• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

As part of the newly introduced Blue and Gold Week, students ride on floats expressing school spi

From screams at midnight to streaks of underwear and flashes of skin, UCLA boasts a variety of unique traditions, some of which have undergone significant transformations over the past few years.

A traditional night of fraternity parties on the first Sunday of fall quarter became a university-run series of events; a nightly yell during finals week morphed into a half-naked streak through Westwood; and this year Beat ’SC Week turned into Blue and Gold Week.

Many of these changes were the result of pressure from the university, after the administration and university police deemed some of the traditions dangerous liabilities.

Until four years ago, the Sunday before Zero Week of fall quarter was an infamous party day. Students from UCLA and other colleges would flock to fraternity row for the multiple parties known collectively as Black Sunday.

“There were big parties with free alcohol for everybody. It was a really good way to socialize and get to know people,” said Jeremy Guo, a fourth-year chemical engineering student who experienced the last Black Sunday as a freshman.

But university officials said the festivities soon got out of hand.

“There were thousands of people in the street, acquaintance rapes, EMT calls for alcohol poisoning, and for some students, this was their first weekend and first impression (of) school,” said Nancy Greenstein, the director of police community services for university police.

In 2002, the chaos prompted the Interfraternity Council, a student-run organization, to put Black Sunday on hiatus and join forces with other groups on campus to try to replace it with a less dangerous and equally entertaining event. This event was Bruin Bash, consisting of a dance, an activities fair with informational booths about student groups and the Welcome Back concert.

With the creation of Bruin Bash, Greenstein said the number of police calls decreased significantly.

“A lot of the public-safety concerns were addressed. Residents weren’t complaining; there were no (reports of) date rapes or alcohol poisoning.”

But for some students, the hiatus of Black Sunday was not an ideal solution.

“It had been a tradition forever and it got cancelled in just one night. I loved it. I regret that I won’t ever get to experience it again,” Guo said.

Black Sunday is not the only campus tradition to undergo a transformation in the last four years.

The Undie Run was created in lieu of Midnight Yell, during which students would scream out their windows at midnight to relieve their stress during finals week.

Though screaming still occurs in the apartments, the university began cracking down on the 24-year-old tradition on campus when the noise began to generate complaints from Bel-Air residents around 16 years ago. Midnight Yell antics had grown to include launching water balloons and firecrackers from rooftops and setting fire to furniture.

Under the careful eye of authorities concerned about safety hazards, Midnight Yell participants began looking for other ways to relieve their finals stress. During spring quarter of 2002, Undie Run was born.

It began with a small gathering of students who ran through the streets of Westwood in their underwear after being told by police they could not participate in Midnight Yell.

Undie Run has since grown into a quarterly gathering of thousands of students on Wednesday of finals week. This year, amid concerns about the safety of the run’s route, the university began to work with student groups to redirect the route onto campus. Despite the change, students have expressed continued support of Undie Run.

“I definitely like Undie Run better. Midnight Yell did relieve more stress, but Undie Run is more fun,” Guo said.

Other traditions have changed for less controversial reasons.

This year marked the birth of Blue and Gold Week, which combined Homecoming and Beat ’SC Week.

According to Jennifer Middleton, the Blue and Gold Week director for the Student Alumni Association, Homecoming and Beat ’SC week were playing to the same audience, so it made sense to combine them. Also, many student groups wanted UCLA to devote a week to the celebration of Bruin spirit rather than simply to the rivalry with USC.

“The focus of Beat ’SC week was only athletics – (it was) all about beating USC. But this year, there was much more to the week, such as speakers, a canned-food drive, all different kinds of events put on by all sorts of groups across campus,” said Middleton, a third-year English and political science student.

Middleton said the transition proved successful, with high turnout at the Beat ’SC parade, rally and bonfire.

She said she could see Blue and Gold Week becoming a lasting tradition.

“I can foresee it lasting for awhile. We have so many organizations on campus, and it’s nice that we can represent them,” she said.