Charter Day and Charter Games
March 23, known as Charter Day, is the official birthday of the University. From the Charter of the University until the present, over one hundred years later, students and faculty have engaged in formal and informal ceremonies in celebration of the day.
When the state of California wrote its Constitution in 1849, it provided for an education system with a university. It would be eighteen years before a university was established. The Legislature began working on a plan for an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College. The state had the necessary funds but did not have a site.
The College of California, a private institution, had been established in 1858. The trustees of the College carefully chose and dedicated the land, which they named “Berkeley.” Although the College of California had sufficient land, it did not have the necessary funds to operate properly. The trustees offered to give the College and all of its assets to the State, to establish a state university. They made the offer under the condition that the university not be simply an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College, but rather a “complete university.”
The Legislature accepted the offer and the terms. On March 23, 1868, Governor Henry H. Haight signed the Organic Act, which established the University of California.
In its 134 years, the University has always had formal exercises to celebrate Charter Day. These exercises involve the procession of faculty and alumni to the Greek Theatre for the ceremonies. The ceremonies consist of speeches given by various University officials, centered around one prominent guest speaker.
In the early part of the 20th century, Charter Day speakers would always be renowned educators. Such speakers included President Nicholas Murray Butler of University of Columbia in 1907, President Faunce of Brown University in 1909, and President Henry B. Hutchins of the University of Michigan in 1918.
Charter Day has not been without its share of “informal” exercises and antics by the students. Most notable was the annual Charter Day Rush. Charter Day 1905 marked the construction of the Big “C” on Charter Hill. Thereafter, the morning of Charter Day was reserved for the ceremonies on Charter Hill. During the ceremonies, the Sophomores officially handed over care of the “C” to the Freshmen who would guard it until the next Charter Day. This student ceremony continued until the Rally Committee became custodian of the Big “C” sometime in the late 1960’s.
A number of national figures have been speakers and participants in the Charter Day ceremonies. President Theodore Roosevelt spoke at Charter Day 1911, thanking the University for letting him experience the Spirit of California. Secretary of State George C. Marshall was the principle speaker at the ceremonies of 1948 and Adlai Stevenson, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations spoke in 1964.
The most famous Charter Day address came in 1962, when President John F. Kennedy spoke in Memorial Stadium to a crowd of 88,000 people. This was reportedly the largest audience to ever hear President Kennedy speak in person.
President Kennedy’s opening remarks: “When I observe the men who surround me in Washington . . . I am forced to confront an uncomfortable truth . . . that the New Frontier may well owe as much to Berkeley as it does to Harvard,” brought thunderous applause.
A plaque now hangs by the entrance to the North Tunnel in Memorial Stadium to commemorate the President’s visit.
After the sixties, we observe a gradual decline in the caliber of Charter Day speakers. This was probably due to the political turmoil that took place on the Berkeley campus during the late sixties. Some speculate that it is harder to attract famous speakers today because the University no longer gives our honorary degrees as it used to.
Current Charter Day activities include a faculty and alumni procession to Zellerbach Hall and a short birthday party for the students on Sproul Plaza.
The Charter Games
The Rally Committee began observing the decline in Charter Day activities and the deterioration of appreciation by the students and administration. The Committee brainstormed a solution to boost appreciation of Charter Day and the general spirit at the University.
The Committee decided to pattern the solution to the problem after the historic Freshmen-Sophomore Brawl. After the Big “C” was built, President Wheeler created the Brawl. The Freshmen and Sophomores would compete annually in such activities as a push ball contest and a tug-of-war. This tradition continued until the mid-1950’s.
In the Spring of 2002, a group of Committee members brainstormed together and they planned the First Annual Charter Games.
The First Annual Charter Games took place during the week preceding Charter Day 2002. Three Days of events included a tug-of-war, a cake eating contest, and a relay marathon around Memorial Glade. Instead of competing by class, teams were made up of various student groups.
The Charter Games were an enormous success. The team from the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity won the three days of competition and was awarded the Charter Cup. The Committee remains the custodian of the Charter Cup, a perpetual trophy, and engraves the name of the winning team each year. Thereafter, a job on the Executive Committee was created to oversee the Charter Games in order to ensure the success of many years to come.
The Charter Games of 2003 were no less successful. Moving the venue to Sproul Plaza and putting all of the events into one packed day were the most notable changes. This year, the games will be held on Dwinelle Plaza on April 15 in conjunction with the University’s celebrations.
By Natalie M. Freese
Sources:
Blue & Gold Yearbook, 1908, 1910, 1916, 1920,
1930, 1948, 1962.
The University of California – A Pictorial History, by Albert
G. Pickerell and May Dornin. Copyright 1968 by the Regents of the
University of California.
The Romance of the University of California, by Robert Sibley.
Special Thanks to the group of Rally Committee members
who made the First Annual Charter Games Possible.