![Scene from "Ulama: Arena of the Gods" Scene from "Ulama: Arena of the Gods"](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/ulama-game.jpg) | Gaming with the gods | Alums from the Games and Playable Media master’s program have turned their school project—a video game based on Mesoamerican myths—into a viable commercial product on one of the internet’s largest online game platforms. | | ![Students on bridge](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/students-bridge.jpg) | Scholarly Slug surge | Graduate interest in UC Santa Cruz has hit a new high with more than 4,700 students applying to earn an advanced degree in the coming academic year. | | ![Lindsey Dillon portrait Lindsey Dillon portrait](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/lindsey-dillon.jpg) | Endangered data | Sociologist Lindsey Dillon is one of the data champions monitoring federal websites to preserve scientific data and track changes made by the Trump administration. | | ![Sammy Slug smiling](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/sammy-slug.jpg) | Look homeward, Slugs! | Alumni Weekend 2017—April 28–30—promises learning, adventure, reconnection, and revelry. | | ![Warren Hoffman portrait](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/warren-hoffman.jpg) | A scholar and a leader | UC Santa Cruz alum named executive director of largest international society of Jewish Studies. | | | ALUMNI REGIONAL EVENTS | Boston – Thursday, May 4 | Banana Slugs at the Red Sox at Fenway Park | Santa Cruz – Saturday, May 20 | Alumni and Student Volunteer Service Day at Natural Bridges | San Francisco – Saturday, May 20 | Unearthing Disaster I & II at Minnesota Street Project | London – Sunday, July 9 | Join Team UC at The British 10K | » More Regional Events | | ![Strawberry fields illustration Strawberry fields illustration](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/strawberry-fields.jpg) | Strawberry fields for better | Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems has revolutionized the cultivation of one of California’s most valuable crops—strawberries. | | ![Black Panthers from Sacramento at the same Free Huey rally; from a photo essay on the Black Panthers by Pirkle Jones, 1968](http://connect.ucsc.edu/s/1069/images/editor/enews/2017-april/black-panthers.jpg) | Flash point | A gift of a major photography collection provides rare opportunities to engage with poignant, powerful images. | | The Campaign for UC Santa Cruz | |
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