Things We, As Bruins, Hold Dear
by Class of 66 on Jan 26, 2010 5:08 AM PST
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PrintBumped. GO BRUINS. -N
Per request, I'm re-purposing some comments I made in another thread.
When I put up my first "generation gap" post, I expressed my concern that we seemed miles apart because we don't have a sense of "shared values" -- a common understanding of what it means to be a Bruin -- to bind us together at times of respectful disagreement.
In this post, I'm going to try to start that dialogue by setting forth some of the values that I think bind many of the Geezers on this board.
My hope is that young and old will both comment and share the values that they think help define Bruindom.
1. The one word label "Coach" can be applied to but one man -- John Wooden.
All others, who coach our athletes should be called "Coach Howland", "Coach Neuheisel" (or CTS and lizard for those of you who cannot use the word "coach" in proximity to their names.) John Wooden is our unique treasure -- the only man for whose name the word Coach is synonymous. More on the other side.
2. It is imperative that we all know, respect and honor UCLA's traditions -- for it is these traditions that are the ties that bind us together.
I have written, extensively on BN, about my distress with the destruction of UCLA's signature yell -- the 8 Clap.
Traditions should not be be changed by sloth, convenience, or a sense that the new way is better. It is not the prerogative of one class of students to change those things that have been passed down to them for generations.
That is not to say that all things must stay static.
Want something new -- create it.
Afters years of living away, I returned to California and lived there from 1991 - 2002; during that entire time, I had season tickets to both the football and basketball games.
One of my great delights was to discover the new tradition at Pauley "Is this a basketball ....". I always made sure to be in my seat to participate.
There is room for the new. There is a need to respect the old.
3. Please, do not say “We have never been a football school” for we have been. Saying that, because your sense of history does not go back to the 50’s and 60’s does not make it so. And, it rankles those of us who were there when we were winning Rose Bowls in football and National Championships in basketball during the same year. One of the reasons us Geezers are so offended when people say "we are a basketball school" is that we believe they are needlessly narrowing their horizons. We wish for you what we had -- success on both fronts. Rick Neuheisel might have something o say about this:
Also, see BN posts on this topic here, here, here, here and here.
4. Please, do not use the words "gutty little Bruins" in a negative, facetious, or derogatory way.
These words pay honor to a group of Bruin players who though small, played with passion and heart. Under Coach Tommy Prothro, they overcame the odds of size and sportswriter expectations to beat a "more talented" and bigger sc team and then the #1 team in the country in the Rose Bowl.
The Gutty Little Bruins were people like defensive lineman Terry Donahue. They were people like Jim Colletto who played on both sides of the ball (and is also in the UCLA Baseball Hall of Fame.)
Perhaps, you will understand how we Geezers feel about the term Gutty Little Bruins if we compare that emotion to the way we all feel about our "Ben Ball Warriors" people like LRM, AA, and PAA -- guys who brought it every day, lunch pail guys who played us into greatness.
The term Gutty Little Bruins has great meaning to us. Read about the Apisa moment previously posted on BN:
Photo Source: My Favorite Bowls
I hope now that you know its history you will use it correctly.
5. Never step on the library seal.
Ok, so there are some of the things that I hold dear -- the things that help define me as a Bruin.
What are yours?
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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We can't be a basketball school
because we’re a football school now. Seriously though, great post ’66.
Formerly ryebreadraz
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jan 25, 2010 4:39 PM PST reply actions
Football is the sport that matters
Basketball is fun, exciting, etc. But football is the most important sport of all. Calling a school, especially UCLA, a “basketball school” is INSULTING. Duke is a basketball school. Duke is lame.
All D-1 schools that have hoop but no football at all (georgetown, gonzaga, etc.) are basketball schools. They are lame, too.
Thank you.
I loved that article
from the Times back in 2001 when Apisa went to Stiles’ restaurant. The great line was when Stiles threw up before the game and Prothro said “well, we know Stiles is ready to play today.”
Classic line.
Awesome post!
Thank you, ’66! Completely agree about the word “Coach”. Only applies to one great man.
GO BRUINS!!!
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
never step on the library seal?
ive never heard about that…
Yes, Never!
People would yank you away or really get in your face if you did.
sc people would come over and try to walk on it and shoving matches ensued.
sjh
That should be common sense
Every school I’ve ever gone to (high school, UCLA, law school), I’ve always seen people walk around the school seal on the ground.
You don’t walk on the emblem of your alma mater folks. Come on now kids, engage the common sense!
It's a great point.
When I was in school, I don’t remember anybody ever specifically saying not to step on the seal. And yet it always felt right to walk around it. I do remember others walking on it on their way to where ever. And I remember explaining to my then girlfriend that it seemed disrespectful to set foot on it.
I never knew it was an actual tradition. I love it. I love the idea that shoving matches should ensue should people try to tread on it.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Yes, very true
I graduated in 1965 and that was very true. No one walked on the seal – ever.
by Forever a Bruin on Jan 27, 2010 3:03 PM PST up reply actions
# 6 -- Winning (or even losing) with integrity...
Didn’t we all grow up with, “It isn’t whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game”? Coach always says he never talked about winning, just doing your best. Winning dirty is a key tenet across town, but not for Bruins.
As I’ve commented before, we had a major-sport coach (Harrick) win a national championship but get caught cheating and covering up, for which we fired him. That speaks volumes to what defines Bruindom (and certainly not Trojandumb).
# 7 -- Student-athletes...
Something else you don’t find across town.
Jackie Robinson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Kenny Washington, Troy Aikman
Not only athletes, but people we can be proud to say were Bruins.
"UCLA is a special place to call home"
#8 Amazing Campus
UCLA took my breath away, I was in such awe of how great the campus looked. When I first toured the campus everything was just perfect, so much was going on. There was no more doubt in my mind of where I was going to college.
"UCLA is a special place to call home"
The mindset I always thought was annoying ...
was the idea that a UCLA football season is successful as long as beat Southern Cal. I never really cared much for the idea that a 1-10 season is acceptable as long as that 1 win came against those guys. I think this is something Bob Toledo tried to change really hard by installing the mantra that UCLA should be competing for NCs. Unfortunately he didn’t work hard for it and under Dorrell we reverted back to the old axiom.
I think for the immediate future CRN will have us pointed towards first beating SC and getting to a great bowl game, then aim towards winning the Pac-10 and then eventually contending for that title. Once we have that title contending season, I hope CRN sticks with the mindset of we should always be competing for NCs, with the understanding that we will have rebuilding season (which should be lower than 7 win seasons) every now and then.
I don't completely agree
with that. I think that in a truly down year, a la last year, a win over $C would have salvaged that season, to a degree. However, in large part, you are correct. One win does not make for a good season, no matter what way you slice it; but were it to be over our rivals it would give a little sliver of redemption.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 25, 2010 7:13 PM PST up reply actions
In a 6 win season
A win over So. Cal would be a silver lining. However, once UCLA is done rebuilding over next two seasons and is reestablished, I hope we don’t have to deal with 6 win seasons (and if we have to they occur once or twice in a decade at most).
I agree with that
completely. All I’m saying is that should we ever have to live through a 1-10 season, getting that one over $C would at least brighten my day a little bit, despite the overall disappoint of the season.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 25, 2010 10:29 PM PST up reply actions
How about the 40's?
The UCLA team that rolled sc 14-7 on December 12, 1942 (the first UCLA football team to beat the trojans) and became the first Bruin team to play in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1943 is part of the tradition 66 is writing about.
According to pages 66-67 of Bruin starting lineman Buck Compton’s Book, “Call of Duty,” this was the way it was January 1, 1943: “Game day dawned early. No matter who you are, you always have buttterflies in your stomach before a big game. The nervousness abates after the first few plays, but it’s always there in the beginning. Herb [Wiener] and I headed to the locker rooms and suited up with our teammates. Coach gave us a few last words. Nothing compared to the moment we finally came out on the field. We exited the tunnel to the roar of a hundred thousand people thundering in the stands. We had played in big games before, but this was the first time UCLA had ever been to the Rose Bowl. The crowd cheered itself hoarse.”
In the middle of his senior year Compton, an ROTC cadet, went on active duty and ended up with the 101st Airborne in the Battle of the Bulge. As he was was dug in on the line outside Bastogne, on page 133 of his book, he describes December 23, 1944: “Two days before Christmas, I woke up and looked up from my foxhole. The sky seemed different than I’d seen it in a long time. Then it dawned on me, it wasn’t overcast. I grinned, [Sergeant] Joe Toye, a good friend, was hunkered down next to me. [¶] ‘Look at that,’ I whispered. ‘UCLA blue.’”
UCLA tradition goes back to 1919. So let’s not forget those brave players of the 40’s like Kenny Washington, Bob Waterfield Jackie Robinson, and Buck Compton.
Go Bruins!
