Have you ever wondered who chose the anteater as UCI’s mascot? The answer is, of course, the first students. The student body was only 1,589 strong on opening day in 1965, and during the early years, students gave shape to campus life. They created their own media outlets (some of which continue as of 2017), founded clubs and organizations,established a trailer park as an alternative to expensive housing, and began a tradition of nonviolent protest by rallying against the Vietnam war.
