SACRAMENTO — Believe it or not, UC President Mark G. Yudof asked to hear some Lady Gaga from the California Aggie Marching Band-uh! during UC Day at the Capitol.

The band obliged, performing “Bad Romance,” after which Yudof told the UC Day audience: “That song is a metaphor for our relationship with the state of California.”

Additional coverage, including a photo slide show: UC Day at the Capitol: Cold, hard reality

UCOP story: "UC Day draws attention to university’s budget crisis"

Video and photos: On President Yudof's Facebook page.

Besides setting up Yudof’s comment on UC's relationship with the state, the marching band also helped warm up the crowd, literally and figuratively. The delegates had assembled in 38-degree weather in an open-sided tent on the west side of the Capitol — with no portable heaters, as per policy on the Capitol grounds.

After a one-year absence, UC Day returned this year on an austerity budget — with the tent replacing the warm confines of the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel a block from the Capitol.

Also gone: the sit-down lunch for the delegates. An advance report indicated that the delegates would receive box lunches in the tent, but instead the university provided a buffet — and delegates served themselves, on paper plates.

UC Davis did away with its UC Day dinner, opting instead for a legislative reception that drew more than 100 people to the atrium of the old Senator Hotel across the street from the Capitol.

Earlier coverage: "UC Day at the Capitol returns — with a tent and box lunches," Dateline UC Davis (Feb. 25, 2011)