Storke Tower

It is engaged in making students safe for ideas" (Clark Kerr) and "These bells ring for the freedom of the press and in tribute to Editor-Publisher Thomas More Storke, whose affection for the University made this building possible.

The system also strikes a sequence at 10 minutes to every hour which spells out the university motto, "Let There Be Light" (with each of the 10 largest bells assigned a letter of the alphabet).

[9] The tower is named for Thomas M. Storke, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and U.S. senator who resided in Santa Barbara and helped found UCSB.

[11] The open-air area of the Plaza contains a large rectangular pond that functioned as a reflecting pool until 2003, when it was transformed into a cost-saving and partially self-sustaining aquatic ecosystem[12] including koi and water lilies.

This practice was discontinued by campus administrators for liability reasons citing student safety and ROTC policies prohibiting the physically disabled from participating in the exercise.