The other side

Thursday, November 19, 1998

The other side

Has the world gone topsy-turvy?

Is the Daily Bruin really profiling a USC yell leader two days
before the game?

Read on dear reader, read on …

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Contributor

The mascot is an indistinct gray figure, wrapped up from helmet
to sword in duct tape. There is not a single dollar sign in the
word "USC" on any of the surrounding signs.

And at one booth, someone sells T-shirts that feature a menacing
Tommy Trojan and a cowardly Joe Bruin, which optimistically
proclaims, "Revenge at the Rose Bowl for the heavyweight title of
Los Angeles."

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Westwood anymore.

Brian Ward, wearing the white V-neck sweater and shorts typical
of a USC yell leader, prepares to lead a rally at noon to kick off
Troy Week with three other yell leaders.

"Get your Bruin on a noose, everybody, just $12! Buy your Bruin
on a noose from that table over there!" Brian Ward yells from the
stage, swinging a small teddy bear around by the rope on its
neck.

The crowd is lackluster, however, until, from far off, the
steady beating of a drum sounds.

"Ohhhhh – there’s some definite Trojan spirit here! And now, the
greatest band in the history of the universe: the Spirit of Troy!"
announces Charlotte Huffschmidt, the only female yell leader.

As the band enters in marching fashion, the crowd begins
throwing two fingers in the air in a "V" for Victory and the yell
leaders get into high gear, with Ward standing on the shoulders of
fellow yell leader Mike Peart.

Meanwhile, the crowd falls naturally into familiar chants,
spurred by yell leaders who challenged them to "make sure they can
hear us in Westwood."

"Beat–the Bruins! Beat–the Bruins!"

"Fight on, ‘SC, ‘SC fight on!"

"U … S … C … Trojans!"

Peart approaches one student who wears a license plate around
his neck that says "BT UCLA." The student grins spiritedly and
says, "It’s on Saturday, baby, we’re gonna win."

"Yeah, I feel it, baby," Peart replies, giving him a
hi-five.

The Spirit of Troy begins playing "Tusk," their famous fight
song, and numerous Trojans, chanting "UCLA Sucks!" begin to dance,
bending forward and then backwards like the marching band.

The rally soon ends after Trojan proclamations of greatness,
numerous acrobatic stunts by the yell leaders and a plea to "help
guard Tommy from the beastly Bruins" that night at a party with the
Trojan Knights.

Ward then grabs lunch at Carl’s Jr. and walks home to his
apartment, less than five minutes off campus. Tied to his waist is
his Bruin, conspicuously dragging on the ground.

This is only the second year that the ‘Bruin on a noose’ has
been in existence; however, the idea caught on wildly.

Although he drags his Bruin on the ground, Ward intends to take
care of this one, since the teddy bear he bought last year was torn
up beyond recognition – mere cotton tatters by the end of Troy
Week.

"Last year I lived on the sixth floor in the dorms, and when we
went up in the elevator, I’d let him get caught right outside the
elevator doors. It actually took him a while to get torn up," Ward
recalls.

"Much as I hate to say it, he’s a tough little guy," he
laughs.

This is Ward’s first year as a yell leader. He considers USC’s
yell leading program a unique program.

"We are never called cheerleaders," Ward stresses.

"Not to his face," snickers roommate Kyle Buchanan.

Ignoring him, Ward explains,"It’s one of those things people
most identify with USC. We don’t have traditional cheerleading like
most schools. Other universities used to have yell leaders, but
everyone else in the nation faded away."

Ward chose to be a yell leader because he is, in his own
estimation, a die-hard Trojan. Yell leading was the most visible
way he could find to support his university.

In Ward’s apartment, a large maroon and gold sign with "USC" on
it covers his living room wall, and a toilet seat of the same color
and design fittingly graces his bathroom.

"Isn’t it great? We found it at a flea market," Buchanan
says.

Buchanan, like Ward, is a student at the film school. Both hold
extreme pride in that school.

"Statistically, it’s harder to get into USC’s film school than
it is to get into Harvard," Ward says.

"I think it’s cute that UCLA has a film school because, Lord
knows, UPN needs the writers," Buchanan adds cheekily.

Ward changes from his yell leading clothes into slacks, a
white-collar shirt and a tie for his job as a campus tour guide and
then sits down at his kitchen table, staring blankly in front of
him.

He is on the only break he has until at least 6:30 that
night.

Ward’s first class, Introduction to Acting, started at 9:30 that
morning. Directly after his Ancient Greek Culture class, he rushed
to the Rally for yell leading duties.

