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Students crowd surf at the Bad Religion concert in 2003 at UCLA’s annual Bruin Bash, a conc

UCLA starts each year off with a bash – Bruin Bash.

The event, which includes a concert and a dance, has been part of the Welcome Week tradition since 2003 and is designed to usher continuing students back into the swing of things and welcome new students.

For some new students, traditions that occur at the beginning of the school year can serve as their first exposure to college life.

Campus Events Commissioner Ravi Dehar said that when he was a freshman, the Welcome Week events helped quell his anxieties about college. He said he hopes this year’s events will give students, both new and returning, a feel for what to expect from the year.

“Hopefully it has a universal appeal,” Dehar said. “It’s been getting progressively better every year.”

Bruin Bash is a joint effort between the Campus Events and Cultural Affairs Commissions, two student government offices, and includes a concert that typically features two well-known artists.

Last year, rock band Thrice and rapper Common performed, and artists such as Bad Religion have performed at past concerts.

Immediately following the concert, students can choose to attend either a dance or a movie screening. In past years, the movie has been a sneak preview or a showing of a summer hit.

Dehar said he expects this year’s Bruin Bash to be bigger than it has been in the past. In cooperation with the UCLA Events Office, the Cultural Affairs Commission and the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils, Campus Events worked to expand the bash from one day to two.

On the second day, students can attend the Enormous Activities Fair, where student groups and campus organizations can set up informational booths.

This year, the event will begin the night of Sept. 24.

But Bruin Bash is not UCLA’s only yearly kickoff tradition.

Each year, the welcoming process starts during the Office of Residential Life-organized move-in weekend, which begins Sept. 22 this year.

Once students settle in, each housing unit puts on events such as dances, movie nights, games, parties and fairs, said third-year biological chemistry student Geoff Smith, last year’s president of Delta Terrace.

“(It’s) just something to get people out and meeting new people,” Smith said.

Smith said the Welcome Week events are important because they get students out of their rooms before they are overwhelmed by schoolwork and other activities.

The resident assistants also plan events within their buildings such as parties featuring Diddy Riese – a Westwood cookie and ice cream shop popular with students – as well as decorating the halls according to pre-determined themes.

For fourth-year biochemistry student Joanna Olsen, the events in her dorm helped her to meet and bond with the other students on her floor.

“I’d just go with the floor,” Olsen said. “I remember we went to the fair (together).”

Though the traditions vary in nature, Dehar said they all ultimately serve the same purpose – to help students find their niches early on and meet new people with common interests.

“Our goal is to make sure students love their university experience,” Dehar said.