Student Life
Students have access to a variety of activities when not attending class. The campus' location in Los Angeles makes excursions to local museums, theaters, or other entertainment venues relatively quick and easy. UCLA offers classical orchestras, intramural sports, and over 800 student organizations. UCLA is also home to more than 60 national and local Greek-letter organizations, which collectively constitute the largest membership-based and multi-faceted community on campus. Fraternity and sorority members represent 13% of the student population. Phrateres, a non-exclusive social-service club for women was founded here in 1924 by the Dean of Women, Helen Matthewson Laughlin. Between 1924 and 1967, 23 chapters of Phrateres were installed in schools across North America. The student government at UCLA is the Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA), governed by a student majority board of directors. It is the umbrella organization that includes the two branches of UCLA's student government, the Graduate Students Association (GSA) and the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC), the UCLA Store, the Student Union, Restaurants, Trademark & Licensing, and Student Media (including the UCLA Daily Bruin). The Student Alumni Association (SAA), a branch under the UCLA Alumni Association but entirely student run, is responsible for maintaining and putting on UCLA's oldest and greatest traditions, such as Blue and Gold Week, Senior Send-off, Spring Sing, and Dinners for 12 Strangers amongst many. UCLA also operates a waterfront facility known as the UCLA Marina Aquatic Center in Marina del Rey. Students and staff participate in dinghy sailing, surfing, windsurfing, rowing, and kayaking.
UCLA has an active a cappella student population, with a variety of student organizations across campus. The university is often regarded as the pioneer in the West Coast collegiate contemporary a cappella tradition with its first group, Awaken A Cappella, founded in 1992. The all-male group on campus, Bruin Harmony, has enjoyed a successful career since its inception in 2006, portraying a collegiate a cappella group in the 2010 film, The Social Network. Other groups on campus include The Scattertones, Signature, Random Voices, Medleys, Deviant Voices, and Cadenza.
There are also a variety of cultural organizations on campus, such as Nikkei Student Union (NSU), Association of Chinese Americans (ACA), Thai Smakom, and Chinese Cultural Dance Club (CCDC), each with its focuses on sharing culture and history. Many of these organizations have an annual "culture night" that usually constitutes drama, traditional dance, modern dance, etc., which raises awareness of culture and history to the campus and community. Students bond by participating in the Culture Night.
Read more about this topic: University Of California, Los Angeles
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