Walking to class Monday morning, bobbing and weaving my way through the guided tours and hordes of potential Bruins, I came to a brilliant realization as I entered Public Policy. This is prime recruiting season for UCLA. Not only for football and basketball (we both know you want to come here, Jrue Holiday), but also (more importantly?) for the school.
So for all you recruits out there who haven’t been convinced by the campus, your tour guide or the free ice cream some engineers were giving away on Monday, here’s my pitch to you.
First off, as a warning, UCLA is not for everyone. If you dislike great weather, the best sports teams in the country and exceptional classes, you can stop reading now.
Good. For the rest of you, if you are undecided on whether to call this place your own, here’s an insider’s perspective on what makes this school great.
Sports (this is the sports section, after all). Right now at this school, it only takes one hand to list the number of teams that are not, or were not, in the hunt for a national championship this year. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s only four or five out of 22 varsity sports. That’s not bad.
The part that impresses me, though, is the level of excitement that the student body shows for our sports teams. Friday night soccer games under the lights at Drake Stadium with hundreds of fans packing the student bleachers are a good place to start ““ but it gets better.
In the fall, thousands of students flood the Rose Bowl, creating a scene that rivals what happens when they serve steak in the dining hall.
Then basketball season hits. All of a sudden, tents outside Pauley Pavilion are a common sight and going to class is optional (too much time away from Pauley). There’s a palpable buzz around campus and Bruin basketball is the only thing that matters.
Even when there are no sports going on, students are genuinely excited about the school. Nothing beats a plane full of Bruins doing an 8-clap on the way home for Thanksgiving break.
But, as hard as it is for me to say, there is more to this school than sports.
If you’re a North Campus person, there are some great classes out there. If you dare cross the line toward Math Sciences, then I can’t help you.
Here you can take rock ‘n’ roll history and study Nirvana and The Beatles. You can take classes on earthquakes and learn why not to live above a garage. You can even take astronomy and learn that it’s not the same thing as astrology. I have done all of these things.
Beyond the classroom, UCLA is unique in the fact that we are the only school in the country, and maybe even the world, that has Buck Fitty’s (aka Roll-In Subs). This sub sandwich spot, located just south of In-N-Out, is a campus commodity. How can anyone possibly turn down a 12-inch pastrami combo for just $5.50? I sure can’t. Couple that with Diddy Riese ice-cream sandwiches and you’re set for life.
So, for all you recruits out there who are still wavering on where to go, come to UCLA.
Don’t do it for me, or the sports, or even the great academics. Do it for Buck Fitty’s.
E-mail Feder at jfeder@media.ucla.edu if you’ve traded textbooks for Diddy Riese.