+1 on Compton
Just watch the Band of Brothers episode “Breaking Point” to get an iota of an idea what this man and others went through in WWII. Great series for any of you who haven’t seen it. (it’s on HBO On Demand now if you subscribe)
Compton is still living today too.
History isn’t so distant really.
by littlebrother on Jan 25, 2010 8:29 PM PST up reply actions
HBO series
The Band of Brothers book and HBO series focus solely on Compton the UCLA baseball player (catcher). In his book, he mentions UCLA football as well as baseball.
And man he beat SC on December 12, 1942! I’m getting fired up thinking about it.
Go Bruins!
by peggysue69 on Jan 25, 2010 9:52 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
just made that connection
when I read this. Had no idea Buck Compton, who I knew from Band of Brothers (book/miniseries), was also a UCLA alumnus. Makes him that much cooler.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 25, 2010 10:30 PM PST up reply actions
I forgot Buck Compton went to UCLA
that is so effing awesome. He’s my favorite character, in the best tv series ever.
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 10:28 AM PST up reply actions
I read the book...
and was amazed by this company of soldiers. I served in the Marine Corps, and even so, I have so much respect for those boys. I especially liked Lt. Compton because he was a warrior-scholar…not to compare myself to a man of such great stature but I, myself, graduated from UCLA and love to hear about other UCLA alumni who chose to serve their country. I am proud to say that I am a Bruin and Marine…two of my most cherished accomplishments.
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." RONALD REAGAN, 1985
by Devildog_Bruin on Jan 26, 2010 7:08 PM PST up reply actions
I'm only in high school but I love
learning about the history of all bruin athletics. I have a couple vintage football posters I bought from the UCLA website that include some matchups with the football powers Pomona City College and Idaho : )
"I can't believe I ate the whole thing" Homer Simpson
I posted this in the other thread
but I’m going to post it here too.
Someone posted a few months ago that for freshman orientation, they do very little to talk about sports or the impact it can have on the community or its traditions. I know a lot of schools devote a section of their freshman orientation to talk about the school’s teams, what they mean to the university, how they unite people, how they can be a mechanism to grow support for the common good (at Illinois, you need to raise money for charity or volunteer your time to be in contention for the best seats to games), the tradition of the teams, etc.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Jan 25, 2010 6:43 PM PST reply actions
Fight song
When I went to games in the 60’s and 70’s there was a second fight song that I loved. I don’t know what it was called, but when I started attending games again in the 90’s it was gone and I missed it. I know it had words like dah, dah, dah,dah Pacific’s rolling waters, hail to thee…..sons and daughters…mighty bruin bear……..victory…. Sorry, I can’t remember the words, only the tune…the aging process. But I’d love it to be played again…for me it was a tradition.
Your referring to By The Old Pacific
Not sure if it was ever a fight song, but it’s definitely played a lot less today. Really the only time you hear it now is from the alumni band at their tent before every football game. I’ve only heard the student band play it a couple of times, and sadly I doubt that very many students today would realize its deep connection to UCLA. You should email Gordon Henderson (Band Director) about bringing it back though, I think it would be cool.
As Best a Geezer Can Do -- Not sure I'ts perfect but I think it's close
By the Old Pacific’s rolling waters
Loyally we stand your sons and daughters
Hail the emblem of our alma mater
Mighty Bruin Bear
California hail ye warriors marching to the fray
they go forth to win more laurels for our team today
Bruin Bear let loose your thunder
Victory’s flag unfold
Rend you enemies asunder
for the Blue and Gold
When I came back to CA in the early 90’s, this song was gone — another tradition missing.
sjh
That one needs to come back
I posted elsewhere that as fraternity pledges, we had to memorize all the fight songs. There was By the old Pacific’s rolling water (I remember the words slightly different than Steve remembers them), and Sons of Westwood (the one that includes the SLLLOOOOWWWWW eight clap (with no drawn out L), and at least one other.
Does everyone know the Alma Mater?
Steve, maybe we need to get all the old songs listed here. And for you band members, find out why By the old Pacific’s rolling water or waters has disappeared. It needs to get put back in your song book. And one other thing, please. There is a new song that gets played a lot after we score, but I don’t know the words. If you geezers-to-be would list the words for that one I would appreciate it.
Technically, By the Old Pacific is still in the flap
So the band could probably play it, though nobody would have it memorized.
Old Pacific
I think that it got ‘officially’ phased out when The Mighty Bruins was commissioned back in the 80s. When I was mascot in 99-00, the band still played it at football pre-game events for the alumni association, and the cheerleaders/dance team had routines for it. I think it’s a catchy song, but so few folks even know the words to ‘Sons’ and ‘Mighty’ (let alone the Alma Mater) that throwing another into the mix is probably too much to ask!
by JoeBruin9900 on Jan 26, 2010 11:24 AM PST up reply actions
Correct
We do have it, but I believe the way Gordon described its purpose was “for alumni requests.” I wouldn’t be able to play it from memory, and I doubt that any but the most flagrant overachievers could either.
Personally, I’m more of a fan of “Mighty” anyway…it’s more…energetic. I feel that fight songs have only one purpose: to keep the crowd energized during dead air (timeouts, changes in possession, etc), and I think “Mighty” gets the job done (when we get to play it).
By the Old Pacific
was in the band’s repertoire at least from 1990-1994, though I don’t think we played it more than a few times each season. It’s not on the band’s most recent CD, released within the last year or two.
Here’s a cool page from the UCLA History Project that has links to the audio and lyrics for “Strike Up the Band for UCLA”, “Sons of Westwood”, “We Are the Mighty Bruins”, “Rover”, and of course the alma mater…though it does not have “By the Old Pacific”. I was excited to find the audio to Rover, as it’s not on either of the last two band CDs, and wasn’t even on the tape (what’s that??) we recorded in my years there.
A few other traditions in the early 80's
skip the 6th Janss step
midnight soak in the Inverted Fountain after finals
Explore the Tunnels after the Inverted Fountain
Fatburger
Moms after home basketball games
Win the Rose Bowl
I was told about those
at my orientation in 1991.
I’m not sure what they tell the kids at orientation now. Probably talk about financial aid the whole time.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Jan 25, 2010 8:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Ahh, Mom's
That was back when I still was a drinker. (I still recommend being a non-drinker, but I doubt I will convince anyone.)
At one point, I had a brick that was formerly a part of Mom’s.
That midnight soak is new/old to me.
I never heard it – we were told at orientation you could only touch the water in the Inverted Fountain twice – when you first arrive at UCLA and when you graduate.
I always skipped the 6th Janss step. That one should never die out.
I heard the "touch the inverted fountain twice" version
As far as Janss steps goes, I was a south campus major so it didn’t apply to me that much, but I usually just used the raised ramp on the side of the steps to avoid the first dozen or so altogether. Didn’t help much, cause I still ended up staying extra.
Mom's and the 6 step are new to me.
Somebody please fill me in.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
The Janss brothers designed the landscape of UCLA
(this is the version I remember, it varies)
One brother wanted more of the staircases like Janss steps.
The other wanted the rolling hills.
To make sure the staircase wasn’t removed, one of the Janss brothers had himself buried underneath the sixth step. Do not step on this step or you’ll be doomed to one extra year.
And I admit I have rubbed the back paw of the Bear for luck.
yup
before midterms and finals, gotta rub that bear paw.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 26, 2010 1:51 AM PST up reply actions
The Janss Brothers...
They owned the land in Westwood and donated the land UCLA sits on to the state. I grew up in 1000 Oaks which the Janss Corp also developed.
Geezer in training.
Mom's was the greatest bar ever
It was on Broxton opposite Lum’s and later the Free Press Bookstore, about halfway up the block from the Janss Building. It’s a parking lot now. For years it was the Bruin place to go, first as a beer bar and later with a pretty good house band and dancing. Seems to me there was also a Mom’s in Mammoth. Back in the day, it was not uncommon to see Bobby Stiles or Jim Colletto or any of the Bruin heroes, though rarely basketball players, at Mom’s.
It closed as Westwood was becoming more of an entertainment center and less of the Village for UCLA students and faculty. Multiplexes replaced supermarkets, and discos displaced Mom’s.
Dillon's was on Gayley
Mom’s was razed for a parking lot, and the building next to it was rebuilt as a small office building.
The Gentrification of Westwood
changed the atmosphere of the college community.
There was a time when Westwood was truly a student haunt and not the playground of the rich.
There was grunge, dirt, and affordable shopping.
sjh
In fall 1990
I heard about the 6th step, and also the story about Bunche Hall having been lifted and turned 180 degrees so as not to reflect onto the 405. I know there were also a few other tall tales along the lines of the Bunche story, but I don’t remember them at the moment. Maybe they’ll hit me during the day.
