Admissions Blog :: UCLA Undergraduate Admissions

"Blue and Gold Week"

           To most people, 8:47AM is just another minute during an early morning hour. To the Bruin faithful, 8:47AM is a daily reminder of the glorious defeat that was handed to the Trojans at the Rose Bowl last year. Why is this? Because 8:47AM is just another way of saying 13 to 9.  13 to 9 was the final score of last year’s UCLA vs. USC football game.  After seven long years of watching the Trojans run over the Bruins, our football team brought its “A” (-mazing) game to the Rose Bowl last year.  The Mighty Bruins stifled the lowly Trojans by upsetting their nearly perfect season and trampling their national championship hopes!  Go Bruins!

            From the moment we become Bruins, we are taught to detest the Trojans.  Each class of Bruins must uphold the tradition and pride that is the reason many of us chose UCLA.  Each fall, we devote one week to beating our cross-town rival. Every night of “Blue and Gold Week” students sleep next to our statue of the Bruin to protect it from those unscrupulous Trojans who may try to cause it harm.  Each day of “Blue and Gold Week” is filled with random outbursts of the 8-Clap and annual events like the “Get the Red Out” blood drive.  The week culminates with a parade through Westwood and a bon fire rally at the main quad. 

As a student, the bonfire rally was the highlight of my year.  What could be better than gathering together with thousands of your closest friends, hearing the band play our melodious fight song, screaming the 8-clap over and over again, and watching some students light an 80 foot wooden tower on fire? My heart swells with Bruin pride just thinking about this glorious tradition. 

           

The 2007 football season has been tumultuous for the Bruins, but I feel confident that we can defeat the Trojans again this year.  I optimistically and confidently predict that after December 1, 2007, the time that will bring me great joy will be 2:39. 21-3 UCLA. Go Bruins! Beat SC!

Pac-10 Fitness Challenge Part Two

The Pac-10 Fitness Challenge is officially over, and while us Bruins didn't win the competition (congratulations Stanford!) we definitely made a respectable showing, had a great time in the process, and beat USC in a landslide! All in all, a successful week.

I participated in every Fitness Challenge-related event last week and had a lot of fun! Tuesday was the "Super Walk" out at Drake Stadium. Staff, faculty, and students alike ran, walked, jogged, or climbed the stairs and won some awesome prizes for participating. One lucky runner received an iPod Nano, but I was pretty satisfied with my spiffy new pedometer! Wednesday was the "Spin Marathon," where UCLA Recreation staff members led all interested in Bruins intense, 45 minute spin workouts from 7:30am to 7:30pm. And all week long people were sweating on the elliptical machine at the front of the John Wooden Center for "Perpetual Motion."

I feel like I'm a pretty motivated exerciser, but nothing pushed me to do my best like my desire to support UCLA! If only there was a way to bottle that feeling...

Congratulations to everyone who participated for a job well done. I hope you all had as much fun as I did!

         

Pac 10 Fitness Challenge: Go Bruins!

I never thought I'd see the day when I could say I was in a Pac-10 athletics competition, but here I am! I am helping UCLA compete for the title of "Most Fit in the Pac 10" by logging on to the Pac 10 Fitness Challenge Website everyday and recording my daily activity.

The Pac-10 Fitness Challenge is a different kind of sporting event. All 10 universities in the conference are competing against each other at the same time, and non-athletes (including faculty, staff, and supporters) can play, too! The Pac-10 Fitness challenge is a conference wide initiative to increase physical activity on college campuses.

Here at UCLA, we're taking this competition very seriously. In addition to encouraging all students, faculty, staff, and friends to work out every day this week (Nov. 5-Nov. 9) and log their progress at: www.pac-10fitnesschallenge.com, we've also organized group-exercise efforts to help our score and increase team spirit. Tomorrow there is going to be a "Super Walk" on the Drake Stadium Track, and Wednesday we have a "Spin Marathon" in the John Wooden Center, where we will try to keep Bruins on cycles from 7:30am-7:30pm. As long-time readers know, I like to work out on my lunch hour, so I'm excited that this week I'll be able to get in my exercise time and help UCLA win this fun competition.

For anyone who is interested in supporting UCLA (or another Pac-10 campus) in the Fitness Challenge, it's not too late! Visit the link above and start running, swimming, pumping, biking or doing whatever it is you love to do. The competition is stiff and we need all the help we can get! Go Bruins!