Griffin Accomplished: Grossmont College Claims World Record with Card

Updated at 4:20 p.m. April 14, 2012

Almost 1,800 people—mostly in person but some online—signed a giant birthday card for Grossmont College on Saturday, setting what the school hopes is a world record. 

The feat was achieved at Grossmont College’s 50th Anniversary Open House. Crowds lined up at Grossmont College’s Griffin Center to sign the 4-by-4-foot card between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to help beat the listed record of 1,468 people signing a card during a one-day event.

The final tally: 1,797 signatures, including 174 well-wishers who submitted their greetings on Grossmont College’s Facebook page. 

“What a fantabulous culmination to our yearlong celebration of Grossmont College’s first 50 years,” said college President Sunita “Sunny” Cooke. “Here’s to the next half-century of excellence in serving our community.”

Meticulously following procedures laid out by the keepers of the Guinness World Records, 15 volunteers registered and witnessed card signers. They also kept tabs of greetings posted on Grossmont College’s Facebook page.

With everything tallied and recorded, all that remains is the certification by Guinness World Records, expected in the coming weeks.

“I think it’s great that so many people have shown their support for Grossmont College by helping set the record,” said Lisa Holms, a Grossmont College student who brought her younger sister to the Open House. “When she graduates from high school in a couple of years, she plans to attend Grossmont, too.”

The record-setting attempt wasn’t the only cause for celebration. 

A dedication ceremony was held this morning for Grossmont College’s latest Proposition R-funded remodeling and expansions: the student center, along with the Student Services and Administration building. The ceremony marked the completion of the $36.2 million, two-building project, which took about 1½ years to build.

The buildings, among the oldest on the campus, were revamped and upgraded into high-tech, low-energy-consuming facilities to accommodate a student population that has grown from less than 2,000 at its start to about 20,000 currently.

“I want to say how pleased I am with how much effort has gone into these excellent facilities and that we are able to say we spent taxpayer dollars exactly as we promised from the start,” said governing board President Bill Garrett.  

Also addressing about 200 people at the dedication ceremony were state Sen. Joel Anderson and Assemblyman Brian Jones, who presented a resolution in honor of the event.

Providing the student perspective was Cheryl-Anne Phillips, president of the Associated Students of Grossmont College. 

“These buildings were designed with students in mind,” she said. “Everything that we need is here like one-stop shopping. I love the colors for the hominess they bring. This is, after all, for many a second home.”

A brief heavy downpour moved the dedication ceremony indoors, but by the time the speeches had been given and the ribbon cut to mark the buildings’ official opening, the sun broke through the clouds, welcoming the more than 3,000 who attended the Open House.

The free event involved months of planning and more than 150 volunteers who helped guide visitors around the El Cajon campus. It kicked off Friday night with student musical performances and an old-fashioned sock hop dance with a live band playing classic tunes from the ‘50s,’60s and’70s.  

The event was funded through private and corporate donations.

In addition to the card-signing and the building dedication, Saturday’s events included a department fair featuring dozens of hands-on, interactive demonstrations and exhibits showcasing the array of academic programs the college has to offer.  

Music lovers, foodies, dancers, amateur scientists, artists, CSI fans, poets, fitness and health devotees, theater lovers, techies, gamers and math whizzes.

The dedication ceremony marks the completion of the $36.2 million, two-building project, the Griffin Center and the Student Services and Administration Center, which took about 18 months to build.

Cooke said the building expansions have brought a stronger sense of community to the campus.

“These buildings are filled with students studying, eating and socializing, it's the place to be on campus,” she said.

The expansion and renovations of the two existing buildings was the last of 13 major projects funded by Proposition R, a 2002 facilities bond measure approved by East County voters in response to severe space shortages at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.  The buildings reopened at the start of the spring semester to rave reviews from students.

Multiple speakers thanked the taxpayers for passing and paying for Prop R. Assemblyman Jones and Sen. Anderson, who both studied at Grossmont College as part of their education, attended the dedication ceremony and remarked on the beauty of the new buildings.

Garrett, the board president, said the remodeled facilities bring a satisfying closure to Proposition R’s transformation of Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, with 14 buildings constructed or reenovated between both campuses.

“We stretched taxpayer dollars by renovating these two buildings instead of building from the ground up,” he said.

The line to sign the world record setting birthday card stretched past the new food court most of the day.

All across campus there were events and entertainment in classrooms, labs and theaters that included crime scene forensics, a videogame tournament, culinary arts, astronomy, art, dance, computer tech, nursing, math, media communications and more.

Grossmont College contributed to this report.