I never heard about the sixth step
Janss Steps to me was the place where the pledge class had to go to count the bricks.
yup
they still give a tour to all the freshman and tell all these tales. It’s pretty fun, actually, they set it up saying that one thing is a lie, and then they go around and say all these things (rotating bunche, swimming pool on top of public policy, marathon in halls of old med school building, jim morrison’s locker, etc) and then at the end reveal that they are all myths.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 26, 2010 12:44 PM PST up reply actions
I heard these in my '93 orientation...
They also said that Knudsen Hall was sponsored by McDonalds and that is why there are arches at the top of Knudsen….also that the inverted fountain and Franz Hall was supposed to look like a toilet, because the architect was a USC grad…
Also in fall 1990
Same as what you’d mentioned. There were also mention of how there were mis-spelling of mosaic tiles on the physics building just west of the Inverted Fountain. Story was that they forgot to put in the 2 in the E=MC^2 equation, so they have to write it back in with a permanent marker. Look for it next time you are in campus.
by uclafan2 on Jan 26, 2010 8:57 AM PST via mobile up reply actions
I remember seeing all the engineering students with their transits measuring things.
Allegedly there was a building that wasn’t perfectly vertical or something like that, and the kids had to go find it. I couldn’t even spell engineering, so I have no knowledge of the veracity of that story.
How about the campus is sinking
in that sunken area in front of Schoenberg and probably over in that area in front of Perloff too?
Was told about the bridge there
as part of the tales in orientation in ‘90. We were told it was true, but I took it with a grain of salt as so much else was (playful) BS. Later found it was indeed true. Got online a second ago to confirm, and found this cool list of UCLA facts. It’s a bit dated, but I still found some things I didn’t know.
The bridge is true
First there’s the sign about wight limits on the bridge, and once my roommate and I found the door unlocked and actually went down there.
Geezer in training.
My Early-Mid-2000s Traditions
1. Mudsliding down the hill next to Janss Steps
2. Swimming in the Inverted Fountain after graduation (in robe)
3. Having fun with (read: mocking) that crazy Brother Jed “preacher” that came to campus regularly
4. U-Dog
5. Diddy Reese
6. Not getting tased in the library, bro.
Your no. 1
was started by yours truly and some other crazies during the el niño storms of 1992. I can’t believe it’s a tradition now! Unless others had done it before us.
We also swam in the IM field that year. Yes, you read that correctly.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Jan 25, 2010 9:03 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
My contemporaneous traditions also included...
1. Iceblocking down the hill next to Janss Steps the Friday night of finals week
2. Club Powell! (yup, I was/am a nerd).
3. Midnight Yell evolving into Undie Run
formerly bruinhoo
#3
whoops. both of those are shut down at this point. I’m an RA and have the joy of enforcing anti-Midnight Yell policy, as well as discouraging residents from participating in Undie Run due to police crack downs and UCLA officially having cancelled it.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 25, 2010 10:34 PM PST up reply actions
yep
Midnight yell ended right about when I got to Westwood. Undie run got started right around that time as the non-noisy alternative.
formerly bruinhoo
undie run non noisy...
yeah that worked out well, haha
I don't think Midnight Yell was ever sanctioned.
I remember RAs spreading the word that it was something you could get busted for. The whole point was to break the rules and vent some steam.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
The hubs was busted for midnight yell his first year
He had heard about it, but did not pay attention to the fact he could get in trouble for it. So at midnight he turns to his window, yells, and he is subsequently busted. He lived in Sunset too, so it was really easy to pinpoint the culprit.
I lived at 555 gayley
and to this day, it seems that whenever I meet a UCLA alum or current student, they either lived at 555 gayley or knew somebody that lived at 555 gayley.
I think this apartment complex is/was the only place that had a neon sign.
One thing I found out, by chance, was that if you plugged in your cable from the tv into the “cable tv” connection in the wall, it actually gave you the security video feed from the camera at the entrance to the building.
I shot bottle rockets at 555 gayley
we lived across the street (UCLA apartments), and those guys always threw obnoxious parties. We also threw eggs at it. I think that’s the building from which a couch on fire was thrown one year…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
I meant 555 Glenrock
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
by tasser10 on Jan 26, 2010 7:55 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Im going to have to agree
555 Gayley has to be better than 555 Glenrock
by lil eg not cs on Jan 26, 2010 4:15 PM PST up reply actions
Hmm ... the key hubs in our day
527 Midvale (that was insane)
403 Landfair (our second floor pretty much owned it entire building!)
555 Glenrock was the hub in my time.
it sits perfectly at the fork in the road where Levering and Glenrock meet. I brought a bag of M-80s one year to midnight yell at the Y and one of them rolled under a cop car and exploded there. You’ve never seen so many students scatter so quickly.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Midnight Yell/B-ball memory
It was finals week when Cameron Dollar pulled a Tyus Edney to beat Iowa State in the last seconds of their Sweet 16. I remember as we climbed out our Hedrick 2 South window onto the dining hall roof, we were screaming our heads off when I heard a random shout from a nearby window – “early midnight yell.” I thought that was hilarious.
Midnight yell...Mortal Kombat
In ‘93-’94 when the commercial for the video game Mortal Kombat had a lot of people yelling “mortal kombat” and during one lull of the midnight yell, somebody yelled out “mortal kombat” which everybody laughed and applauded….pretty funny
Midnight Yetll --- "Harry Met Sally" Edition
Yes, someone blasted this in Canyon Point (Sunset Village) for Midnight “Yell” in 1992.
Hilarious
I could just imagine how funny that must have been! I think everyone ran around yelling “Mortal Kombat.”
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." RONALD REAGAN, 1985
by Devildog_Bruin on Jan 26, 2010 6:59 PM PST up reply actions
The preacher got pretty owned by one of the professors (Scerri)
Was on youtube for a while and attained legendary status before it was taken down. Sadly, U-Dog doesn’t exist anymore. The real tragedy though will be if In-N-Out or Diddy Riese closes shop.
Hahahahah
I’ve hear from multiple girls in his classes that he is a straight up creepy sleaze.
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
Scerri that is.
but that video was awesome.
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
I wouldn't put it past him
Scerri certainly looked the part (of creepy sleeze). When he starts bringing people up to the front of the class to make them look stupid in front of everyone, that became one of those “so this is college” moments.
Re: The Crazy Preacher
I remember this student coming and standing next to the crazy preacher one day and he started to quote Dave Chapelle: “If you got hate in your heart, let it out… white power” The student had us all rolling on the ground making fun of the ignorant preacher. This was probably in 2003 or 2004
It was too easy
Remember the butt-buddy he brought, Angry Bob with his big “Jesus Hates Homosexuals” type signs?
There was nothing like some Panda Express, sitting on the steps in front of Kerckhoff, and watching those morons make fools of themselves.
by Bellerophon on Jan 29, 2010 12:30 AM PST up reply actions
A couple more from the late 60's.
Tony Auth’s great cartoon hero, Capt. 4-Q. The DB had a really lengthy story about Capt. 4-Q that was really brilliant (and wonderfully illustrated.)
There seem to be a lot more places to eat on campus now than there were then. We had the Coop, where basically the only thing on the menu was the burger basket (not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
There were lots of traditions that involved doing something in the Royce Hall Quad at high noon. Alas, my geezer brain has driven the notion of exactly what was traditionally done out of my head. (Maybe it was where something had to be done if you lost a bet.) Need some help on this.
One tradition that was supposed to have changed between my initial matriculation and my return (after taking a brief time out to be in the army (alas, the grades stunk my first two years)) was the reg line. When we switched to the quarter system, all was supposed to be well, but somehow the line turned out to be unbelievably long. It was an all-day affair, but pretty much it turned out to be a situation in which you became really good friends with anyone within 20 feet of you in line.
Things changed quite a bit. There was one IBM card in everyone’s reg packet that you would fill out with your class schedule. This card, which also had your name and address, was filed in this big tray-looking thing in Kerckhoff. So if you wanted to know where you should go hang out in order to accidentally bump into a particularly attractive girl, all you had to do is look up her schedule. There were some cards which were very heavily finger-marked on top, and those were either for Gary Beban or Gail Goodrich or the really good looking females of the time. Something tells me that the privacy of the students is a little more carefully guarded nowadays.
everything
is done online now. No more registration lines, like my parents tell me stories about. Just log in, put in the class ID number, and boom, in the class. Does make things a little impersonal, though.
by Captain Leebeard on Jan 25, 2010 10:37 PM PST up reply actions
LOL --
On Sunday, I was trying to explain “running for classes” to my daughter who will enter college next year. She just couldn’t grasp the idea that we would run back and forth and stand in lines instead of sitting in front of a screen and pushing buttons.
Wait to I tell her about carbon paper that relic of my school years. And mimeograph machines. And, the fact that we didn’t have yellow markers or markers of any kinds — or the Internet upon which to do research we actually had things made out of paper with hard covers called books.
