Pomp, Pranks, Pride at UC Irvine : Graduation: 3,580 students--and thousands of friends and relatives--participate in the university’s 26th commencement.

More than 30,000 graduates, family members and guests were treated to grand processionals, faculty presentations and graduation-day pranks Saturday as UC Irvine held its 26th commencement.

About 3,580 graduates gathered at the campus’s Aldrich Park to participate in three commencement ceremonies that began under overcast morning skies and ended by afternoon in bright sunshine.

The ceremonies marked the end of the university’s yearlong silver-anniversary celebration and provided an occasion to note that the Irvine university has gained a reputation as one of the nation’s top schools for scientific research and engineering.

The engineering students have also gained a reputation, perhaps dubious, for their elaborate graduation-day pranks, although this year’s activities were tame by past standards, according to the students.

There were the usual brightly colored beach balls bounced among the black gowns and caps, cascading bubbles, one or two smoke bombs that puffed a little but never quite caught fire and a series of human “waves” that mysteriously broke out during the speech given by UC Irvine Chancellor Jack W. Peltason, causing him to pause briefly.

During his remarks, Peltason sketched a brief history of the University of California system, noting that it originated in 1868 during a time of struggle for freedom and liberty.

He urged the graduates to commit themselves to upholding those ideals.

“You have to be as ready to defend the rights of others as you would your own rights,” he said.

And in a reference to the controversy raging at many college campuses over efforts to curtail some forms of speech, Peltason cautioned those who would “short-circuit established procedures.”

“Liberty is as likely to be lost in the quest for good (ends) as bad,” he said.

Another speaker, graduating senior Todd Schubert, president of Associated Students, alluded to more controversy when announcing the senior-class gift. Instead of traditional plaques, flagpoles or other monuments, graduating seniors have decided to establish an endowed scholarship, the first student-sponsored scholarship at UC Irvine, Schubert said.

The scholarship comes as entering freshmen are about to face a 40% fee increase brought about by a wobbly state budget. Student fees for California residents will climb to $2,274, $650 more than the current cost. The fee increase has drawn widespread criticism from students and their families.

“The single greatest threat to UCI students is the economy of the state of California,” Schubert told the graduates. “In the face of skyrocketing fees, we feel this scholarship represents a commitment to long-term growth.”

Many of those leaving the campus expressed sympathy for the financial hard times likely to greet lowerclassman, but most said they were too consumed with the moment to dwell on negatives.

“Today is the start of the rest of my life,” said Frank Levels, a 22-year-old biology and psychology major who will be entering medical school at UC San Diego next fall. “I spent a quarter of my life here, and it was the best of times. Now I’m going to Disneyland.”

UC Irvine will probably remain home for Norman Lao, 28, who earned a doctorate in mathematics but expects to return to the campus as a teacher this fall.

“I was a teaching assistant, and in many ways the most rewarding thing is seeing some of my students here and knowing that I played a role in some of them graduating,” he said.

Amid the pomp and circumstance, the speeches and student pranks was a moment of touching silence.

When the name of engineering major Gregory Anthony Bogaczyk was called, the typically rambunctious graduates fell quiet as Ellen and Jerry Bogaczyk stepped to the podium to receive the degree awarded posthumously to their 22-year-old son, who died in March.

After they accepted it, the crowd of 10,000 graduates, relatives and friends erupted in applause and gave the parents of the popular honors student a standing ovation.

“This is such an honor,” Ellen Bogaczyk said after the ceremony. “It’s a very sad thing, but we’re so proud of Gregory. He was a very good son.”

Gregory Bogaczyk was a peer counselor, helping many of his fellow engineering students to cope with college life and a demanding field.

But Bogaczyk took his own life in March, said his parents, an act that none of his family or friends quite understands yet.

In the 1991 yearbook, there will be an entire page dedicated to Bogaczyk. His love of UC Irvine and mechanical engineering (he also held a major in political science) have inspired his parents to set up a scholarship in his name.

After the ceremony, the Bogaczyk family, who live in the San Bernardino County community of Alta Loma, were set to raise a toast.

“We’re going to go home and celebrate,” said Ellen Bogaczyk. “We have a red cake--it was his favorite color--with Bart Simpson on it, and it says, ‘Gregory, we’re proud of you.’ ”