Capturing a moment in time

CSUB at 50 exhibit includes items to be buried in time capsule at end of semester

By California State University, Bakersfield

February 17^th, 2022

While California State University, Bakersfield’s year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary largely came to an end this past fall, the university is commemorating the milestone with one last ceremony — the burial of a time capsule.

Throughout spring and summer 2021, CSUB’s 50th anniversary committee collected items from staff, faculty, students and alumni — including a SpaceX model, 50th anniversary pennant, president’s coin and even a COVID-19 vaccination card — that will be buried on campus in a time capsule at the end of the academic year and reopened 50 years from now.

“The time capsule has been a way to connect the campus affinities and provide insight into this ‘moment in time’ for the future,” said Elizabeth Fergon, committee member and director of events at CSUB. “Our goal was to incorporate students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community in providing CSUB in 2070 a glimpse of this celebratory year. We not only celebrated CSUB at 50 years, but those celebrations fell during a very difficult year for all of us, and I think we captured the struggles, realities and resilience of our students, alumni, faculty and staff.”

The pieces collected for the capsule are currently available to be viewed in the Walter W. Stiern Library’s Historical Research Center as part of its CSUB at 50 exhibit, which runs through the end of the spring semester. The exhibit is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We really hope the campus community, alumni and community members take the time to visit these mementos. They exemplify the heart of the campus and how even a pandemic doesn’t stop CSUB in striving for the future,” Fergon said.

Chris Livingston, director of the center and interim director of library operations and development, said he likes the idea of creating a time capsule because it will give future CSUB students, faculty and staff insight into this time in the university’s history.

“It’s kind of neat for people on campus to be able to come and see what’s going to be put in this time capsule that’s not going to reopen for another 50 years,” he said. “It gives you an idea of what the society and culture was like. I think that’s going to be really big for people on our campus 50 years from now. It will be a great resource for future students and history buffs alike.”

'A great story for our community'

In addition to providing items commemorating this moment in time at CSUB, campus groups such as the Alumni Association, Foundation Board and Associated Students, Inc. have also provided written reflections addressing the future campus community. Those reflections can now be viewed as part of a virtual tour of the exhibit.

The letter was written by ASI's executive board followed a student survey that was conducted in 2020, in which students expressed their thoughts about grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, their favorite music, their favorite places to go in town and more.

“We always want to represent our students, and what better way to represent them than to tell us what they’re going through and what some of their favorite things are?” said ASI President Stephanie Magaña. “We wanted to give everyone a sense of who our students are and what they’re doing right now. We took all of their voices and formed them in a way where it makes a great story for our community.”

One such student is Eileen Diaz, who is pursuing her master’s degree in history at CSUB and works as an assistant in the Historical Research Center. Prior to obtaining her bachelor’s degree in 2020, she was among a group of student volunteers who helped set up the exhibit.

Diaz thinks the time capsule will be a great learning opportunity not only for future students but for the community at large.

“A lot of people in the community don’t really pay any mind to the history of the university, let alone the history of Bakersfield and Kern County,” she said. “I think that would be a good entryway to get them interested in the university’s history, and for us history majors, it will be a great opportunity to study what these items mean and the part they played in society.”

While the time capsule is intended for the future CSUB community, Magaña believes it provides a good opportunity for those on campus now to reflect on how far the university has come and inspire ideas about where it can go in the future.

“It shows all the things our campus has accomplished and all the ways we’ve been there for each other, but it also gives us a fresh start to think about what we want the next 50 years to look like, what we want CSUB to be known for,” she said. “It gives us a chance to reimagine what we want CSUB to be.”