But, we did have cheeseburger baskets in the Coop — and they were hearty.
sjh
We used to "shop" for classes
By our third year we had a crew who would go around and “scout” various classes in North Campus. We always wanted to make sure that we could take at least one class which was sufficiently stocked with talent if you guys know what I mean. It also led me to realization by my second year, South Campus was not for me. I wouldn’t have survived beyond second year in that desert.
That was the beauty of the open-to-all card file that had addresses and class schedules
Alas, that never seemed to work for me, but it was available.
And running for classes – forgot that phrase. I recall in 1970, when the student unrest was such that the school was called the “Multiversity,” that one anti-establishment prof, announced that he didn’t believe in grading and that sort of artificial whatever it was, so he was going to give all who registered in his class an A. I hopped in another long line to petition to add his class (even though I had another class at exactly the same time). That cost me $5.00 bucks (2 and a half hours work as an usher at Pauley). Then the next day, the Grand Pooh-Bah of the department said that this prof would no longer be teaching the class, and that it would be graded and there would be papers and books and all that stuff designed to keep the proletariat in poverty. So I hopped in another long line and petitioned to drop the class, which cost me another $5.00. And that was an expensive way to learn the lesson that there really are no free grades.
That's so crazy!
I loved being able to sing up from my couch, while watching SportsCenter, and drinking a Coors Light…
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 11:05 AM PST up reply actions
You bastard
you never told me about this! You left me to rot in Plant Physiology!
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
ROFL
Oh comeon … you didn’t need me to have that intel! Just few weeks in Professor’s Luceigh’s Chem 132A and Physics 6A and I knew all I needed to know about South Campus.
I was fooled
because I got As in those classes. Dumb dumb dumb.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Prolly my only sliver of complaint against UCLA
More like Murphy Hall. Didn’t let me drop those classes by 6th week when I had all but decided to shift over to the Glorious North. Oh well. It all worked out.
I was incredible
how thoroughly unhelpful and downright sadistic Murphy Hall could be.
I signed up for a class that had a policy that said if you didn’t show up on the first day, they would drop you immediately. I never showed up and assumed I got dropped. Then I called my favorite friend URSA (remember her? gogogo Bruins!) to get my grades at the end of the quarter, only to find out they gave me an F! I had to petition repeatedly to get it removed. Most colleges try to help you get into grad school. At UCLA it often seemed like they were trying to weed you out, at least administratively.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Ugh! My Murphy Hall Story
Tasser, you brought back a nightmare memory.
During the Vietnam war, in order to maintain our student deferments, we had to be enrolled, full time, in school AND UCLA had to send our draft boards notices that we were.
In my senior year, I was reclassified 1A — which meant I was immediately subject to the draft and not entitled to my student deferment. I called my board and found that UCLA had not sent in the form.
So, I went to Murphy and asked what had happened. I got a very unsympathetic response: “There are just too many of you to send the form in for all of you — so we just send some of them in.”
Before there was a formal draft lottery, Murphy had created its own.
That is one reason I chose to go to a private law school — they took care of it properly.
sjh
My Murphy Hall WIN Story
In the fall quarter of my first year, I got a bill from UCLA that my tuition wasn’t fully paid yet. I had financial aid (thanks Cal Grant A and Pell Grant) and a loan that covered everything. I started to freak out because I nor my parents had the money to cover the balance.
Luckily, I found out that I had to go to Murphy to pick up my financial aid check (no direct deposit at this time ’93), and walk down the hall, from the financial aid office, to pay the remainder of my tuition. Talk about red tape…
Anyways, I was supposed to get around $500 bucks and endorse the check over to UCLA, but instead I got 2-$500 checks and pocketed the other one. The financial aid office never figured it out…
Doesn't surprise me
Not allowing me drop those couple classes were my only sore points with those guys. Otherwise, they were generally OK.
Midnight Yell
in the apartments was something back in the late 90s. We went from burning couches to water balloon fights during that time. The Uni Police and FD did appreciate us burning couches at the Y where Glenrock and Levering meet up. I hear it’s pretty tame now.
Swimming and drinking at the inverted fountain on the last day of school. Smoking shit on Kerchoff’s lawn on April 20th in broad daylight in front of cops. Didi Riese every night around 10:00. Buck Fitty, although it doesn’t cost a dollar Fifty anymore. I loved eating breakfast at Headlines every Sunday morning. It was a great way to fight a hangover and the salsa has this Mexican’s seal of approval.
I only ever performed one card stunt while at UCLA, and always wish they would do them more often. As I seem to remember, it was pretty common for schools to do this, but UCLA did it either best or did it most recently.
It was common in my time to respond to Trojans who proudly proclaimed they were about to beat us in football with a "That’s what you said last year! And the year before that. and the year before that. and the year before that . . . . it never got old.
I never explored the tunnels although I knew where I could find an entrance. I went back later just to do it, now that they couldn’t kick me out, and the entrance had been sealed.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Best response to a trojan card stunt
We were playing sc at that smelly dump where sc still plays football—can’t remember what they call that monument to urban blight. Also, can’t remember what year it was—could have been as late as 72.
Anyway, the trojans put up cards which read:
WHY WOULD
ANYBODY
Then the cards changed to:
GO TO
UCLA
To which the UCLA head cheer leader, without missing a beat, yells into the microphone, “Cause we got brains!”
by peggysue69 on Jan 25, 2010 10:34 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Headlines was great.
I thought I had heard that Buck Fitty had disappeared, though I don’t live there to confirm. Diddy Reese was wonderful. I was hooked on the pizza at Lamonica’s, and of course got all my (used) CD’s at Penny Lane next door.
The card show looked to me like it was starting to unravel in the early 90’s. Rally Committee did a great job of organizing them, but student buy-in seemed to be wavering.
I stopped going to Headlines...
When LA county required restaurants to post their letter grade for cleanliness and overall compliance with health codes.
Headlines first grade was a “C” which I didn’t notice until after I ate there.
Buck Fitty
Is still there, but under another name now. Still, students go there for their late night (drunken) snackage.
UCLA History Project
Found this link to Bruin Songs with words and music awhile ago: http://www.uclahistoryproject.ucla.edu/Songs/
Opportunity to contribute: http://www.uclahistoryproject.ucla.edu/BruinStories/HelpUs.asp
I loved having Frisbee
lead the chant
“Is this a football?”
Yes, that’s a football!"
“Is this a field?”
…and so on, for football and basketball.
I had a few chances to throw an actual frisbee
around with “Frisbee” himself in south campus. Learned how to skip a frisbee because of him and remember one miracle skip between the wheels of a moving bicycle, though it wasn’t on purpose.
Is Larry--Frisbee--still at all the games?
Funny, I first heard that cheer long before he picked it up.
It was at a volleyball match up at Pepperdine and their water polo guys were doing it.
Don’t know if they invented it, though.
If this is the same guy
then Frisbee’s son did the cheer at one of the games this year. For being his son he certainly didn’t do it right
by lil eg not cs on Jan 26, 2010 5:36 PM PST up reply actions
Student Activism
While at UCLA, I was profoundly influenced by:
1. The Civil Rights Movement: As I’ve written before, UCLA sent bus loads of students to the South to work on things like integration and voter registration. I tried to go but was too young. IIRC — we sent more kids than any other university.
2. The Anti-War Movement: This was building just as I was leaving school. ROTC was mandatory for all male students at my time — we were a land grant school. With those commissions and the draft, UCLA student awareness of the war grew as our friends served and died.
3. The Free Speech Movement: Although Berkeley, with Mario Savio, was the main staging ground, the movement spread to UCLA. The result? Students, today, have far more say and play a far more important role in the academy than we did.
In practical terms, these movements gave us a sense of involvement and inspiration. We took risks and we changed the world.
I often think that those adjuncts to my formal education had as much to do with shaping me as my classroom work.
No challenge seems too great. There is strength in numbers. It is not all that hard to speak truth to power.
As a parent, I worry that my daughter does not have a sense that one can challenge evil and win. She knows a lot more stuff than I do — but has yet to build that inner sense that comes from winning “impossible” battles.
sjh
Let's rec this up.
This is a great thread. I’m really enjoying reading everyone’s thoughts and memories.
What about the Fox Inn?
Not sure it was tradition but it was a remarkable event for anyone who experienced it.
Absolutely
I know where you are going!
Drinking a liter of beer on your head. Amazing
by Bruin Dad and Grad on Jan 26, 2010 8:50 AM PST up reply actions
I was
actually kinda bummed when The Fox showed up on late night TV. My reaction was “hey, those are MY college memories”.
A mini rant about Maloney's/O'Haras
It seems like O’Haras has replaced Mom’s as THEE off campus watering hole. I for one always enjoyed the stained glass representation of Royce Campus that overlooks the double doors facing Gayley. Great place to unwind or catch a game at a bar surrounded by Bruins.
