Bruin spirit remains present in 10th week
By Maria Lemus
Dec. 3, 2008 10:30 p.m.
During 10th week, school organizations are prohibited from hosting events with amplified sound that could create a distraction for students studying for finals.
So, instead of students participating in car-smashing events or bonding around a bonfire before the USC football game, students are hitting the books and going into study mode.
But organizations accustomed to promoting school spirit during Blue and Gold Week, such as the UCLA Student Alumni Association are still doing what they can to keep the spirit alive.
“We have been and will continue throughout the week to distribute pins, (spirited) tattoos and flyers on Bruinwalk,” said Aly Yarris, UCLA Student Alumni Association director.
“It is a way for our presence to be known,” added David Grometer, president of the Student Alumni Association.
Although Blue and Gold Week traditionally takes place during ninth week, this year’s football game schedule conflicted with the university’s academic schedule. The association hosted Blue and Gold Week on the week of Oct. 13-19, prior to the Stanford football game.
The rescheduling of Blue and Gold Week was also a way to get the students excited early on in the quarter when they were not stressed out, Yarris said.
However, some students have mixed feelings about transferring Blue and Gold Week to a different week this year.
“There is school spirit this week, but I honestly would have liked to have had (Blue and Gold Week) this week,” said fifth-year sociology student Veronica Casillas.
As this will be the first football game she will attend, Castillas said she had been looking forward to school-spirited events such as the “Get the Red Out,” which encourages students to get rid of anything that reflects USC colors.
Instead, she said she is outraged that the USC football team will be wearing their home jerseys for the Dec. 6 game, a tradition that has not been seen in 26 years when both teams shared the home field.
Other students showed discontent at the week’s low spirit and proposed alternatives.
“The game should have been scheduled the week after finals,” said third-year sociology student Joon Hur.
Fourth-year political science student Daniel Pham, however, agreed with the decision to hold Blue and Gold Week at the start of the quarter because hopes for the football season ran high.
Others agreed with the university’s policy saying holding the events would have distracted them from studying.
“The (events) would definitely have affected studying, especially since finals usually start the Friday before finals week,” said third-year economics student Roman Masias.
Although the Student Alumni Association normally promotes school spirit the week before the big game through full-fledged programs, members have situated themselves on Bruin Walk passing out promotional cards, notes and pins to salvage whatever spirit they can find.
The association is an organization consisting of students, alumni and friends of the university geared at promoting and supporting the university community, its Web site states.
“Regardless of the outcome of the game, we want to promote pride,” Yarris said.
Messages such as “Beat “˜SC” and “I love UCLA” are conveyed through the freebies. But also acknowledging 10th week, the association has been passing out material that promote support for finals week as well.
