I am proud to say that Homecoming 2011 was an event that will go down in UCLA history as the rekindling of a legendary tradition.
At the carnival, I was thrilled to see attendees brought together in a celebration of Bruin pride and tradition. More than 25 student groups, along with countless students, parents, alumni, UCLA administrators and even Chancellor and Mrs. Block came together and engaged in a variety of activities, which brought Bruins of all stripes closer together.
After such a great weekend, which ended with a huge victory against Cal and an incredibly executed flash mob at the Rose Bowl, I confess I was disappointed to read the recent Opinion piece, which sadly belittled the efforts of dozens of Bruins who worked tirelessly to make this weekend one to remember.
Homecoming was unanimously supported by every UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council member ““ and I am proud to say that we took students’ concerns about funding into account, and will thus be returning approximately $3,000 into the USAC surplus fund so it can be further utilized by student groups. Considering the size and scope of the event and the number of people it reached, the cost is reasonably low ““ especially in comparison to many other beloved large-scale events seen on campus. We were fiscally responsible in planning this event, and were as frugal and resourceful as possible.
The Daily Bruin article falsely states that my office anticipated a turnout of 7,000 people; however, in actuality this number was never to my knowledge brought up by any UCLA administrator, let alone the UCLA administration as a whole, so I thought it deserved clarification. My goal was for 2,000 people to attend; Kenn Heller presented us with a challenge to bring 3,000 people, and our total attendance for the night ended up being 4,780! Thus, the attendance at the event was actually higher than anticipated! In years to come, hopefully every Bruin will be able to look forward to some aspect of homecoming, and attendance will continue to increase further.
It is wonderful that there are so many events put on by individual student groups, but homecoming brought our school together in a way that few events do. Homecoming has unlimited potential that we have only just begun to see. When Bruin alumni come back and enjoy this event, they will be inspired to give back to the school that they so love. This first homecoming in seven years was truly a test, and can only grow and become something that every Bruin can one day enjoy. Keep your eyes out for a survey on how we can make homecoming even better and more representative of all Bruins. I hope future generations of students will be brought together in this celebration of Bruin pride for many years to come, and that these same Bruins return as devoted alumni for even longer.
Emily Resnick
President of USAC