HOWEVER, I always felt that all the old photos of classic movie stars like Clark Gable and Greta Garbo could and should be replaced with photos of legendary Bruins. I think St. Patrick (Cowan) should have a niche to himself with lighted portrait. If it were in my power, I would turn that place into a non-official shrine to UCLA history.
SECOND, I don’t know if this is still the case, but years ago, I went in there one early Saturday morning, I think to catch an away game on those giant screens, and I found a Wisconsin Alumni Club there watching their game. I then went on to learn Miami had an Alumni Club meeting there pretty regularly as well. Now, my first instinct was to point the fingers at Condoms for organizing that; but in the end it doesn’t matter who thought it up. Whoever runs the bar should have said “NO” right off the bat.
Rant over.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Royce Hall not Royce Campus
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
The Things I Held Dear from 2003-2007
1. Getting into the Puzzles line by 1:45 AM after a night of partying to ensure the night ended perfectly
2. Getting to say that I went Tunneling in the labyrinth that is the underground of UCLA
3. Being in Oakland to witness the Gonzaga miracle
4. Being a student during the resurgence of UCLA basketball (the first two Final Fours)
5. Night Powell
6. Having 13-9 occur during my senior year, being maced in the face, and riding a bus back to Westwood with the streets lined with people cheering as we tapped the side of the bus
7. Treehouse, Loveboat, Horseshoe, 424
8. Participating in 12 Undie Runs as a student (never missed one)!
9. Buck Fiddy’s after a night at Maloney’s or the apartmens and watching the sh*tshow of a line and fights breaking out to serve as my amusement
10. Hedrick 7 South, 2003-2004: where I met some of closest friends that I will have for life
And yet, there are so many other things that I held dear, yet cannot think of right now…
GO BRUINS!
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
Good timing for 13-9
Having 13-9 happen your senior year must have been nice. One of the great bitter disappointments of my college career came my senior year when we dropped our first loss to SUC after posting eight straight.
I had bad and good timing
being there ‘90-’94. Had I gone on the five-year plan, I would have been in the band in Seattle watching Ed and crew win #11. Instead, I got to go to Oklahoma City for the tournament my senior year, see Tulsa wipe us out in the first game, and get back to campus 41 hours later.
On the other hand, my senior year was the $C game at the Mausoleum with the Rose Bowl on the line for both teams, with Marvin Goodwin’s interception clinching the win for us. I still watch that game any time FSN shows it.
91-96
Now those were epic years. :-)
5-0, Pac-10 championship in Football, 3 Pac-10 Championship in Hoops and of course number 11 and of course all those amazing athletes including Ed, Tyus, Cade, JJ, Maddox, Edwards, McLean, Murray on and on. Incredible time.
I feel like I had pretty good timing, 05-09
right?
Made it for the Nat Champ vs. Florida my freshman year, 13-9, 100 national championships, Kevin Love, welcoming CRN, 3 final fours.
Then the year after I leave, the bball team collapses.
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 10:52 AM PST up reply actions
Earning the Rose Bowl bid
was a priceless memory. Being in the Rose Parade was a blast. The game itself sucked, though. That’s why I was amazed to see O’Hara’s doing business with Wisconsin grads.
Me too.
I watched Number 11 in second grade. Distinct memory of Toby Bailey reverse dunking it when we knew we had it in the bag…
by inhowlandwetrust on Jan 26, 2010 11:25 AM PST up reply actions
Just think Nestor
what 4-5 years like that do to you as a Bruin fan.
Great in hoops AND football. No wonder our standards are so much higher than a lot of recent students’.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Lucky lucky.
I get there in 99, we promptly start our losing streak to SC.
In 2001 we were 6-0 and then Toledo makes his toilet bowl comment, and we promptly go on a four game losing streak and we wind up turning down the Humanitarian Bowl. Of course that SUV situation with DeShaun didn’t help.
And let’s not bring up the lizard. I still love “LavinRuinedCollege” as a username – it’s so true.
Excellent illustration of the generation gap
I have never heard of some of those things. Would you expand please? And when you don’t understand why some of the geezers bring up things, pause to wipe a tear, then continue, ask us. There is not a geezer in the BN who would pass a chance to tell a story.
And one other water hole – Nite School. (That was actually before I was 21 and I never went there as a student.)
Some explanation for you 71...
1) Puzzles was the fast-food dorm eatery located in Sproul Turnaround which served all the greasy burgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, smoothies, pizzas and sodas that drunk student bodies would salivate over after a night of imbibing. Students would run up from the apartments at approximately 1:35 to ensure that they could get in line in time to be served. Many a night of witnessing and partaking in drunken exchanges of all sorts happened while waiting in line.
5) Night Powell is that Powell Library was open 24 hours a day after third week. After I moved out of the dorms, it was the only place where I could really study and get work done, albeit with all of the distractions that they had there too. Being able to take a nap on the couches, rent a laptop, and the fact that some people made it a place “to be seen” made it something to be thankful for.
7) These were all the unofficial names of apartment complexes that could be wandered upon, especially by underclassmen, for parties, which almost were always golden for a night of revelry. Treehouse is on Strathmore across from the Lambda Chi house and next to the church. Loveboat is on Veteran in I believe the 500 block. It looks like a cruise ship with large glass awning overheads. Horseshoe is on the 500 block of Kelton, such named because of the courtyard which is shaped like a horseshoe. And 424, the sight of many freshman memories, is 424 Landfair, although it is not known any longer as a party complex.
Hope that helps!
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
Puzzles
In its first year (91-92) it was the makeshift cafeteria for Sunset Village before Griffin (which later became Covalle I think) opened in 92-93.
Puzzles was also the place I met Mrs. N in my first week of freshman year. We still try to stop by Sunset whenever we visit UCLA during our yearly trips back home.
Also, Puzzles after 12am was the "4th" meal
If you weren’t on premier, you had to wait until after 12am to go to Puzzles and swipe for snacks since that was after the “dinner” period and before the “breakfast” period.
The lines were ridiculous around 12am-12:30am usually.
So good and bad
I would kill for one of those toasted Puzzles chili cheese bowls right now. Or their tacos.
by JoeBruin9900 on Jan 26, 2010 11:21 AM PST up reply actions
Puzzles is closed now
New restaurant opening up in like a week in its place, called Cafe 1919, with a bunch of Italian food. I’ll let you know what I think.
I lived at 555 gayley...
and to this day, it seems that whenever I meet a UCLA alum or current student, they either lived at 555 gayley or knew somebody that lived at 555 gayley.
I think this apartment complex is/was the only place that had a neon sign.
One thing I found out, by chance, was that if you plugged in your cable from the tv into the “cable tv” connection in the wall, it actually gave you the security video feed from the camera at the entrance to the building.
555 Glenrock?
Are you sure you don’t mean 555 Glenrock? Because to my knowledge, it has a neon red sign that still shines…
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
You're right...
I don’t know why I said 555 gayley…I know the street started with a “G”….I always just looked for the neon sign when coming back from a night of partying in westwood…
A few comments
Sorry about the bad post above.
The “Is this a basketball…” cheer was going on when I was there in the early 70’s so is not that new. It is called the “Frisbee” cheer after Frisbee who always wore a hard hat.
Tommy’s after the games at the Colisieum.
The “Signs” that lead the cheers to jeer opposing players as they are introduced: “Who’s he?”, “So What?” “Go Home”. And the one sign that has “Digger is a Wimp” on the back. The signs have been passed down since I was there. And one of my proudest moments is watching my son lead the Frisbee cheer and holding the signs!
by Bruin Dad and Grad on Jan 26, 2010 8:54 AM PST reply actions
A forgotten tradition
When I was there in the 70s the cheer was “Big Mac” as we got closer to 100 points. Free Big Macs for everyone attending the game (or at least students).
Got the cheer going for the Chipolte burrito this year but I am not sure if it really happens any longer. And with CBH’s style we dont score that many points that often (and no I am not complaining…just explaining).
by Bruin Dad and Grad on Jan 26, 2010 8:57 AM PST reply actions
Any way we can
get a hold of the Daily Bruin to maybe do a write up? that would be awesomee
It would be interesting
to see when all these traditions started and when the ones that have died off met their demise. I remember reading an article on the origin of the Undie Run once and thinking to myself that they might have gotten it wrong.
This site pulls an article from 2001
http://ucla.wetpaint.com/page/Articles
The new Daily Bruin website doesn’t have archives available.
