Football brings UCLA together

Friday, November 20, 1998

Football brings UCLA together

COMRADERY: Diverse student body connects through pride for
team

By Charles Lang and Marc Pilotin

We want Coach Bob Toledo to come to our floor. We’d like to
personally thank him for what he and the football team have done
for 6 South in Sproul Hall.

Although we cannot wholly credit the coach for the sense of
community that is developing on our floor, we can say that he has
played some part in bringing former strangers together. In the past
two months that we have been living in Sproul, UCLA football, and
the athletics program as a whole, have helped create a common
rallying point around which residents from multiple backgrounds
could come together, sharing poignant moments of school pride,
community and togetherness.

UCLA is one of the most diverse schools in the nation; this fact
can be seen in the microcosm of our floor. We have residents from
various social, intellectual and geographic origins, just to
highlight a few of our differences.

During the first couple weeks of this quarter, we were searching
for areas where we had things in common that would allow us to talk
about shared experiences, mutual dreams and collective hopes.
Finding these areas where our lives coincided brought people
together, fostering a greater sense of community where, at first,
there was none.

Pride in Bruin football has become something that we all have in
common, and in doing so, it has become a vehicle for pulling our
floor closer together. We feel this exists across the campus. On a
campus as diverse as UCLA, there must be things that tie us
together as a community; school pride, in this case in our
athletics program, can serve that function.

Several of us went to the Stanford game. Several of us
experienced the stress and anxiety during each play. Several of us
celebrated after the team clinched its 17th-straight victory.

That day, we were together; we shared a vivid experience with
one another. During the school week, a lot of the waking day splits
the floor; some of us go to North Campus, the rest go to South
Campus. By the time we get back, we’re exhausted, sleepy and only
in the mood for a meal at Covel Commons or Puzzles. Needless to
say, we need events outside of the school week to help in forming a
feeling of commonality; athletics provides that.

Taking pride in where you live and go to school is not "societal
brainwashing" if it carries some sort of justification.
Brainwashing implies some sort of insidious mechanism at work, and
none is to be found in this case. Unlike George Orwell’s "1984,"
there is no "Big Brother" out there orchestrating "two-minutes of
hate" (or in this situation, "four quarters of hate").

When we attend athletic events, we do not cheer mindlessly.
Coming together to sing "Mighty Bruins" at the Rose Bowl is a way
to express our support for fellow Bruins. When we take pride in
athletics, we are giving credit where it is due.

Substantiated campus pride can give people a personal stake in
the school. With personal interests invested into the university,
one would be less likely to abuse it, both in terms of the
facilities and the people who inhabit it.

Athletic competitions have given us an arena to build Bruin
pride together, and in doing so, they have brought us a better idea
of what it’s like to be a community. Sometimes, with all the
protests and divisive issues that take hold of the campus, UCLA
lacks that comfortable sense of community. Whatever happened to
Homecoming parades, Mardi Gras or other campus rallies? Although it
is important for students to remain active and take stands on
issues, it would be nice if, every now and then, we could put the
picket signs down and come together. Too idealistic of a thought?
Perhaps.

For the rest of the season, we’re going to cheer on the team.
Football games provide us with a common goal; we get to act as a
team in the bleachers supporting the team on the field. This yields
us double benefits. First, we help the Bruins win. Second, we come
closer together as a floor. Athletic events and school pride serves
a purpose for us; it helps us define our small community.

Thanks Bob for your help. Hopefully, you’ll have time to drop
by. Otherwise, you know where to look for us; we’ll be up there in
the stands.

Comments, feedback, problems?

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