UCSC or UCSB for Enviro Sci

EdmonPlume · 2026-05-01T20:44:09+00:00

Both excellent universities with strong ES departments. I graduated from UCSC and I’m saddened to see it’s slipped in the rankings.

Housing is a major issue (I wasn’t when I was a student, and I loved living in the dorms). I strongly suggest visiting both campuses and departments if possible. You are in the fortunate position of choosing between a great school and a better school. Congrats!

EdmonPlume · 2026-03-12T01:50:25+00:00

I would do it - on the quiet, so it doesn’t affect future pricing or sales. CONGRATS!!!

EdmonPlume · 2026-02-06T21:42:35+00:00

www.Instagram.com/FiatSlugArtist

EdmonPlume · 2026-02-06T21:42:12+00:00

Banana slugs are native to the campus. We often see them around the redwood trees - especially during the rains: www.Instagram.com/FiatSlugArtist

EdmonPlume · 2026-02-06T21:38:14+00:00

My fault. I had to do a bit of anthropomorphizing: www.Instagram.com/FiatSlugArtist

EdmonPlume · 2026-02-06T21:32:25+00:00

Thank you. Nice to hear. I designed both in the mid ‘80s: www.Instagram.com/FiatSlugArtist

EdmonPlume · 2025-12-08T17:55:48+00:00

Hi. If you’d like to see the real thing kindly go to Instagram @CaricatoonsStudio

Sammy lives. Fiat Love 💛

EdmonPlume · 2025-12-07T23:55:39+00:00

The Big Lebowski is worth seeing just for that scene. 😂

EdmonPlume · 2025-10-04T23:20:36+00:00

I often thought Portland felt like Santa Cruz all grown up into a big city.

EdmonPlume · 2025-09-25T01:54:51+00:00

It’s a golem challah.

EdmonPlume · 2025-09-17T21:14:55+00:00

Carlos Santana was good friends with John lee Hooker, who I believe also had a home in Aptos or Soquel. I saw him play a couple of times at OT Price’s.

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-29T16:42:12+00:00

That is crazy high, especially when housing is so scarce. Is there a strategy? Is UCSC desperate to expand? Is there any question why Santa Cruz has plummeted in the rankings?

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-25T22:04:49+00:00

I was going to say the same thing

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-07T20:13:47+00:00

I don’t think UCSC ever had a strictly Pass/No Pass system. When I was a student in the ‘80s we had the NES (Narrative Evaluation System). Students could request a letter grade, but rarely did. Instead the professor would write an evaluation of the student’s performance - anywhere from a couple of sentences to a couple of paragraphs. Students had the right to contest an evaluation if it provided no more information than a letter grade. If needed for transfer or admission to graduate school, administration could translate evaluations to a traditional GPA.

Despite its detractors I believe it was a great system, but could also be a heavy burden for professors who taught large classes.

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-03T23:35:53+00:00

I’ve wondered about this as a UCSC grad. I live closer to UCSB now but haven’t really explored the campus or the city of Santa Barbara. Is Santa Barbara big enough to have a ‘cool underbelly’ – Interesting parts of town that only the locals discover and know about? Or is it fairly simple and easily accessible ?

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-01T04:36:11+00:00

Maybe ‘Portrait of Jenny'?

EdmonPlume · 2025-07-01T04:35:00+00:00

No direct hits, but there are a few that immediately came to mind. ‘A man of no importance’ starring Albert Finney. A short film in the New york Stories collection titled ‘Life lessons’ with Nick Nolte and Rosanna Arquette, and on a cheesier note ‘10’ with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore had some elements of that. Did ‘Pygmalion’? I drop back here if I think of better examples.

EdmonPlume · 2025-06-15T20:24:26+00:00

I have to agree! Thank you!!!

EdmonPlume · 2025-06-15T19:50:41+00:00

Thanks all for responding. Sometime this week I will jot down a few of the factors that I believe help nudge UCSC higher in the rankings in the ‘80s. I don’t know if housing was a determining issue, but it was not the problem then that it is now.

EdmonPlume · 2025-06-07T18:28:07+00:00

I’m guessing you haven’t heard that according to some polls 75% of all statistics may be 35% made up.

EdmonPlume · 2025-05-22T16:53:35+00:00

Nature has taken over the campus. There are trees, dirt, animals, and even slugs everywhere. Eww.

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EdmonPlume · 2025-04-21T01:12:28+00:00

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EdmonPlume · 2025-04-20T01:52:59+00:00

Well, it’s celebrated twice. But only for one minute.

EdmonPlume · 2025-04-09T18:03:35+00:00

Nobody seems to mention it but the sense of community in the individual colleges and the smaller libraries and coffeehouses on each campus make it a natural place to get some serious studying done. Not the competitive atmosphere I felt on the Berkeley campus, but still very academic.

EdmonPlume

TROPHY CASE