Fall quarter kicks off with a week’s worth of events and festivities

And away we go. A new academic year at UC Santa Barbara is officially underway, and it's giving all that good Gaucho energy.

Classes begin today, but the campus has been buzzing over the last week — from the multiday UCSB Move-In activities that welcomed students to their residence halls, to the second annual Gaucho Welcome rally for freshman and transfers students, and the always-popular Fall Involvement Fair. 

Through it all, Chancellor Dennis Assanis and Eleni Assanis were out greeting families, helping students get settled, visiting with campus staff and cheering on incoming Gauchos with encouraging words during the boisterous rally inside the Thunderdome.

“This is your university now,” Chancellor Assanis told the crowd. “This is your campus.”

“We are a family here at UC Santa Barbara,” Eleni Assanis added. “We support each other. We lift each other up. We treat each other with respect. And we do amazing things together.”

“It’s time for your story to begin,” the chancellor said. “Welcome to campus, Gauchos. You are a part of the family now … Congratulations!”