I hate that school across town, as all UCLA students should.
This rivalry-driven mind-set is exactly why I loved Blue and Gold Week. Students could enjoy the bonfire and rally, turn in red shirts for blue ones, smash a crimson car, listen to a concert and enjoy a dose of Bruin pride during the week before our rivalry game.
So you can imagine my disappointment last year, when I heard that the annual Blue and Gold Week, a fall quarter tradition embedded into our collective Bruin soul, had been moved to spring quarter and renamed I Heart UCLA Week.
Is it too much then to ask that the Student Alumni Association should work with the Center for Student Programming to reverse this decision and make sure spirit week can be celebrated before our rivalry football game?
After all, it’s a tradition worth fighting for, and a tradition the school could easily restore.
The Student Alumni Association decided to move the week of festivities to spring quarter primarily because of scheduling issues.
Recently, the game between L.A. rivals has fallen on the weekend after 10th week or before finals week. During these weeks, university policy does not allow for amplified sound in Bruin Plaza, according to Berky Nelson, director of the Center of Student Programming.
While the rule to keep sound down in Bruin Plaza during exams makes sense, Blue and Gold Week is larger than such a university policy. The week has been around since 1927 and likely predates this policy.
And even though holding this week near finals may cause the events to have lower participation rates, students who do not attend all of the events can still immerse themselves in the spirit of everything going on.
When the Student Alumni Association moved spirit week, they kept most of the activities. But the main premise was lost.
This week should be a celebration of rivalry and pranks. It should be about protecting our mascot and bashing our rival school.
The timing of the week is important. If it occurs right before the big game, it excites students for the football showdown and encourages students to cheer on our team. It also helps students remember what it means to be a Bruin.
The rivalry is part of what unites us all as Bruins. Blue and Gold Week was one of the few times a year when students from all parts of campus would come together: South Campus and North Campus, theater students and engineers, first-years and fourth-years, students in Greek houses and those who rarely leave their rooms.
After all, the rivalry is often ranked one of the most intense by multiple sources.
During spirit week, I can see the excitement on everyone’s face, whether they are fans who follow the team closely enough to the recognize the assistant coaches, or are fans who do not know what a quarterback is.
Celebrating spirit week right before the game unifies students with a clear and definable goal: winning the football game.
It helps remind us that loud fans can help determine the outcome of a football game.
Further, rivalry week is important because UCLA doesn’t truly celebrate a homecoming game as other schools do.
The Student Alumni Association and the Center for Student Programming should compromise on a creative solution to move Blue and Gold Week back to fall quarter.
If Bruin Plaza isn’t a feasible location, it is worth exploring other areas, such as the Intramural Field, Wilson Plaza or Drake Stadium, where the festivities can have amplified sound without disturbing classes.
Timing is more important than location for an event like this.
The bonfire and rally will still happen during the week before the game, but the rest of the festivities are a tradition vital to our university.
Do you wish next week were Blue and Gold Week? E-mail Ramzanali at aramzanali@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to opinion@media.ucla.edu.