Girls of the Pac 10

Last November, we directed peripatetic Contributing Photographer David (Girls of . . .) Chan to "Go West, young man, go West," since we'd heard there was gold in them that hills, and we don't mean the mineral variety, either. At the time, the idea was to do Girls of the Pac 8, Pac referring to Pacific, 8 to the number of schools that made up the N.C.A.A. conference out West--Oregon State University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, University of California at Berkeley, the University of Oregon, Stanford University, the University of Washington and Washington State University. Having interviewed more than 5000 girls over the past two years for such features as Girls of the New South, Girls of the Big Ten and Girls of Washington, Chan was used to dealing with beautiful girls (text concluded on page 238) Girls of the Pac 10 (continued from page 146) in large quantities; nonetheless, he was somewhat overwhelmed by the number of lovelies he found out West, so three more photographers--Pompeo Posar, Arny Freytag and Nicholas DeSciose--were dispatched to help David handle the flow. To make matters worse (or better, depending on your point of view), two new schools--the University of Arizona and Arizona State University--joined the Pac 8 conference last winter, making it the Pac 10, which sent Chan hurrying off to Tucson and Tempe for more interviewing. To make a long story short, we simply found too many gorgeous coeds for just one feature, so we decided to break it up into two parts--we'll handle five schools this month and the other five next month. Waste not, want not.

The universities of Oregon, Washington and California at Berkeley, UCLA and Arizona State are the schools represented in this issue. In case the following pages motivate you to follow the advice attributed to Horace Greeley, here's a capsule summary of what you can expect on each campus.

• The University of Washington refers to its teams as the Huskies, which is no reflection on the average size of its coeds. Founded in 1861, Washington averages an enrollment of 20,800 men and 16,300 women. Its 680-acre campus, notable for its brick Gothic-style buildings, is located on the shores of lakes Union and Washington, only 15 minutes from downtown Seattle by car. It takes a bit longer by boat, but it's not uncommon for Husky rooters to avoid football-game traffic jams by sailing across the lake and docking next to the stadium. Students may live on or off campus and there are seven coed dorms housing up to 4000 students.

• It rains a lot in western Oregon, which is why University of Oregon students refer to their teams as the Ducks. Although there are lots of dorms, fraternities, sororities and co-ops, the majority of the student body now lives in offcampus apartments. The boy-girl ratio here is quite good--9000 males, 7700 females, and many of them congregate in Duffy's and Taylor's, near-campus hangouts. Eugene's proximity to lakes, rivers, mountains and ocean affords plenty of romantic hideaways, as well as sites for picnics (with or without food). When the sun comes out, everybody turns out.

• The University of California, Berkeley is probably best known for having given birth to the radical movement of the Sixties. You remember--free speech, free sex; and the campus ambience hasn't changed that much--it's still intense, intellectual and highly political. Sproul Plaza, former site of student riots and the People's Park, is the most popular spot for casual encounters--Frisbee throwing, carnival acts and an occasional political rally. The favorite bar is The Come Back Inn, right off Telegraph Avenue. Housing accommodations are varied--14 residence halls, privately operated co-ops and apartments, 13 sororities and 33 frats--and the ratio is 17,000 guys to 11,000 gals. The campus is just across the bay from San Francisco, which is, of course, chock-full of diversion.

• When it comes to diversion, you can't beat Los Angeles, and the UCLA campus in the Westwood area is just a short hop from the ocean, the mountains--and Hollywood. The unofficial UCLA beach is Temescal Canyon at Will Rogers Beach State Park--skinny-dipping is a popular indulgence there. Hangouts include Dillon's, a disco; Casey's; The Coffee House, a folk club; and the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, which features an Olympic-sized pool and plenty of space for barbecues. The prevailing campus mood is relaxed and laid back--Westwood has plenty of student bars, clothing stores and movie theaters. Among other things, UCLA offers one of the best film-study courses in the country and many of its graduates on to become involved in the movie industry. Ratio: 15,100 men to 12,800 women.

• Located in Tempe, right outside Phoenix, Arizona State University boasts 11 dormitories; many students also live in the apartment complexes located in an area known as Sin City because of the boozy parties that dominate the social calendar. At night, students head for the Sun Devil Disco Lounge or Dooley's. Rafting or inner-tubing down nearby Salt and Verde rivers is a popular daytime activity. Ratio: 19,200 men, 16,100 women. If you're really interested in getting a deep, dark tan all year round, this is the place for you.

Well, that covers this month's installment--tune in again next month for further adventures of Girls of the Pac 10.

"Berkeley's ambience hasn't changed that much--it's still intense, intellectual, highly political."