Join us for a Virtual Walk. Look under The Route below.
For poster-sized images suitable for framing, download left.jpg 260K or right.jpg 260K. On the left we have Bruce Blackerby, Howard Latimer, Sy Mack, and Bud Stude. On the right we have Bud replaced by Dave Zellmer. Both pictures taken on 5/17/99.
The Walk has been a tradition at CSU, Fresno for over thirty years. Our President is Sy Mack, Professor Emeritus of Geology, who starts the walk precisely at 12:34 p.m. following lunch. The route of The Walk is approximately one mile and takes 27 minutes to complete. The Walk takes place each weekday, rain or shine. We estimate that the total distance walked to date is approximately 7500 miles.
[Editor's Note added 21 September 1999. Careful measurements using the Global Positioning System (GPS) have confirmed the Walk distance at 1.1 miles.]
Walk traditions include discussion of world events, the Bon Mot Before the Turn, and the ever popular Moment of Silence. The Walk concludes with the Discussion Under the Tree.
The Walk often includes up to ten people. Stay tuned to this site for more images, Walk lore, and Walk campus contributions, such as the Crusade Against Tire Tracks on the Lawn.
Walk Lore: After viewing this web site, our President, Sy Mack, told your webmaster that The Walk may have begun on this campus as early as 1958. With an additional ten years of walking, the total distance walked may reach as far as 10,000 miles. That is the distance from Fresno to Capetown, South Africa. Professor Mack, in addition to a long and distinguished career in the Department of Geology, and his many publications on the geology of the Sierra Nevada, is also famous for uttering the following immortal words. When taking his grandchildren to the cinema a few years ago, Dr. Mack walked up to the ticket counter and asked for tickets for the children and "One Senior Citizen for Bevis and Butthead."
Update: After careful examination of the historical record, Professors Mack and Latimer have concluded that The Walk at CSU, Fresno actually began in the Fall of 1960. This will place the 40th Anniversary of The Walk in the year 2000. (Your webmaster certifies that The Walk is Y2K compliant.)
The Route: In response to frequent requests, a Map to The Walk is presented here. Walk Lore often refers to significant landmarks. The more prominent of these have been identified.
Join us for a Virtual Walk through the campus. This walk was taken on May 10, 2000, in celebration of our 40th anniversary year of The Walk.
Update: In February of 2009 the rebuilt Henry Madden Library
and surrounding grounds changed the look of the beginning of The Walk. See
the feature A New Beginning, below.
A Map Glossary:
Begin: The Walk begins at 12:34 p.m. following our gathering at lunch.
The Peace Garden: Various artistic expressions often elicit comments.
The Turn: The Bon Mot is normally uttered before reaching The Turn.
The Mall: Two routes exist here. The sub 100F route and the over 100F route.
The Crossing: If The Crossing is reached by 12:54
PM, the walk can be completed in time to make a 1:10 PM class. (This may
mean a new Crusade is required to rescind the proposed on-the-hour class
times for Fall 1999.) The Crossing is also the bailout point for busy
administrators who have joined The Walk.
Music: We often get free musical entertainment here.
The Parking Lot: Trends in automotive transportation
are observed here. This is another bailout point for commuting members
of The Walk.
The Tree: The tree shown in the image above is really the New Tree. Stay tuned for a feature article on the Old Tree.
Click here for a Feature Article on the Two Trees.
A tradition-breaking problem took place at the start of the Fall semester in 1999. Check out the feature article on the Y00 Problem.
The Walk must learn to adapt to campus infrastructure changes. See the article of 21 September 1999. New problems surface for The Walk. See Walk Blocked! for more details.
The Walk welcomes a new regular member at the start of the Fall 2001 semester. See The Future of the Walk to learn more about him.
The
Walk discusses changes one year after our last addition to this site and
considers the causes of injustice. Please see the 13 September 2002 article
on The Prisoner Tree.
In September of 2004 The Walk encounters an unusual obstacle -- or is it some new art form? To see the details check out Art On the Edges. This article also contains an update on The Prisoner Tree.
In February of 2009 the major reconstruction of the Henry Madden Library was completed. See the feature A New Beginning for the effect this had on The Walk.
The Walk webmaster is David L. Zellmer from the Department
of Chemistry who has been on The Walk since 1969. For questions, comments,
or additions to Walk lore, contact him at david_zellmer@csufresno.edu.
This site was last updated on March 15, 2009.