The party’s over
Mardi Gras, UniCamp’s main supporter, will not be appearing this
year due to financial difficulties
By Susan Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
right lights, a cacophony of voices and festive colors once
annually transformed a silent green field of grass into a
boisterous carnival
But for students used to attending UCLA’s Mardi Gras festivities
every year, the party’s over.
Because the carnival lost $20,000 during the past three years, a
review committee decided to replace Campus Events’ annual Mardi
Gras festivities with a less expensive alternative.
The review committee – composed of students, administrators and
faculty – made the restructuring recommendation last year. Campus
Events is still deciding on a replacement event, but at this point
no official announcement has been made as to how the restructuring
will proceed, said Campus Events commissioner Julie Tollefson.
In the past, Mardi Gras, usually held during the Memorial Day
weekend, has been the primary fund-raiser for UniCamp, a summer
camp for low-income children. Now, UniCamp will lose one of its
largest sources of revenue until an alternative fundraiser is
established.
Students reacted with surprise to the news that the carnival is
gone for good.
"I’m shocked. It’s a big tradition and a great fund-raiser for
Unicamp," said Anne Marie Perrie, a second-year English student. "I
went last year and had a great time. It’s incredible to think that
it’s not going to be here after … years of standing
tradition."
Community input on the topic was heard at an open forum held
earlier this month. Twenty-five students showed up to brainstorm
about alternative ideas to Mardi Gras.
"I think just their presence at the meeting exemplified that
they cared about it," Tollefson said. She explained that another
meeting will be held to bring the group of students back together,
with additional students, to solidify ideas.
"It was a student decision about a student event to support
UniCamp. If we have to do something different, let’s do it," said
David Lowenstein, who has been the Mardi Gras event manager for 30
years.
Both Lowenstein and Tollefson agreed that there is a campus-wide
commitment to making Mardi Gras’ replacement event even more
successful than its predecessor, with the potential to grow and
include opportunities for student involvement.
Part of the reason Mardi Gras lost so much money was due to the
festival’s high fixed costs, which include ride rentals, fixing the
field after the event and hiring security. After the civil
disturbances there in 1992, Mardi Gras’ night-time hours were
eliminated due to security concerns, Tollefson said.
A deadline has not yet been established for the decision on
Mardi Gras’ replacement. Organizers predicted an idea will be
formulated by the end of the school year, but whether or not the
idea will become a reality remains to be seen, Tollefson
explained.
"We’re looking at events to do which wouldn’t cost a tremendous
amount of money but would raise money for UniCamp," Lowenstein
said.
However, Tollefson said that no matter what kind of event
replaces Mardi Gras, the process of organizing another large event
will be long and arduous.
"I think we realize we have to take it one small step at time to
create successful event," she said. "We just want to raise any
amount of money more than UniCamp received last year. Anything we
do now has potential to be more successful."Comments to
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