It's the UC Berkeley homecoming weekend! What better way to show off your school spirit than participating in the first annual "Growl on Sproul" contest? The Berkeley alumni association brought out a mike and suckered persuaded 18 eager contestants in the student plaza to roar like the mascot Cal grizzly bear.
One student, a senior, decided to go with a growling bear returning back to hibernation, saying, "I could relate to that because I like to sleep." He didn't win, unfortunately. Another entrant gave his best wookie imitation, but also didn't win. "I guess it was a Chewbacca growl, which is similar to a grizzly," he said. Another also-ran did an imitation of a whining UCLA baby Bruin being defeated by a huge grizzly roar. (We're not a Cal alum, so maybe someone can explain to us why exactly it is that both UCLA and Cal both have bears as mascots?)
The winner was junior Joyce Yuan, who took home the $40 prize with her rendition of a bear growling out the traditional Cal fight song "Big C." She said she decided to growl out the tune because "actually, I don't know the words to the song." (Hey Joyce! The lyrics are online!)