Traditions graduate with seniors

The water is touched twice in a students’ UCLA career
““ when they are first “Bruinized” into UCLA, and
when they graduate.

Otherwise, the Inverted Fountain in front of Franz Hall remains
largely ignored, with the exception of the occasional smirk from
students who overhear tour guides telling the tale of this
“toilet bowl” to prospective students.

During this period between start and finish, students rush to
and from class, preoccupied with planning their next trip to a
local bar, drinking plenty of tea to warm up their throats for
midnight yell, or developing intricate schemes to avoid being
bombarded with fliers on Bruin Walk.

A number of traditions that were once in place during the stay
of this year’s graduates at UCLA will no longer be known
among the new generation of Bruins.

As the community surrounding the campus, Westwood has been a
popular destination for many students, and the heart of the Village
for many graduates had been Madison’s Neighborhood Bar and
Grill, which closed last year due to several liquor license
suspensions stemming from underage drinking violations.

The bar has been replaced by Wiggum’s Roadhouse.

Graduating English student Nicole Charney, a frequent
Madison’s customer during its run, specifically remembers the
fun of Tuesday’s “pint nights,” which offered $1
beers and attracted hundreds to the bar.

Madison’s environment offered a place for students to free
themselves from the stress of school.

“Everyone’s so focused on academics that this was a
chance to let loose and hang out with your peers,” said
graduating psychology student Maral Karaccusian. “The new
spot definitely has big shoes to fill.”

Relieving academic stress has also been epitomized by the annual
student-initiated Midnight Yell during finals week. Students yell
out of their apartment and dorm windows at 12 a.m. to release
finals frustration.

Living on Kelton Avenue, graduating bioengineering student C.K.
Lin describes Midnight Yell as a tradition that will continue to
stand out in his mind.

“You could hear the yell in waves coming from the
dorms,” Lin said. “It was definitely an
experience.”

Graduating sociology student Rebecca Chen agreed, saying,
“There always seemed to be a guy who starts playing his
electric guitar for his version of the Midnight Yell. … Usually,
he’ll do a brilliant rendition of the national
anthem.”

This tradition, which has also involved the burning of couches,
throwing of water balloons and small “riots” a few
years ago, was stopped by the university police, and has been
replaced with the Undie Run. Created by third-year theater student
Eric Whitehead, the run goes down Gayley Avenue during finals week
and garnered over 150 participants in fall quarter.

“We don’t look at the activity as a tradition … we
look at the neighborhood and ask if it’s safe,” said
Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services. She added
that Midnight Yell was getting out of control as a result of
drunken behavior that could lead to someone getting hurt.

Long before finals start, on the last Sunday before fall
quarter, numerous fraternity parties collectively form Black
Sunday.

“Black Sunday was awesome,” Chen said. “My
first year here, I remember thinking, “˜Wow, it’s just
like in the movies.’

“During my second year, I was at a Pike party and I
remember glancing outside to see a row of police in raid gear and
big guns,” Chen added.

Black Sunday was discontinued starting this year, and was
substituted with a Welcome Back Concert, with Bad Religion as the
main act.

“Three thousand people in the street … it wasn’t a
safe environment anymore,” Greenstein said, “You have
to look at a tradition and make it safe.”

Perhaps the one overarching tradition is the UCLA-USC rivalry,
which unites North and South Campus to create a strong camaraderie
to combat the crosstown rival.

Many UCLA students maintain that this rivalry is a tradition
that continues to unite the large campus, creating a strong sense
of solidarity.

Charney recalled a memorable basketball game in which all of the
Bruin spectators turned their backs to the USC cheerleaders during
their performance.

“The ‘SC games bring the campus together because
we’re no longer contending with each other,” agreed
graduating psychology student and UCLA hockey player Peter Mikhail,
who referred to the UCLA community as his family.

Overall, graduates have distinct memories of specific traditions
at UCLA, but many said they believe these traditions have continued
to fade over the course of the years.

“A lot of the traditions have subsided. “¦ Black
Sunday, Midnight Yell and Madison’s are all gone,” said
graduating applied mathematics student Jaclyn Stitz, who said she
believes this is due to the imposition of numerous strict
restrictions.