This weekend, our campus will be filled with festivities for students and their families.
Today through Sunday is our annual Parents’ Weekend, when we welcome to campus the families of our new students, as well as those of some returning students.
It’s a time to celebrate our great UCLA family and to greet its newest members.
It’s also a time to introduce new Bruins to this amazing place and the wealth of opportunities it offers.
As one of the newest Bruins, I have been so moved by the manner in which every part of the UCLA family has welcomed my wife, Carol, and me since we arrived in Los Angeles in August.
And as parents, we understand how much it means to families to know that their sons and daughters are now part of a larger Bruin family.
The concept of family is important to UCLA in myriad ways.
For many of our students, it is their families who provide the support and encouragement that enable them to attend UCLA.
Some students are following in the steps of their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters who were also Bruins.
Others are first in their families to attend UCLA, including many who are first in their families to attend college.
All, upon entering the Bruin family, become part of a Bruin legacy, first as beneficiaries and eventually as alumni, volunteers and supporters who enrich our institution and society in so many ways.
We Bruins come from all walks of life, all economic, social and cultural circumstances.
We are united by a commitment to excellence that can be seen in every aspect of UCLA, from the arts and healthcare to athletics and every field of academics one can imagine.
Because we are a public university in our viewpoint, mission and DNA, we focus our research and learning to enrich society, through civic engagement, service learning and a civic spirit that is part of our very essence.
We embrace and celebrate diversity, in all its forms.
One of our most distinguished alumni, Nobel laureate Ralph Bunche, said, “We must adhere staunchly to the basic principle that anything less than full equality is not enough.”
We depend upon all the members of our Bruin family to ensure that UCLA will continue to provide the access to opportunity for which it has long been known and loved. That access helps define us as a campus, and enriches our learning and experience.
Like other families, we have our own traditions, such as the 8-clap, stepping over the sixth step of the Janss Steps, Spring Sing and other campus rituals that are passed down from one generation to the next.
Parents’ Weekend, also a beloved tradition, is a perfect time to participate in some of these rituals, celebrate family and express our appreciation for all it means to be a Bruin, as we also welcome our newest family members to the UCLA legacy.
Block is the chancellor of UCLA.