It is hard to imagine a UCLA football game that would not include endless repetitions of “The Mighty Bruins.”
On that same note, it is even more difficult to imagine a football game devoid of the UCLA Bruin Marching Band’s presence, which may lose an increasing amount of funding in the future due to a lack of financial support.
The band has thus asked the undergraduate student body for support, joining other student groups under the student fee referendum titled “Practicing Leadership and Empowerment to Develop Growth thru Education.”
This referendum would increase student fees by $12.75 per quarter, and the band would receive $0.36 of those funds. The marching band is among several other organizations that would benefit from the referendum.
The extra money would help the band pay for uniform cleaning, water during the football games and instrument maintenance for the band in particular, said Rita Sandoval, a first-year international development studies student who represents the interests of the band in the referendum.
“I think we’d have to struggle if the referendum didn’t pass,” she said. “We deserve respect, just like any other organization.”
Sandoval first heard of the referendum through her involvement in MEChA. When fellow members asked her if the band would be interested in becoming part of the referendum, she jumped on the opportunity.
“I realized that Marching Band needed a lot of things, so I thought this would be a good way to get it,” Sandoval said. “We don’t need an extravagant budget since administration does give us some money, but we’re just looking … to make it more comfortable.”
With the assistance of fellow band member Leslie Bustos, who is also a member of MEChA, the two students acted as liaisons between the two organizations throughout the proposal process, as well as representatives of the band’s interests.
In spite of the funds allocated to the program by the athletics department, as well as the donations from the honorary band fraternity, band members are only able to get one cup of water per half during performances at football games, said Bustos, a first-year English student.
This lack of water has an effect on the band’s performance, said Brian Bauman, a third-year classics student and a cymbals player in the band.
“It gets really hot out there at some of the games,” he said. “More water would really help, especially for some of the people out there with heavier instruments, because we sweat a ton.”
In addition, the band’s uniforms are cleaned only once a year, unless the program receives money from playing in bowl games, said Jennifer Judkins, adjunct assistant music professor and assistant director of the bands.
She added that the repair bill for instruments is “hefty.”
“Many of these instruments are specialized,” she said. “And they’re exposed to more damage than concert instruments ““ they’re put on planes and carted in a truck to the Rose Bowl.”
With the increased funds, Sandoval hopes to set up a system in which band members would be able to get supplies for their instruments on campus, rather than having to find stores in the local area.
“We want to be more self-sufficient,” she said. “We don’t want our members to suffer financially from playing in band.”
With the increased presence of the band at football games, as well as other sporting events, Sandoval emphasized that the role of the band was important not only for school spirit, but also for the public image of the university.
“We’re public figures,” she said. “Lots of people know and recognize us.”
Bustos said that it was important for students to realize the band’s impact on the campus.
“As a band, we are a source of school pride,” Bustos said. “We keep the crowd going at football games … and we instill more pride in students.”