Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz stood at a podium framed by blue and gold balloons and smiled at the throng of students who had come for the Scholars Bridge Crossing.
“Finally, we’re here together,” he said. “Finally!”
It was a happy acknowledgment of the extraordinary journey taken by not just by the students gathered on the greensward next to the SRE building, but by the full campus community. With a healthy combination of fanfare and care, one of UC Merced’s earliest traditions was back after a one-year absence because of the coronavirus pandemic.