rticipate in "Midnight Yell" during finals week, a tradition where every night at midnight (starting on that week's Sunday), students yell as loudly as possible for a few minutes, giving a chance to take a short break from studying and to release some stress. The quarterly Undie Ru

The university has many traditions and annual events involving students, community, or the city. The school hosts events that usually require participation from more than just the student body, and competitions can occasionally involve celebrity judges and performers.
Unicamp, founded in 1934, is UCLA's official charity. It is a week-long summer camp for under-served children from the greater Los Angeles area, with UCLA volunteer counselors. Because Unicamp is a non-profit organization, student volunteers from UCLA also fundraise money throughout the year to allow these children to attend summer camp.[121]
To introduce new students to clubs and activities, UCLA begins the fall quarter with True Bruin Welcome. The week includes the Day of Service for all freshmen, the Enormous Activities Fair, the Sports Fair, and other events. At the end of move-in and the beginning of True Bruin Welcome, UCLA holds Bruin Bash. Hosted by the USAC Campus Events Commission and USAC Cultural Affairs Commission, Bruin Bash includes a concert, dance, and movie. Past performers include Thrice and Common in 2005, Xzibit and Rooney in 2006, T.I. in 2007, The Cool Kids, Estelle, Hellogoodbye in 2008, LMFAO and Clipse in 2009, Ying Yang Twins, Travis McCoy and The Cataracs in 2010. Bruin Bash was created as a replacement for Black Sunday, a large-scale day of partying including all fraternities, in North Westwood Village, where the majority of off-campus students reside adjacent to campus.
Dance Marathon is an annual event organized by the student group, the Pediatric AIDS Coalition, held in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, where thousands of students raise money and dance to support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Project Kindle, One Heartland, and the UCLA AIDS Institute. Dancers are required to fundraise a minimum amount of $250 before the event, which is a 26-hour dance marathon. Dancers are not allowed to sit (except to use the restroom) during the marathon, literally taking a stand against pediatric AIDS, and symbolizing the suffering of children around the world infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2012, Dance Marathon at UCLA raised a record-breaking $451,000. Since 2002, the Marathon has raised over $3 million.[122]
UCLA students also participate in "Midnight Yell" during finals week, a tradition where every night at midnight (starting on that week's Sunday), students yell as loudly as possible for a few minutes, giving a chance to take a short break from studying and to release some stress.
The quarterly Undie Run takes place during the Wednesday evening of Finals Week, when students run through the campus in their underwear or in skimpy costumes. The run first began in Fall of 2001 when a student, Eric Whitehead, wearing what he described as "really short shorts" walked around singing a song and playing a guitar to protest the Police restrictions on the Midnight Yell.[123] With the increasing safety hazards and Police and Administration involvement, a student committee changed the route in order to satisfy concerns but keep the event. It was changed to a run through campus to the fountain in front of Powell Library, which now culminates with students dancing in the fountain.[124] As attendance increased, committees in charge of organizing the event deemed it necessary to employ the UC Police during the event, to ward off vandalism and dangerous activity.[124] In 2007, the route was changed again to begin at Strathmore and Gayley Avenues instead of Landfair and Gayley Avenues. The Undie Run concept has since spread to other college campuses around the United States, including the University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University, and Syracuse University.


Spring Sing 2009
The Alumni Association sponsors several events, usually large extravaganzas involving huge amounts of coordination. An example of this is the 60-year old Spring Sing, organized by the Student Alumni Association (SAA). Spring Sing is UCLA's oldest tradition—it is an annual gala of student talent, which is held at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on campus. In 2009 the event was held in UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. The committee bestows the George and Ira Gershwin Lifetime Achievement Award each year to a major contributor to the music industry. Past recipients have included Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, James Taylor, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones,[125] Lionel Richie, and in 2009, Julie Andrews.[126] The Dinner for 12 Strangers, a common tradition among universities, is a gathering of students, alumni, administration and faculty to network around different interests.[127] The week before the USC rivalry football game, there is a "Beat 'SC Bonfire and Rally." The bonfire did not take place in 2006 due to fire hazard issues. Nonetheless, UCLA won the football game, upsetting the #2 ranked Trojans.