An air of melancholy hung over Westwood on Monday night
following the defeat of the UCLA men’s basketball team in the
NCAA Championship game as droves of police officers tried to make
sure that the postgame reaction did not turn violent.
University police, city police and California Highway Patrol
officers blanketed the streets of Westwood in an effort to avoid
the damage and destruction that followed the Bruins’ previous
championship game appearance in 1995.
But after the game ““ in which the Florida Gators routed
the Bruins by 16 points ““ no student seemed in the mood for
celebratory rioting.
In Westwood Village, students came out full force to watch the
game, but crowds began to disperse as the game wore on.
Billy Laroo, manager of BJ’s restaurant on Broxton Avenue,
said students packed into the restaurant for the game, but as they
left there were no problems.
Raahul Srinivasan, a second-year electrical engineering student,
said he and his friends had hoped to celebrate a win, but their
hopes quickly faded.
“We were planning on going to a restaurant or something in
Westwood to celebrate if we had won, but obviously we didn’t,
and we aren’t in a mood to celebrate anymore,” he
said.
After the end of the game, students could be spotted on
apartment balconies throughout Westwood. Some led 8-claps while
others simply stared in silence. Obscenities directed at the
Florida Gators could be heard periodically raining down from
apartments.
Monday’s postgame reaction in Westwood was noticeably
different from the violent celebration after UCLA’s last NCAA
Championship appearance. After the Bruins defeated the Arkansas
Razorbacks to win the championship 11 years ago, over 1,000
students stormed Westwood Village, some of whom assaulted police
officers. Riot squad police were called in to break up the fracas,
as students turned over a van and climbed on traffic lights.
Students later complained that police used excessive force in
beating some revelers ““ a charge officials denied.
But this time around, officers in the Village spent more time
directing traffic than making arrests.
In fact, no arrests were made Monday as of 10 p.m., said Nancy
Greenstein, director of UCPD community services.
“For UCPD, we thought everything went really well except
of course the outcome of the game,” she said. There were
several bottles thrown from balconies and two small fires which
were quickly extinguished, but no major problems, she said.
LAPD Sgt. Jim Abbate said the difference for the police between
Monday night and the 1995 game was their planning.
“In ’95, we didn’t have a plan. We learned our
lessons along the way. … Now there is a specific plan for each
event,” he said. The LAPD, which led the off-campus response,
stationed officers throughout Westwood neighborhoods to direct
traffic and keep order.
California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Bomar, who normally
works in the San Fernando Valley, found himself directing traffic
Monday night on Levering Avenue. He said they were briefed on how
to handle possible rioting, but it had not become an issue.
“It’s been pretty low key,” he said.
“Unfortunately the home team lost (and) nobody’s out
there getting rowdy.”
Some students laughed off the idea of rioting, which they said
seemed unlikely.
“If they’re worried about a riot, it would’ve
started a long time ago,” said Dria Mathews, a second-year
Afro-American Studies student. “Why are we going to fight
each other when we’re all mad at Florida?”
With reports from Derek Lipkin and Sue Wang, Bruin senior
staff.