User:Ryan8903/UCLA Rally Committee

The UCLA Rally Committee, established in 1922, is UCLA's oldest surviving spirit organization. It came into existence three years after UCLA began as the southern branch of the University of California. In its 86 years, Rally Committee has operated with a goal of preserving school traditions and supporting Bruin athletics.

Official Responsibilities

 * To protect and maintain the Victory Bell while in UCLA's possession.
 * To sound the airhorns when the football team is introduced onto the field, and after they score. According to page 140 of the 2008-2009 Pac-10 Handbook (pdf), the airhorns may also be sounded at intraconference away games.
 * To set up the Helmet Car at the Rose Bowl for all to see, and for photo opportunities.
 * To build and decorate the bonfire structure used during Blue & Gold Week.
 * To design and direct card stunts.
 * To distribute pom-pons to the student section at certain football games.
 * To create and distribute priority numbers for men's basketball campouts at Pauley Pavilion. Students who already have game tickets wait in line for priority numbers to determine the order in which they may enter the courtside student section (sections 111B to 114A).  For a few games, students will begin camping out two nights before the game.  A set of rules for campouts can be found at the Rally Committee website.
 * Organize and host the Pauley Basketball Lock-In

Leadership
At football games, Rally Committee officers can generally be identified by their blue polo shirts and khaki pants.

Chairperson
The equivalent of a president, the Chairman or Chairwoman is the external representative of the group. His leadership role requires that a significant amount of his time be spent on RC affairs. Important figures at UCLA and other campuses treat this individual as the voice of Rally Committee. The Chairperson attends various meetings, works closely with all other officers, finalizes event arrangements, and plans out the group's calendar, among other responsibilities.

Note that this description does not necessarily reflect the duties of past Chairpersons.

Membership Chair
This officer learns the names of all new members, collects dues and other fees (if treasurer too), and creates documents to organize information collected from members, e.g. basketball game preferences.

Technology
Sometimes this is not a separate officer position but an additional role of the Chairperson, the Membership Chair, or all of the officers. Tasks include managing the website, e-mail system, message boards, and Wikipedia page.

General Membership
While all students are welcome to participate in most of RC's activities, the limited availability of tickets and transportation restricts the number of participants accepted at certain events. These constraints place a limit on how many students can become formal members. The current number of formal members, leadership included, is close to 70.

Links
UCLA Rally Committee Website