Things I Hold Dear
66 touched on many of the things I love, so I’ll go through some of my student memories and things I have carried with me through the years. These are in no particular order:
1. Sproul 6 South introduced me to my new life, my biggest crush ever and Mr. BB
2. Beating u$c* in 1996 after being down by 17 with 6 minutes to go
3. Beating Iowa State in the 1997 tournament
4. Meeting Coach Wooden my sophomore year
5. Working in the Morgan Center
6. My sorority sisters
7. Beating u$c* in 1998
But the best part is that as much as I loved UCLA when I was student, I think I love it even more now. I always feel like I’m home whenever I’m on campus and I can’t wait to take Jonathan there in March, and then eventually to football and basketball games.
Awww. Sproul Six South
Spent my last year at UCLA there in 00/01. Lots of happy memories (as well as a ton of happy memories from the first three years spent on Sproul 4 North and South. Good ol’ Sproul Hall!)
by JoeBruin9900 on Jan 26, 2010 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
You're a 6 Souther?!?
Lived there Senior Year (yes, BNers, a 4-year dormer, sue me) from fall ’93-Spring ’94. Actually, also worked summer conference season and got to live there Summer ’93 AND Summer ’94.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
I was Sproul 6-S, too
for 3 years starting in ’86, before all you kiddos. Looking east every morning over Drake and the IM field at the Quad was beautiful. My sophomore year, I lived in 666. I was a big Iron Maiden fan – it was cool.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
I was the RA on Sproul Six South last year
Small world.
RA and Orientation
So this thread has definitely brought a smile to my face.
I’m currently a fourth year student, both a Resident Assistant and an Orientation Counselor, so hearing all these stories and people remembering it… it’s great to hear. Passing on all those great stories to new students and impacting their lives… that’s what it’s about. At Orientation, we do make a mention of the athletics and the tradition here at UCLA, and, time-permitting, at the end of our tour many of us counselors like to take our students to the Morgan center to bask in the glory of UCLA’s trophies and banners, to allow them to soak in the tradition, or we like to wrap up our tours in the great Pauley Pavilion, and tell them our grand traditions as well. We do our part, it’s up to the students afterward to take what we’ve given them and go with it.
As an RA, we’re not to promote anything that is without our job sphere, but I personally screen all games that I don’t have tickets to in my room and invite my residents over. Many of us on campus do our part, some students just don’t come to this campus to appreciate this tradition, which is a shame.
On the note of the long L in the 8 Clap, none of us knew that it was just a simple “L!” At Orientation, we teach the incoming students the 8 Clap with the long L. Now that I know, I’ll be sure to bring up that point this summer, and bring back the traditional, short L. If my colleagues will listen to me, that is…
Thank you.
And, please teach them that the yell is SLOW. it does not escalate into a speedy rush through the letters. SLOW and steady.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Jan 26, 2010 10:42 AM PST up reply actions
IIRC
When the band did our recordings for a tape (hey, this was the early ’90s!), I believe we did a short L for the 8 clap in the middle of Sons of Westwood, even though it was already standard practice to do LLLLLLL in the stands. The CD from last year has the long L – I just played it on my iPod to make sure.
O-Staff
How could I forget O-Staff as one of the things I held dear?!?
Aces, I was a member of O-Staff from 2005-2007, and I made it a point to brag about UCLA’s athletic accomplishments hand in hand with our academic accomplishments.
Hope you have enjoyed O-Staff as much as I did. It was certainly a big part of my UCLA experience, and definitely instilled the confidence and experience I have today in being successful in the professional world.
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
O Staff
Definitely the best summer of my life. Planning on coming back again this summer. Should I deliver a message to Roxanne for you?
No message needed...
Haha, thanks Aces, but not needed. Still talk to all the fulls from time to time on AIM (which God, must itself be antiquated now)
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
The Orientation Tour...
…complete with all of its amazingly ‘true’ stories is a wonderful UCLA tradition. I remember laughing my head off when one of the amazing ‘true’ facts (about the ‘South Campus Beautification Project’) actually made it into the LA Times back in the late 1990s.
by JoeBruin9900 on Jan 26, 2010 11:34 AM PST up reply actions
Things I hold dear
1. Every single game at Pauley. I think I only ever saw one loss there (1968-69) as a student.
2. The Tommy’s run with a record 75 burgers brought back to the dorm. My friend’s car stank for a month.
3. Lifelong friends I met at Weyburn Hall, Fall ‘67 – Summer ’69 (1st off-campus dorm; now something else).
4. Returning to campus last May after a 12-year absence — an awesome and hair-raising experience.
5. Knowing that I attended one of the world’s great universities — a place that has an actual aura.
6. Late night slices at the Pizza Palace and sandwiches at Tiny Naylor’s.
7. Seeing Yellow Submarine stoned at Royce with hundreds of fellow Bruins in a similar state.
7. Like Bruinbabe, I can love UCLA more today than I did 40+ years ago.
Weyburn Hall?
That was before my time, I guess. I’ve never even heard of it. A brief Google shows this page as a registration-only site for Weyburn Hall residents, with a tiny picture at the top, but doesn’t tell much more to us non-Weyburnites.
http://www.garbell.com/weyburn.html
That site also has a picture (postcard) of Wilshire at Midvale/Gayley, circa 1964. I’m assuming this is looking eastward down Wilshire.
http://www.garbell.com/Westwood1962Linde.jpg
I’m trying to figure out where Weyburn Hall was. The only guess I can find from current structures, using the satellite view of Google Maps to augment my memory as I haven’t been there for too long, is the building that is now a retirement home at Weyburn and Tiverton. Was this it, or was it somewhere else and since demolished? Now you’ve got me wondering…
Weyburn Hall
It was right next to Bullocks, which isn’t there anymore either. IIRC, the former Bullock’s site is now a supermarket. Weyburn was only open as an off-campus residence hall from 1967 through 1970. It then became a senior citizen residence called Westwood Horizons. I’m not sure what it is now, but the building is still there. I remember we walked up the street that the dorm was on, through the med center and into South Campus. A lot changes in 40 years, friends.
Bullock's site
now has a Ralph’s and Best Buy, using the shell of the Bullock’s building with quite a bit of remodeling. The Weyburn Hall building is still Westwood Horizons.
Murphy Sculpture Garden in the spring
There was that one day, usually at the end of winter qtr/start of spring qtr, when the trees in the garden would bloom and the entire place would be just a gigantic explosion of purple. It always blew my mind, transforming what was already pretty much my favorite place on campus into something otherworldly. So many great lazy lunches and afternoon naps in that garden…
Coach Toledo's Successor
It’s a term many on BN use to refer to the person who came between Bob Toledo and Rick Neuheisel. Using “Coach” and “Karl Dorrell” in the same sentence was seen as illogical given the calls that were made/not made during those years.
Acronyms
Off topic from the main post, but relevant given the question, I have been thinking for a long time that it might help the more casual vistors to the site if there was an acronym glossary – maybe a link next to the schedule/roster/stats links on that main bar? Some of the abbreviations that get used are pretty easy to understand in context, like players names, but some get a little confusing for folks who are less familiar with the site, like CTS or the various AA and PAA and AA2 and other similar ones. If anything, I suspect it could end up a pretty amusing list of Bruin-related abbreviations.
by JoeBruin9900 on Jan 26, 2010 12:40 PM PST up reply actions
Or
Communications Technology Services, if you see those vans on campus
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 26, 2010 6:13 PM PST up reply actions
Is
Stan’s Corner Donuts still there, or long gone?
Stan's
Tried and true, one of the few Westwood businesses to remain during all of the change.
Still delicious!
"I'm Michael Fey. I choose you." ~overheard at a party while he was pointing to a girl like a PokeMon
While living at the dorms
we’d go a for a run at Drake, then someone with a car would head to Stan’s for a bag of donuts for $1 right before closing. No idea where that “Freshman 15” came from…;-)
Does anyone remember....
The Units? Married student housing at Gayley and Strathmore. My parents were going to school and we lived there from 1949-1952.
They were there when I went to UCLA -- 62-66
Seems like it would be a great place to grow up. Was it?
sjh
Yes it was!
Though I was quite young when we lived there, I still remember it well. We remain good friends to this day with 2 of the families that lived there. Besides being in such a beautiful environment, what could be better than living with Bruins and only Bruins?!!
That was the bungalows, wasn't it?
I used to drive to Veteran, park near the cemetary, get my bike off the bike rack my dad built (there were no bike racks for cars then) and drive across Strathmore to the campus. And I would schlep through the bungalows, one of which was (I think) the archeology department.
No, not bungalows really.
They were two story wooden buildings with porches – IIRC, 4 apartments in each building. There were several “Units”. Ours was simply called Unit 18. They were set back from the street. Looking out from the building (west), you could not see Gayley – there was a hill. We used to have a lot of fun rolling down that hill! I have some pictures of birthday parties and other activities – always fun to look at and remember my early childhood there.
My memory sees them as either light brown or gray.
Older structures.
A part of our “charm” lost.
Also lost Parking Lot 7 where all the dorms on the hill are.
sjh
Yes, me too.
