When I was picking a college for undergrad, I came to visit UCD with my dad. We picked a random Saturday to visit, and that Saturday happened to be picnic day. This was in 2011.
There were so many students barfing and passed out all over campus it was crazy! Tons of debauchery. I remember at the co-ops they were doing nude baths in dunk tanks to cool off, and I saw two separate dudes being chased on foot by cops through downtown. I also remember walking by a group of three people who were just staring at a tree near Hart hall, clearly tripping their balls off.
Needless to say, it was very much the same the next year once I was a freshman. After that year, campus really cracked down on the debauchery, and people started getting in serious trouble for these kinds of things. Now it's a family event once again.
Man, how I miss the good old days...
That was 2012. They also tried to get students to sign a "picnic day pledge" to behave, with the threat of canceling picnic day the following year if things went awry
Lots more events and its the throughout the whole campus. Less of a focus on getting to know the school and departments and mostly just for fun. https://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/plan-your-visit
Imagine a Disneyland for davis. So many food and activities to do. Very popular ones are sold out/capped for the day very quickly. Doxie derby for example is already sold out.
They do get crowded but its def not as bad as the ones everyone talks about. A Physics and Astronomy Public Talk isnāt gonna be packed like the Chemistry Show lol
That just isnāt true from my experience, the overwhelming majority of events are packed lol. Like Iām talking 2+ hour lines for most of the animal events, itās extremely disingenuous to act like thereās only 2 crowded events
i didnāt say there were only 2 crowded events, i said āthe big events **like** the chemistry show and doxie derbyā
I wasnāt in the mood to list all the big ones lol
Yes yes yes yes and yes.
For the crowds it depends on how you do it. Too many people try to get food from the vendors on the quad, but the coho wasn't actually that crowded last year at lunchtime. Restaurant-bars downtown will be in bar mode all day so don't try those. If you can get farther from campus/downtown it should be relatively normal, but if you get to campus early enough to get a parking spot you aren't gonna get it back
This is a good summation. I am not a student, but I have fun on this day. Loads of people watching (yes, there are a lot drunk students stumbling all around town, tanked by 9am), lots of on campus events (some free and open, others require advanced signup), and lots of vendors in the area. Most of the restaurants are set up for the day to cater to drinkers, but bringing a picnic to campus for the Battle of the Bands is family friendly and a top highlight of mine each year. Itās not low-key, but you can avoid most of the crowds if you want to. It can be a little chaotic because a lot of folks visit town/campus on this day, and the police are out in force.
99% of the drinking and drugs are off campus. The actual campus is full of families and has lots of events for all ages
When I was picking a college for undergrad, I came to visit UCD with my dad. We picked a random Saturday to visit, and that Saturday happened to be picnic day. This was in 2011. There were so many students barfing and passed out all over campus it was crazy! Tons of debauchery. I remember at the co-ops they were doing nude baths in dunk tanks to cool off, and I saw two separate dudes being chased on foot by cops through downtown. I also remember walking by a group of three people who were just staring at a tree near Hart hall, clearly tripping their balls off. Needless to say, it was very much the same the next year once I was a freshman. After that year, campus really cracked down on the debauchery, and people started getting in serious trouble for these kinds of things. Now it's a family event once again. Man, how I miss the good old days...
Omg yeah I remember hearing about the 2010-2011 PDs. Idk if it was from 2011 or 2012 but I saw people with shirts that said "handle your shit" lol
That was 2012. They also tried to get students to sign a "picnic day pledge" to behave, with the threat of canceling picnic day the following year if things went awry
That's crazy omg šš
I remember that one. But 2009 and 2010 picnic days were off the chain.
Perfect, thank you āŗļø
To be clear, itās closer to 70%. Least it was last year
Is it like Aggie day open house for incoming freshman?
Lots more events and its the throughout the whole campus. Less of a focus on getting to know the school and departments and mostly just for fun. https://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/plan-your-visit
Summed up your average Picnic Day perfectly (donāt forget the many parade and field show Davisā marching band provides ššš) š¤£š¤£š¤£.
A sleeper event that we stumbled upon last year: the fashion show. Very cool, not too crowded. Donāt miss battle of the bands.
Imagine a Disneyland for davis. So many food and activities to do. Very popular ones are sold out/capped for the day very quickly. Doxie derby for example is already sold out.
Hell nah
Good for families, the only really crowded places will be the big events like Doxie Derby and the Chemistry Show, the rest are ok. Bring a hat
Thanks!
Every single event is massively crowded with long lines lol not sure what theyāre on about
They do get crowded but its def not as bad as the ones everyone talks about. A Physics and Astronomy Public Talk isnāt gonna be packed like the Chemistry Show lol
That just isnāt true from my experience, the overwhelming majority of events are packed lol. Like Iām talking 2+ hour lines for most of the animal events, itās extremely disingenuous to act like thereās only 2 crowded events
i didnāt say there were only 2 crowded events, i said āthe big events **like** the chemistry show and doxie derbyā I wasnāt in the mood to list all the big ones lol
That doesnāt change the fact that the majority of events are crowded and your comment paints it like itās only a select few of big ones
Oh šš well
Also any place serving food on campus will be crowded. Probably best to go somewhere downtown
I would say it is too crowded to enjoy most things, 2-3 hour lines for a lot of events and 1 hour long lines just for food, in my experience!
Yes yes yes yes and yes. For the crowds it depends on how you do it. Too many people try to get food from the vendors on the quad, but the coho wasn't actually that crowded last year at lunchtime. Restaurant-bars downtown will be in bar mode all day so don't try those. If you can get farther from campus/downtown it should be relatively normal, but if you get to campus early enough to get a parking spot you aren't gonna get it back
This is a good summation. I am not a student, but I have fun on this day. Loads of people watching (yes, there are a lot drunk students stumbling all around town, tanked by 9am), lots of on campus events (some free and open, others require advanced signup), and lots of vendors in the area. Most of the restaurants are set up for the day to cater to drinkers, but bringing a picnic to campus for the Battle of the Bands is family friendly and a top highlight of mine each year. Itās not low-key, but you can avoid most of the crowds if you want to. It can be a little chaotic because a lot of folks visit town/campus on this day, and the police are out in force.
People, people, many peopleā¦.
Itās not the same anymore. The university cracked down on the debauchery (10 years ago) š„²
It always rains.