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As the credits get ready to roll on the millennium, the movie called the 20th century is almost over and Cal State Long Beach students and faculty are preparing for changes to come as they watch their campus turn half a century old.
"On Jan. 29, 1999 staff, students, alumni and friends from the community will gather in The Pyramid to celebrate Founder's Day," said Vice President Karl Anatol, who gave a speech during the university's annual Convocation on Friday.
"This new year takes us to a birthday and to the cusp of centuries to begin and end," Anatol said.
As a sign of changes that may come, the residence halls have exceeded capacity and CSULB has arranged for students to live at nearby Brooks College, with a shuttle service between the two campuses.
"This university went for years with those halls at 60 percent occupancy," President Robert Maxson said. "That is not a very comfortable feeling, so we have to make sure this is not a trend."
Maxson, who said he has never been more enthusiastic about a school year than this one, managed to recruit 121 freshmen into the President's Scholars program.
The program offers full scholarships to California high school valedictorians and National Merit scholars, who scored in the top .5 percent on their pre-SAT scores.
One recruit included freshman Jason Karcher, who scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT scores.
"Coming here and seeing that the professors are just as friendly and available like at the other universities, CSULB seems like a great place to be," Karcher said at the Convocation.
The money for the program comes from fundraising, Maxson explained. This year CSULB raised $47 million in private donations.
According to Maxson, of the top 500 universities in the country, which include Ivy League schools, CSULB ranks 64th for its fundraising.
"I think all the signs are there for us to have a good year," Maxson said.