The only pictures I have are in black and white – but it looks to be one or the other. Not sure when they were built, but as I said – we lived there starting in 1949. They were not brand new then, but were in good shape. A piece of Americana to be sure. They were torn down to make way for the high rise dorms.
Another Thing I Hold Dear: No Tuition
In my day, school was free — and so was health care.
We bought $75 Activity Cards that gave us admission to all sporting events — including football and basketball.
It was an egalitarian move that made UCLA available to all.
In my last years, there was talk of imposing tuition. And, because we were “activist students” we demonstrated against it.
Somewhere, I have an “Our Position No Tuition” button.
sjh
This thread is supposed to be about tradition
not rubbing it in :)
Sad to think that UCLA is essentially a private school now.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
It wasn't totally free
There was an “Incidental Fee” of $121.80 a semester. But bear in mind that summer jobs back then (or at least the ones that I got) only paid minumum wage and that was $1.25 an hour. My best job was ushering at Pauley (after I got back from the army) for a cool $2.00 an hour. (Think about it – getting paid to watch Coach’s teams. Those were the “Between Years” of Wicks, Rowe and Patterson, with a skinny redheaded kid as the center of the freshman team. If the Athletic Department had really given it any thought, they could have had a lot of kids paying them to be ushers.)
Yeah, hawkin' cokes at Pauley in the early 80s
of course those were the Larry Farmer years – not exactly great b-ball days, but into the games free without waiting in lines and getting paid a few bucks in the process.
Also Sepi’s. Getting into Powell through the back doors, the par Course run up Sunset Hill and then over to the Rec Center. Kegger parties in Dykstra’s “Dungeon” Pickup football games on the big Dykstra lawn, hobbling up Bruin walk on crutches during midterms, Fall 1980, the Bombshelter, taking Political Theory from a Freudian-Marxist (Victor Wolfenstein – who is STILL there last time I checked), taking history classes from the former UCSD Chancellor John Galbraith, taking my (future) wife to the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade on her 21st birthday, movies in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, Walking over to my job on campus at 6:30 am and nearly running into Terry Donahue getting into work, the tennis Courts South of UCPD, that sh*tty little weight room on the first floor of Mac-B, that Professor from the School of Public Health who kept fighting against the Coop’s liquor license, Midnight at Kerckhoff Coffee House, Unicamp Summers, I got even more . . .
The Mad Bruin
Coop's liquor license
IIRC, it wasn’t just the prof from Public Health; ASLUCA applied for the wrong license. The didn’t apply for an on premiss license but an off site license, pretty much killed the process.
Geezer in training.
I remember that, too
When I started at UCLA the tuition was $75 and that included all the FB and BB games. When I graduated four years later the tuition was then $104 and I thought that was terrible. Also parking in lot 11 was fifty cents a day and I now pay about $7 when we go to UCLA for softball games. I also remember the corral outside the mens’ gym where our men athletes ate and talked. Fun times!
by Forever a Bruin on Jan 31, 2010 11:59 PM PST up reply actions
Mardi Gras with my first college girlfriend and
the 1976 Rose Bowl win over Woody Hayes’ undefeated Buckeyes are my best UCLA memories.
What I hold dear
is passing our traditions to my daughter. There’s nothing cuter than your six year old doing her first 8-clap! Great post. I get misty just looking at Coach. A national treasure…
Bowling Alley in the Coop...
I was told that the Coop used to have a bowling alley. I got there in ’93 and it was already gone. Anybody here get to bowl there? How many lanes were there?
There was a bowling alley in the coop and a pool hall.
Not a lot of lanes, but it was a cool spot.
Also, round the day bridge games in the coop.
sjh
The 10 NCAA Basketball Championship Trophies were in a glass case outside the bowling alley.
by Chicago Bruin on Jan 26, 2010 6:42 PM PST up reply actions
After my first day of classes ended...
I went to the Morgan Center to see all the trophies, and at this time I didn’t know that Beban had won the Heisman. I remember going to the back of the Morgan Center (before the upgrade to what it is now) and I saw the Heisman trophy there. It was awesome to see it there….It was just out in the open, not behind any sort of display case. I briefly touched it and left soon thereafter so that I wouldn’t get in trouble…
I seem to remember
it was maybe 8-10 lanes, but I could be a little off. I remember it being replaced either my freshman or sophomore years, so sometime between fall ‘90 and spring ’92. It was where there is now a Jamba Juice and a Taco Bell. (Wow, I didn’t know that.)
http://www.asucla.ucla.edu/studentunion/su_map_ack_a.asp
In the early 90’s, there was also a coin-op video game arcade along that side of the hallway – I think it was there before the alley disappeared, but it may have replaced it. Anyway, I spent many an hour playing Blockout and Super Mario Bros. there. Ahh, those were the days.
It was there my freshman year
But was gone by sophomore year (92). We went there once … incidentally after a basketball game to hang out our freshman year (but can’t remember how many lanes).
Loved this post
As far as I remember, as of 2008, my last year at UCLA the midnight yell was banned on campus but everyone off campus kept it going…I know I used to participate all the time.
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem." RONALD REAGAN, 1985
my list 94-98
1. 95 championship and the craziness afterwards….including the flipping of the 102.7 KIIS van in westwood
2. there was something i remember them telling us about the lights in the trees and squirrels? not sure on the details now…:p
3. TOWELL (temporary powell) the big yellow tent at the base of JANSS steps that acted as the library while powell was undergoing seismic retrofitting…later housed bearwear while ackerman was under construction
4. never losing to SUC in football
5. they told us midnight yell wasbanned in the dorms b/c someone had been assulted in a previous year and they couldn’t hear the student screaming b/c of the midnight yell…..
6. URSA…..and sitting by the phone waiting for your registration time and getting frustrtated when the phone was always busy….luckily there was a secondary number that wasn’t always so busy that not everyone knew about… :P
7. COOP Pizza and puzzle’s fiesta nachos!!! yummers!!!
8. arcade in ackerman that was all u can play for free during orientation
9. always walking through the far left arch in the court of sciences b/c apparently the psych dept noticed that people who walked in the far left arch would get a’s, the next arch b’s, then c’s, d’s and finally f’s frm the far right arch….or was it the far right arch that got a’s….:P hahah….
man….so many i could go on and on and on
It's GONE?
Man, what is there instead?
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
They've remodeled most of the floor
Now there’s a coffee shop, Taco Bell and Carl’s Junior.
I forgot to mention that puzzles is gone too :(
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 27, 2010 6:09 PM PST up reply actions
So
the arcade is gone too!? SHAME!
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
There's still an arcade
I think it’s on the opposite side of the hallway though (if my memory is correct) and it’s smaller. But they have added a room with gaming PC’s next door, called Game On.
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 28, 2010 4:55 PM PST up reply actions
Arcade
The arcade brings back some real longterm memories. My friends and I would take the bus from Santa Monice just to hit the arcade in the mid ’80’s. Shame to see that place downsized, but I guess most gamers now just get a PS3 and Xbox 360….
hahaha yeah
downloaded most of the old games a while back.
what?!
when did they close? is Rx still around? I remember people who had left over dorm coupons on friday would always hit up Rx and buy stockloads of candy :P
I'm not sure exactly
They closed it some time in the last 5 years.
I don’t think there’s a candy store there anymore. And with the way the meal plan works now, I don’t think it’s possible to load up on ASUCLA coupons at the last minute.
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 27, 2010 6:11 PM PST up reply actions
what did they put in place of Rx? what restaurants do they have in the treehouse now? are rubios and panda express still there?
Here's a list
It looks like Rx actually is still there.
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 27, 2010 9:24 PM PST up reply actions
#5
is a total lie.
- URSA also gave you your grades…nailbiting seconds of waiting for that grade (oftentimes it was “not yet available”)
- Coop pizza rocked
- I always went to play after a midterm and final
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
URSA
funny to think it was high-tech at the time.
Coop pizza was great, but I got hooked on the rice bowls I could get at North Campus. Yum! At least in SoCal I could get Yoshinoya even after I left Westwood. For some strange reason there aren’t as many places like that in Kansas…
More traditions from the past.......
As UCLA grad, class of 67 and a life long Bruin fan of 64 years, I have some traditions and memories I’d like to add to the collection.
1. Serpentine Huddle
CRN bring back the serpentine huddle. It was, and is UCLA football! As a kid I can
remember the team snaking out of a huddle. I will always remember that as
UCLA football.
2. The legend of Norm Dow.
Norm Dow who only played seven minutes in his total career being called upon to
slay U$C in 1966. Talk about a gutty little Bruin. People talk about John Barnes’
performance. It pales in comparison to what Norm Dow did to the TrOJans.
When it was announced that U$C was going to the Rose Bowl instead of UCLA, the
students stormed the Village and proceeded onto Wilshire Blvd and the freeway at
rush hour. Only a police escort and Norm Dow could avert a near riot.
