P is for Pride

Jessica Potter

On an early morning in 1919, Poly students walked out of their dorms to see a giant H on the side of their mountain. Knowing immediately the hated students from San Luis Obispo High School had put it there as a prank, the boys raced up the hill and reformed the whitewashed rocks into a P[1]. The P never came down, and has stood for nearly a century, persevering through the growth of the 50s, the hostility of the 70s, and the social conflicts of today.

The P has taken many forms throughout its reign at Poly. It was purposely placed in a spot that could be viewed from three specific locations: the old administration building’s porch, Highway 101, and the air, as flying was becoming popular. The original was an outline of white rocks filled with white limestone, but became a nuisance when the rains came and washed the rocks away1. The second was built by the Block “P” club in the 50s with whitewashed barn doors, but did not last long. High school students went up to the P one night and set it on fire. It was replaced with a wooden structure until a more stable P could be built. Finally in 1957 the engineering department and the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity constructed the P we see today[2].

Taking care of the P has been a responsibility passed to many organizations over the years. In the 1920s, the all boys’ school held a competition between the freshmen and sophomores to see who would monitor it for the school year. The freshmen and sophomore brawl consisted of three legged races, tug of war, wheel barrow races, and climbing a greased pole. The freshmen usually lost and were supervised by the sophomores as they gathered the limestone from the Railroad tracks, where a cart had spilled it, and it carried up Poly Mountain. As the years passed Cal Poly began to grow tremendously and the brawls became too difficult to organize. They came to an end in the early 1950s.1

In these years there was an intense rivalry with Fresno State in football. The P was a perfect target for Fresno State students. Each year, on the eve of the big game, they would climb Poly Mountain and change the beloved P to an F. This was an issue the entire town became passionate about. Freshmen would have bonfires outside the dorms and take shifts guarding the P.[3] One year there were even rumors of explosives around the P to keep Fresno away from it.1

In 1957 the Rally Club was formed to take care of the P. In the 70s interest dropped significantly and the club dissolved. The P began to decay on the side of the hill and a petition circled around campus to get rid of it, claiming it was a “nuisance and an eyesore.” The petition received more than 1000 signatures and a heated debate among students and alumni, one stating in a letter that those students who signed the petition “should stop breathing.” Hostility against the P intensified as the University was unable to monitor the frequent vandalism of the school property. Throughout the 1960s and 70s the P was changed into GOP, POT, and a swastika. Finally Delta Sigma Pi, the same fraternity that helped to build the current P, stepped up to take responsibility in order to save the university’s landmark. They repainted and cleaned it and got it back to its original state as a symbol of pride for Cal Poly.1

Soon, Delta Sigma Pi’s care ceased and the P was deserted again, only being cleaned a few times by students rushing for a sorority or fraternity. In 1994 a spirit organization, Running Thunder, was formed to take care of the P and to promote school pride. Now called the Mustang Maniacs, they continue to paint the P about three times a year. Sand’s Liquor and Deli sponsor the group and the P, donating a gas powered generator and the paint needed to keep the P shining. Scott Barton is the head of the Mustang Maniacs and the “P Keeper.” He hauls the generator up Poly Mountain each night before a home football game so the P can be lit up for the city to see, and keeps it lit for every victory, a tradition dating back to the 1950s.2

The Mustang Maniacs also monitor clubs’ use of the P. Before the recent theft of rope lights that are used to light the P, any club could decorate it by contacting the Epicenter in the University Union.[4] The P has been closed to clubs by the Maniacs until June 2005 or until the lights are returned[5]. The P has been decorated many different ways over the past 85 years. For bicentennial, it was painted red, white, and blue. It has been painted with hearts for Valentines Day and red and green for Christmas. Zebra stripes have been painted across its face and it has been formed into the Greek letters of the sororities and fraternities on campus.1

Though the P is taken good care of by the Mustang Maniacs, vandalism is still an issue. Every year, during commUNITY pride week, the P is painted like a rainbow by the Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals United and Pride Alliance Center, and every year is painted over in protest. A headline in the May 21, 2004 edition of the Mustang Daily read, “Rainbow-painted ‘P’ vandalized…again.” In 2002 it was painted over twice in the same week. Issues such as these and the swastika in the 60s are a problem for the university because it is held responsible for what happens to the P.3

Hiking up the path made by the Sierra Club in the 1990s, I wonder if the freshmen boys, after losing the brawl, took the same trail. I cannot imagine dragging rocks and limestone up this hill, but I am envious of their experience. They made the P what it is today, and without their pride it would not look down on me every morning as I walk out of my dorm room. Sitting on the enormous structure, I view the entire campus. I remember the freshman telling me he got to pee on the P a few nights before, and reading the article of the Mustang Daily about Ski Club members skiing down it. Many would argue that the misuse of the P is added reason to take it down, but I would have to disagree. Controversy gives the P character and adds spice to life at Cal Poly. Not many other universities have a landmark with such a story. Now listed by the National Register of Historic Places, the P is protected from demolition, and hopefully will stand for the pride of Poly for years to come.2