By Mark Muckenfuss

Screams, squeals and laughter erupted as waves of enthusiastic Otters met the crashing waves of the Pacific on Sunday, Aug. 25. About 1,000 Cal State Monterey Bay students, staff and faculty dashed into the brisk waters of Monterey Bay in the early morning for the third annual Otter Plunge at the beach in front of the Monterey Tides Hotel.

Unlike the cloudy skies that hung over last year’s event, this time the sun came along for the ride, giving an added boost to the ample energy of the participants. 

“Are we ready?” President Vanya Quiñones called to the first of several groups of excited participants lined up on the beach. “Let’s go Otters!”

With that, she led the charge into the surf. Some of the more timid revelers only braved the chilly water to the top of their ankles. Most seemed to be satisfied with being waist-deep in the surge, but plenty were more adventurous, diving into the breakers for the full plunge experience.

Quiñones said the plunge, which drew about 50 Otters it’s first year, has grown into the type of large event she envisioned. 

“It just shows that we’re Otters and we love the ocean,” she said. “It’s a good tradition for bringing a sense of belonging. I hope everybody enjoys it and that it provides a good beginning to the semester.”

The plunge helped to cap off several days of Welcome Week events, including New Student Convocation, mixers for each college, a Campus Cookout and a host of social activities.

Gypsy Friaz, a psychology major from Fresno, was standing with a few friends and roommates, all of whom participated in last year’s Otter Plunge and were now dripping with seawater again. She said the small group not only takes part in the campus-wide event, but they do their own version at the beginning and end of each semester. 

“It’s a fresh restart for the semester,” Friaz said. “It brought a lot of fond memories and it helped us bond.”

“And if you don’t do it,” said group member Jocelyn Botello, a senior in psychology from Tehachapi, "you get bad luck.”

“I believe that,” Friaz said, amid the group’s laughter. “It clears your mind and I feel like our connection is way stronger.”

Botello said the shock of jumping into the 55-degree water is immaterial.

“When you’re out there fighting for your life, you don’t think about it,” she said. “And I knew I had my friends to save me.”

Wyatt Lopez, a first-year transfer in environmental sciences, is from Walnut, in Southern California. He too was unfazed by the temperature. 

“I frequently went to Lake Tahoe growing up,” he said, “so this is nothing.”

He echoed the sentiments of many when he said the event was a good way to make friends. 

“This gives me a chance to talk to new people,” he said, noting that he met someone riding to the event on CSUMB’s buses.

For Justice Carkner, a first-year mechatronics engineering student from Ben Lomond, it was more than just a chance to get wet, it was an opportunity to join in on something he doesn’t often get to experience. Carkner has cerebral palsy and needed assistance from fellow Otters to walk from the sand into the waves. 

“I didn’t know how I was going to get to the beach,” Carkner said. “But as soon as I got here, they made sure I got down the stairs safely.”

Others helped him in and out of the water. 

“They made it so easy for me,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve gone to the beach without my parents and had this much fun. It was just amazing to see there are people who are willing to help. It shows me anything can happen this year.”