“Horton
Hears a Who”
last week
during a celebration
of Dr. Seuss’
birthday. |
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So, what does it take to be a Who, anyway? You need a lot of discipline, a good dose of idealism and cooperation, students said. You have to think small, said student Brandon Taylor. “You have to go to that Who place,” said student Molly Fite. Meanwhile, Dorian Baucum, who played Horton, was trying to get in touch with his inner elephant. “I’m still wondering if I found him,” he said.
Baucum and the others actually seemed to have reached their goal, and their audience, Thursday afternoon, when they jumped onto the stage. Performing without props or costumes, they used their bodies to portray parts of the landscape in the story, such as clovers, and characters, including the Whos, a kangaroo and her baby, an eagle and a bunch of fairly unpleasant monkeys.
The audience gave them a warm ovation. The actors had an unbelievable amount of imagination, said Millie Basden, a San Diego resident and attorney for Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
“In some ways, it was better than a Broadway show,” she said.
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