Campus competition to aid Hunger Project

Left- and right-brained Bruin thinkers will be competing in this week’s North v. South Campus War which aims to raise money for The Hunger Project.

The war is being put on by the fellowship program of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, which seeks to get new UCLA students involved in USAC and plugged into campus life.

The Hunger Project is an organization that combats hunger in Africa, Asia and Latin America with an emphasis on empowering women, event organizers said.

The event has been predominantly planned by first-year students and third-year transfer students involved in the fellowship program, with the assistance of a few veteran students involved in council, said USAC President Marwa Kaisey.

Kaisey said the war will benefit students involved in both the planning and in the competitions, as well as The Hunger Project, by amassing monetary aid for its cause.

“It really serves three purposes. First, to foster campus community by giving people the opportunity to identify with their side of campus and bond with fellow Bruins. Second, for the new USAC fellows to foster programming skills, as this is mostly planned by them. And thirdly, and most importantly, to raise money for The Hunger Project,” Kaisey said.

Susan Dong, a fellow in the USAC president’s office, said the group decided to benefit The Hunger Project because it believed it was the charity most in need.

“We chose it because it is often an organization that is overlooked, and does not receive enough publicity because it is overshadowed by other important causes like AIDS,” Dong said.

The war is a three-day event, with a different theme each day.

Tuesday was athletics-inspired, enticing playful Bruins from North and South Campus to joust against each other American Gladiator-style in a massive blow-up ring.

Today is academically themed, centered around a “Family Feud”-style intellectual competition that will test students on UCLA trivia, as well as questions regarding North and South Campus knowledge.

Thursday will feature a talent show featuring Samahang Modern and singer Jaqueline Rafii.

David Luong, a fourth-year biochemistry student who participated in the joust on Tuesday, said he believes the event “is a good idea to try and build campus unity.”

Organizers plan to raise funds through T-shirt sales with North and South Campus slogans that sell for $10 each and a penny war in which each side will gain points for collecting coins in their respective jars.

On Tuesday, they also sponsored a dinner night at Rubio’s in Ackerman Union during which 20 percent of the restaurant’s proceeds were set aside for the cause.

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