3. The VD ……. Village Deli
4. Mother’s
5. The Oar House in Venice
6. Foxy and the Fox Inn
7. The Gypsy Wagon near the Waffle
These are just some of my memories. I graduated in 67 but only attended UCLA my senior year just in time to graduate and call myself a Bruin. The next 42 years I spent as a loyal alumni and football season ticket holder for 20 years. A move to the wilds of No. Cal hasn’t dampened my school spirit.
Was the serpentine huddle
on the first play of the game or every play? That would be cool. The marching band does a serpentine line as they run onto the field for pre-game, and has at least since before my arrival in ‘90. I don’t know if that happened while you were there or not. Here’s a video – it’s low-resolution, but you can see the serpentine lines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjJ8hEzXBPs
IIRC -- The Serpentine
was part of the single wing offense we ran.
It was the natural way to exit the huddle.
Bob Toledo brought it back and ran a single wing play for which we came out in the serpentine.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Jan 27, 2010 11:48 AM PST up reply actions
It depended on whether we were strong left or right.
We ran an unbalanced line. If it was strong left (I think), the guys would serpentine out of the huddle. If it was strong right, they would just turn around and go straight up to the line. When they serpentined, though, it was very, very cool.
As an aside, did we moved from the single wing to the T-formation in 1962. On our first offensive play out of the T, Kermit Alexander went up the middle for 45 yards and a TD against Ohio State and we won 9-7. That’s another one I remember vividly.
Toledo
Do you remember which game the huddle was used in?
It had to have ended in '61
because we switched to the T in ’62. And it was every play, depending on strong right or strong left.
It was really a neat thing to watch our guys serpentining out of the huddle. (Can’t help it, but I always think of the original “In Laws” and Peter Falk telling Alan Arkin “Serpentine, Shel! Serpentine!”
Tried the Oar House once in about 82 because we heard it was an old UCLA haunt
It was there but completely dead.
Shared Memories
I remember all of those things.
As to the Norman Dow memory:
I had graduated and was a first year student at the USC Law Center. I had been at the game in which we beat sc.
We all assumed we’d go to the Rose Bowl.
IIRC, on Monday, about noon, the Pac 8 announced that it had voted to send sc to the Bowl instead of us; the Spoiled Children started to celebrate on campus. While all of you were rioting in Westwood, I stood up in my class and said “Fuck this!” walked out and went home.
In those days, there were not a lot of bowl games and these things really meant a lot.
sjh
by Class of 66 on Jan 27, 2010 11:58 AM PST up reply actions
What happened to the fanfare?
When I was in the band in the early ‘90s, we always played the 20th Century Fox fanfare immediately following the run-on at the start of pre-game. In finding the video above for Twothphry, I noticed we now play the “Bruin Fanfare” instead. Anyone have the story about the switch and when it happened? I hope it wasn’t some lawyers pissing and moaning about licensing, as it was nothing but positive attention for 20th Century Fox.
(Before you get upset at me, sjh, Fox 71, and others, Bruin lawyers are exempt from the negativity of any lawyer comments or jokes – it’s in the code somewhere….)
I remember that, too. Don't know why it ended.
Maybe for the same reason as “By the old Pacific’s rolling waters.” Both should be brought back.
Also, I may be having a geezer moment, but as I recall, when Wooden came out onto the floor, didn’t the band play the Tonight Show theme (reminding people that “heeeeeere’s Johnny!”)
I don't think 20th Century Fox made a stink, but...
I think Gordon is afraid of it happening. Several songs were removed from the flap mid-season this year because we couldn’t get licensing rights to them, and he’s is worried about us being “made an example of” since we’re so high-profile.
He’s said that (paraphrased) there’s no case law on marching bands playing songs without licensing the music, and he doesn’t want to be the first band to get slapped should it turn out that a judge decides it’s copyright infringement.
I can't believe nobody has made any comments on the tunnels
Did anyone else experience these? Someone posted about the sink hole and old bridge and I assure you it is all there, or was in the early 80’s. When inside the tunnels you can see the foundation and brickwork for the bridge. There are tunnels that go under most of the North campus buildings and doorways into said buildings. One night at about 2am I found myself inside Murphy Hall.
I was part of the orientation administrative staff and we had access to all kinds of old photos/slides that we would use in slide shows to incoming frosh. I still have a cassette tape that we would also play of Wooden’s semifinal (next to last game) and his retirement announcement. Would love to play it for everyone if I new how to upload something like that. It has the band playing Dead Dog Rover, UCLA cheers, the Alma Mater in between game action and the Wooden interview. Very cool.
I think there's room at the Big U for a class in Bruin History and Traditions.
I think it should be mandatory, and if you flunk, you should be automatically enrolled at just$c* or some other junior college.
Just tow of the things I treasure from UCLA...
(1) Sunrise over campus from the patio or the lounge windows of Sproul Hall.
(2) Running at night over sidewalks cold enough to feel them through your shoes after finishing a 3-6pm or 6-9pm final in Fall or Winter Quarter.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
Great Post
I met Coach at an industry breakfast a few years back and it’s a day i’ll never forget… I told him how excited i was to be with him that morning and he looked me in the eye and said i should only feel that way about my wife & kids… what an incredible special man…
"Success is never final, Failure is never fatal. It's Courage that count's"
John Wooden.....
Been waiting 2 days to comment!
Great post. Brings back many memories…
1) Creative goosing of the statues in the garden,
2) At 2am getting a steaming hot full bag of fresh donuts at Stan’s via the back door from the baker for a buck,
3) Watching the planes lined up for miles coming into LAX from the roof of the medical building,
4) Exploring all the tunnels and the underground bridge,
5) Working as a CSO at the 1984 Olympics!
6) 1:30am Baxter’s 2 for 1 runs after CSO shifts.
7) REEEEE-BERRRRRR
by 84HistoryBruin on Jan 28, 2010 10:18 AM PST reply actions
You could get on top of the medical building?
I’m jealous. I had to content myself with taking my UCLA campus panorama off the top of the mathematical sciences building. Now don’t even get my started on the picasa/flickr resizing thereof…
It helped...
being a CSO, we had keys to EVERYTHING.
My favorite places to eat at UCLA/Westwood were...
- Shakey’s Pizza – Bruin Meal Deal = salad, drink, 2 slices of pizza and order of mojo potatoes for $3.50…can’t beat that
- Jose Bernstein’s (sp?) – their burritos were fair, but they were thick and cheap.
- Acapulco’s – but only for their $1 margarita mondays
- Bomb Shelter – teriyaki bowl for $2…yum
- Any place to eat in North Campus – not because of the food, but because of the eye candy…I was a South Campus nerd and rarely had classes in North Campus, but made it a point to go there as often as possible!
- Best dorm food = Reiber! (I lived in Hedrick my first year, and Sproul my second)
Best pizza
By a mile, it was La Barbera’s on Wilshire around Barrington.
It doesn't look like it
Google Maps has this:
But this is the same map that says Jackie Robinson Stadium is between Spaulding and the Engineering buildings. The street view seems to only show an apartment building there. Maybe it’s in a slightly different location?
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 29, 2010 7:33 AM PST up reply actions
Actually
It sounds like it closed in the 80’s.
by SuperBruinMan on Jan 29, 2010 7:47 AM PST up reply actions
Thanks for finding that link
I’m sure it closed because I graduated and moved away. I didn’t keep it in business all by myself, but I helped. I don’t remember anyone ever getting one to go, because they had so much cheese on them it would take two or three big guys to carry one.
Yeah, It's Gone
I looked for it a few months ago using the Google address; went round the block a couple of times and couldn’t find it.
Bomb Shelter
I thought I read that the Bomb Shelter is being torn down to make way for something new. What’s the progress on that?
And seriously? The teriyaki bowl was awful. The chicken was dry, the sauce was watery. The only good thing going for it was that it was cheap. Which I guess as a college student was a pretty important thing. :)
That wasn't chicken in that bowl
just so you know.
Ever notice there weren’t any squirrels in south campus?…
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Dorm lunch coupon...
had a value of about $1.50!!! How the heck was anybody supposed to buy lunch with $1.50? My limited options were Taco Bell or the Bomb Shelter…and finding clubs that were meeting during lunch because they usually gave free food.
I guess after eating the teriyaki bowl for such a long time, i learned to like it.
No kidding...
I lived in south campus, avoided tha place like the plague. Not sure why everyone got those chicken bowls, pure crap. Much better choices elsewhere.
I got hooked on chicken bowls at UCLA
but the ones at North Campus were better than the ones at the Bombshelter.
As far as bowls were concerned...
I always went for the cream of broccoli soup in a bread bowl from the Kerckhoff Coffee House. That was some good stuff!
by JoeBruin9900 on Feb 3, 2010 11:24 PM PST up reply actions
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