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

Page 25 text:

i y r y AaJ 6 Blue and Gold Week made it possible for Bruins to show are trying to encourage bonding among Bruins. Guarding off their school spirit before the annual football game the Bruin is carrying the torch of the UCLA versus USC against USC. The main events of the week included a car smash, parade, rally and bonfire. Blue and Gold Week is for everybody — students, faculty, alumni and staff, explained director of Blue and Gold Week, fourth-year theater student Manaf Mansure told the Daily Bruin, We ' re really diverse, but one thing that connects us all is (that) we are Bruins. The week vas organized to involve the entire campus and featured entries and talent acts from many groups on campus. The theme for the 2007 Blue and Gold Week was Celebrate Being a Bruin, which encompassed the five important qualities of being a Bruin — being spirited, active, social, giving and academic. Blue and Gold Week kicked off with the Beat ' SC Car Smash in which students took a sledgehammer to a car painted in cardinal and gold and the word Trojan scrawled acrossed its side. Other Above: Bruins show off tlieir scfiool priOe witli face paint and UCU gear. Blue and Gold Week was a chance for students to unite with Bruin pride l)efore UCLA faced their crosstown rival, USC In an annual rivalry game. Photographed by TungX. Dao. rivalry. Blue and Gold Week also had an event called Bruins ' Night Out, where UCLA students were able to take advantage of various Westwood restaurant discounts. This year, there was a new vay to celebrate being a Bruin at the Beat ' SC Parade. Different clubs, residence hall floors, and other student organizations were given the opportunity to reserve one of five Rooter Sections along the parade route to cheer on their fellow Bruins. They were not only given free UCLA gear, but also competed for the coveted Most Spirited Rooter Section award. As with every year, the parade included various performances and floats from different campus organizations and departments. The grand marshals w ere the 2007 UCLA women ' s water polo team, who helped UCLA achieve their 100th NCAA championship the previous year. The Southern California wildfires that had plagued the terrain around UCLA events, such as the Most Spirited Bruin Contest, Strongest made fans anxious as to whether the bonfire would be lit. In Bruin Contest, Get the Red Out blood drive and the Bruin the previous year, the bonfire was replaced with a confetti Bear Security Force were spread throughout the week. The Bruin Bear Security Force was a nightly campout in front of the Bruin statue to prevent USC students from vandalizing it. Second-year communication studies and political science student Natalie Knight, co-director of the Bruin Bear Security Force, said to the Daily Bruin, We display due to high fire danger. Luckily for students, weather conditions permitted the bonfire to take place as planned. The week concluded with the football game against USC at the L. A. Coliseum. Though the Bruins ultimately fell short, Blue and Gold Week helped the students intensify their spirit ■with numerous fun-filled activities. LDl AlKwe: Fifth-year computer science student Christopher Rose vimds up before taking a mallet to the Trojan wagon in the Beat ' SC Car Smash. The 2007 women ' s water polo team oversees the parade as the grand marshals. Bruin students march along the parade route to Wilson Plaza, where the Beat ' SC bonfire would take place. Blue and Gold week gave students a common venue to show their school pride In anticipation of the annual showdown against USC. Photographed by Howard Kao and Olga Nezhevenko.

Page 24 text:

the chilly night ait. Though the bonfire unable to be lit the previous year due to conditions, the 2007 bonfire went aheai (ilanned. Photographed by Kevin Iran. w Bruin

Page 26 text:

smell the There was an added emphasis on the annual battle for the Victory Bell between UCLA and USC on Dec. 1. Because of an unpredictable and competitive year in the Pac-10, it was statistically possible for both teams to reach the Rose Bowl with a victory. The added impetus was hardly needed to fuel the competitive flames between the two teams, but nonetheless added an extra sense of urgency to the highly anticipated match-up . The day began with the sun shining brightly over the Coliseum, illuminating a sea of cardinal and yellow, accompanied by defiant smatterings of blue and by Herumi Ann Baylon gold. Before the game, energy and optimism ran high as Bruins hoped for a repeat of the previous year ' s unexpected win. Taunts were thrown back and forth between tailgating parties and tension between the rival schools saturated the chilly air. Third-year business economics student Avani Oswal recalled walking around the stadium, taking in the blinding red and gold. It was like definitely stepping into enemy territory, she said. I was used to seeing all this UCLA gear and it was hard to take in so much red. It was almost hurtful to my eyes. Decked out in blue and gold. Bruin fans stood in the sX. . • ' A r WA ' i[tw ' r ' 1 i O 31 n j 11 Mhimb ' HH H 1 , .r - :: K.-= — rf r i %, l