A UCSD Tradition That’s Here to Spray : History was Ripe, but Queen Failed Ultimate Splat Test

On Friday, the time was ripe for history--and a watermelon--to be shattered at the UC San Diego campus. But the efforts of Alexa Sherman, a freshman psychology major, weren’t exactly fruitful.

As Sherman, 19, strategically heaved a king-sized watermelon off a seven-story chemistry building, the official 1988-89 Watermelon Queen of UCSD’s Revelle College failed to burst a longstanding “splat” record.

Her throw did, however, manage to shatter the estimated 20-pound fruit, and propel seeds, juice and melon into a breathless crowd standing 180 feet below.

Well-Heralded Event

The spectacle also marked the last day of spring classes at the university and the 25th anniversary of what some say is the best-known tradition on campus.

“It was, uh, explosive!” said Andrea Sabo, 19, a freshman and one of several hundred students and staffers who stood under gray skies to watch the Revelle Watermelon Drop.

Sabo, like others, learned about the popular event long before her arrival at UCSD. The fact that tradition exists at all on the young campus could be called surprising. UCSD is only 28 years old--hardly enough time, in university years, for school rituals to take deep root.

The first melon drop actually was part of a physics exam. One of Prof. Bob Swanson’s test questions asked his class to determine the velocity on impact of a watermelon dropped from seven stories.

After the test, which included ballots to pick a “watermelon queen,” the students conducted the experiment at the top of a building, later named Urey Hall. Elizabeth Heller’s toss flung melon pulp as far as 91 feet.

Tradition is Born

That experiment quickly turned into an annual competition: How far can each queen make the watermelon splat?

Year after year, despite the risks of flying seeds and easily stained clothing, the bust draws hundreds of people to the plaza outside Urey Hall. It is a popular media event (reporters are invited to stay for a watermelon feed). And because of its success, Muir College followed several years ago with a pumpkin splat, now an annual Halloween tradition.

Apparently, UCSD’s watermelon drop is here to spray.

“This has been a nifty tradition,” said Ernest Mort, dean of Revelle College and a university administrator for about 20 years. “As the years go on, this has become more and more meaningful. It designates the last day of classes . . . and is one of few campus activities that costs the students practically nothing.”

Friday’s activity started at noon, with Queen Sherman leading the processional into the plaza, riding atop a rusting Oldsmobile station wagon.

Sherman and her court were elected Wednesday in a royalty pageant that has accompanied the actual drop for more than a decade.

Queen for a Day

“This is making up for the fact that I was never nominated for homecoming queen in high school,” said Sherman, wearing sunglasses and an aluminum-foil crown. “I just want to keep doing this for the rest of my life.”

The royalty performed a brief skit, singing “Watermelon Queen’s Got a Gun” (a revised version of a teen-punk hit by singer Julie Brown), then threaded their way up the building’s stairs as the crowd cheered.

Women’s undergarments, thrown by students watching from the building’s balconies, preceded the watermelon in flight. Minutes after her ascent, Sherman released the king-sized fruit.

The melon, falling at 112 m.p.h., hit a bench below, splattering seeds, pulp and rind as far as 59 feet, 9 inches.

“Alexa! A direct hit!” someone cried.

But that distance was far below the record 167 feet, 4 inches, set by the 1974 queen, Tina Flemmer.

Afterward, Sherman and her court consoled themselves at a huge watermelon feed nearby.