University of California Los Angeles - Bruin Life / Southern Campus Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

Page 17 text:

Opening 13

Page 16 text:

12 Opening

Page 18 text:

TO hat was it like to be a Bruin? Only true blue- and-golders would know. You had to experience exam stress first-hand, or cheer your heart out at an NCAA game to really get an idea. You had to walk up Bruin Walk on a busy day and see con- servatives and liberals alike cam- paigning for recruits, religious or- ganizations seeking converts, clubs catering to just about any taste, vendors selling t-shirts and jewelry, and successors to the enduring legacies of Elvis strum- ming their stuff in West- wood Plaza. You had to experi- ence the bustle of Ackerman Un- ion at lunchtime, stand in some long lines, recline in the Sculpture Garden, and stroll through the deserted Quad in the stillness of midnight. And you absolutely had to pull an all-nighter. Remember the times when you needed money NOW and your ATM was closed, when you slept in long enough to miss a noon class, or when you spontaneously blew off a week ' s healthy eating with one double-scoop sundae at Kerckhoff Coffee House? Or, do you recall dipping your toes in the Inverted Fountain on a hot day after a long walk, playing tour guide for visiting relatives ( ...this is the Inverted Fountain — yes, I know it looks like a toilet. ], jug- gling a job and a full course load, and the rapidly diminishing fresh- man ambition to achieve a 4.0. UCLA had about 35,000 stu- dents, 600 clubs and organiza- tions, eight different news media, and millions of different view- points. The campus was honored with a distinguished faculty of 2,573 that included several Nobel prize winners. Students and pro- fessors from all over the world added their owrMf perspec- tives, creating a F unique international flair. People came from every state-no matter if from the city, suburb or countryside- each with something to teach one another and a willingness to learn. With the university situated in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Bruins could get a taste of just about anything. Los Angeles brought us face to face with cul- tural diversity, the L.A. Lakers, the glamour of Hollywood, the charm of Westwood Village, music, the- atre and art, and prices that made it quite clear to you that, No, Toto, you aren ' t in Kansas anymore. But that was OK when you could go to Melnitz movies for next to nothing, find a $16 deal on Phan- tom of the Opera, get student dis- counts, and just taste the good life for cheap. The good life wasn ' t all though, for campus life also exposed us to controversial issues such as the homeless, the plight of the world ' s rainforests, abortion, hunger, and racism. It wasn ' t easy to turn a deaf ear to all that lay at our door- step, and many Bruins chose to get involved with clubs, and strove to make their ideas heard amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Among the riches of L.A. , they found support for their causes and among the people they found com- passion. Bruins examined every- thing around them-exploring the outside world and the inner self. They went through countless men- tal changes-of-major and slightly fewer official ones, learned new languages, and took classes be- cause they sounded interesting and not because they fulfilled a require- ment. After all, this was college: Time to open your mind, try new things, and sing out loud in places other than the shower. Time to find x ' ourself and meet different people. Time to look at things with A Different Perspective. - ' - ' ■• Todd Cheney 14 Student Life