Ward is a unique Trojan, as he is not a California native, but
hails from South Bend, Indiana – Notre Dame country. Somehow,
amidst all the clamor surrounding the Fighting Irish, who are the
Trojan’s second-biggest rival outside of UCLA, Ward became a Trojan
fan.

As much of his family attended USC, he was raised a Trojan. It
was always a distant possibility that he would come to L.A., but
when he got accepted into the film school and his financial aid
came through, USC was his college for sure.

"But ‘SC didn’t start beating Notre Dame until I came out here.
I didn’t get to gloat in South Bend," Ward says.

Asked if he thinks the Trojans will win on Saturday against
UCLA, Ward is mute for a few seconds. Finally, with some
reluctance, he answers.

"We’re having a really strong season and our defense is doing
better than ever. UCLA is getting the wins, but for a number two or
three ranked team, the margin of victory isn’t high enough," he
said.

"Especially with a team like Stanford almost beating UCLA. When
we went up to Stanford we embarrassed them," he adds.

But he admits he is merely being optimistic.

"Being an eternal Trojan, it’s my job every year to say we’re
going to win," he says.

At 1:40 his break is over, and it’s time to go to the admissions
office to give tours. He is just a few steps from his apartment
building when he suddenly stops. "Oh my God. I forgot something,"
he mutters.

He rushes back into the building and emerges a few seconds later
– with the ‘Bruin on a noose’ tied around his waist. As he walks,
he instinctively kicks the Bruin as though it were a soccer
ball.

At the admissions office, Ward meets with six high school
students participating in the "Meet USC" program.

Ward takes the students and their parents on an hour-long tour
of the campus, telling them the points of interest on the USC
campus.

The Von Kleinsmid Center, for example, was donated by Elizabeth
Von Kleinsmid to honor her husband, one of USC’s former presidents,
on the condition that it be the tallest building on campus. It is a
relatively tall building with a huge tower on top of it, and a
globe on top of that. The VKC globe, as it is known, has become one
of USC’s most recognizable trademarks.

Ward continues his tour, taking special pride in the film
school.

"U.S. News & World Report ranked us the number one cinema
school. Actually, every poll ranked us number one. UCLA was number
one last year, but we’ve got it now," he says.

Further on in the tour, Ward stops the group in front of
Heritage Hall, USC’s athletic center, also billed by the university
as "The world’s largest trophy case." It honors the athletic
achievements of some of USC’s alumni athletes, such as Mike Garrett
and O.J. Simpson.

Heritage Hall also currently holds the Shillelagh II, the trophy
for whoever wins the annual Notre Dame-USC game. What is noticeably
absent is the Victory Bell, the trophy for the winner of the
UCLA-USC game.

"That should all change come Saturday," Ward jokes.

He lists some of USC’s athletic attributes.

"If USC was to break off from the U.S. and become its own
separate country – Troyland – we’d be ranked 17th in the world in
Olympic medals," Ward says.

The tour ends at Hanh Plaza, USC’s central plaza where Tommy
Trojan, wrapped like a mummy in duct tape, resides.

"It’s the week of the UCLA football game, and they’re our
biggest and most bitter rival," Ward tells the tour group. "Since
they’ve done stuff like dump manure on him in the past, this year
Tommy said, ‘Will you please tape me up?’ We said okay."

Ward informs the group that in the statue’s design, it is
flexing every single muscle in its body simultaneously.

"It’s physically impossible, but it shows Trojans can do
anything," Ward says.

Unfortunately, it is hard to tell exactly what Tommy is doing
underneath the layers of tape.

The tour ends then, but Ward’s day doesn’t. He still has two
hours of administrative work to do at the admissions office, and
then must attend a band meeting as the yell leader representative
to discuss plans and events for the upcoming week.

At night, his finally able to relax, Ward begins an essay for
his "Introduction to U.S. Television" class, due in two weeks.

"It’s a pretty lengthy assignment. I have to tape a few episodes
of a show on television – ‘Cheers,’ probably – and then analyze
it," he says.

He says this night is the first in a long time that he hasn’t
had anything to do.

He has plenty of yell leading duties for the week including, of
course, Saturday, when he cheers the Trojan football team on in the
Big Game.

Although he is a proud Trojan, Ward harbors no harsh feelings
toward UCLA outside of the rivalry.

"UCLA’s a good school. Overall, though, I think ‘SC gives a
better college experience. The campus isn’t too big and there
really is a sense here of the Trojan family," he says.CHARLES
KUO/Daily Bruin

Brian Ward, a USC Yell Leader, tries to pump up the crowd during
a Monday rally at USC’s Troy Week.

CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin

Ward stops by his apartment to get ready for his job as a USC
tour group leader.

CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin

Trojan yell leaders attempt to rile up small crowd at USC on
Monday.

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