So long, Fightin' Bob!

Boy, it’s great to be at the Beach these days. But, it’s also a bittersweet affair, because Dr. Robert Maxson is leaving as university president. So I went on a little walk with him, his lovely wife Dr. Sylvia Maxson, my friend Jamie Pollock, some other acquaintances from the Beach Patrol, a party of about 800 or so other students, all who are now my friends and comrades for a certain cause (even those people from DSP, or whom I have decided to settle my personal feuds with for just this one moment; I’ll consider reconnecting with them as a member of ISSA in the Spring), and the inflatable Prospector Pete, and we walked as a unit, trudging toward that blue structure that has been perhaps the bane of my existence as an athletics supporter in black and gold, that actually has a first and last name: Walter Pyramid, or Wally for short, or for those who are nostalgic…simple “The Pyramid.”

The air was brimming with nostalgia as all the past ASI Presidents during Dr. Maxson’s tenure were there, and I was feeling so ecstatic as the pep band played like a gem. You see, Dr. Maxson changed the way Cal State Long Beach was viewed. He placed the students at the highest priority, something that I don’t think LBCC’s Dr. Kehoe emphasized as much, or that the LBCC Student Life would attest. The teams as general would be referred from now on [informally, albeit] as “The Beach,” and the world famous phrase “Go Beach!” became everyday lingo at the campus on the hill. I think it’s an indirect tradition after talking with an alum of the university, a 49er athlete, or just a prospective student for CSULB to say to them, “Go Beach!” because the phrase itself shows a clear identity where you come from. Within the past decade, Dr. Maxson has successfully placed the Beach on the map. An award was named after him. A plaza next to Brotman Hall was named after him. State University Drive is now Beach Drive, with the newly created phrase “Maxson Plaza at Beach Drive” or “Maxson at Beach” for short. (Wonder what W. Campus or E. Campus will be renamed? Can’t wait to see how that turns out.) And a lot of other things were named after him.

And there was a contest for the best Beach cheer. I like one of the band’s cheers, going like this.

When I say Go, you say Beach! Go! Beach! Go! Beach!
When I say Go, you say Beach! Go! Beach! Go! Beach!

It’s one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that?” type of rally calls. And then we walked, me listening to the Eagles as background, as to make this look like a throwback film from the 70s. The CSU University Chorus sang one of my favorite Ivy League numbers, “Gaudeamus Igitur.” As we saw a film chronicling Maxson’s tenure as the big cheese, all of us were cheering his name. “Max-son! Max-son! Max-son!” The students were quite rowdy, which is what I would expect.

As the celebration ended, I had to flock over to the soccer game, heckling the UC Davis supporters with “Win In A Minute, We’re Gonna Win In A Minute,” to the tune of “Guantanamera,” a tribute to my friends from that ragtag group of Galaxy diehards known to all the LA’s Riot Squad, which I am still an auxiliary member. A few joined in, while others had to laugh. I paid them no mind. I even asked the Davis people to “warm up the bus.”

But back to what the next president should be. I think there will be some repercussions when Dr. Maxson leaves. I don’t think he’ll be replaced. He was, is, and always will be the man behind Cal State Long Beach. But whoever the new President is, I will support him all the way, and honor the legacy he will forge.

But I assure you, that person has very big shoes to fill.