Editorial: Lack of support at Homecoming a disgrace

Three years after Homecoming was reinstituted, the campus’
turnout remains disappointing.

Only a tiny fraction of students showed up for the parade, and
many confessed the festivities passed without their knowledge.

At a school as big as UCLA, it’s easy to write off this
lack of participation as inevitable. Students have so much to do
and their interests are infinitely varied.

But Homecoming should have something for everyone. The game
itself was reason to celebrate: UCLA shut out a Pac-10 rival for
the first time since 1987, beating Stanford 21-0. Of course not
everyone cares about football, but why not unite for the sake of
community every once in a while?

UCLA should be something all students can rally around,
regardless of their personal background, politics or values.

School spirit is about enjoying your undergraduate years, being
part of a community, and one day giving back to the university that
got you started. Maybe UCLA needs more than a parade to get
students excited. The campus used to host a May Mardi Gras ““
once the country’s largest student-run carnival ““ and
this column suggested two years ago that Homecoming would be a good
time to revive it.

Whatever it takes, UCLA should make Homecoming more than a
pony-show for Parents’ Weekend.