Kristy Edmunds
Executive and Artistic Director
“I have been on many university campuses, and I always notice the backpack-laden students crossing the grounds between classes - how they walk, if they’re talking to each other, if there are Frisbees flying over the lunch hour, or if they are hunkered down with headphones facing the pavement. At UCLA the students definitely look outward and up. Eye contact abounds and there is a roar of chatter across the grounds. It speaks volumes about the conditions here and the culture that is fostered. On any given day I can run into a group of students working on a project or studying together at a common table or on the grass, actors running their lines, musicians and dancers rehearsing in various nooks, people streaming in and out of the libraries or recreation centers, convening in the Sculpture Garden or along Bruin Walk/Plaza, wearing jeans or lab coats, and as I said, looking up. On weekends the campus becomes something akin to a huge city park – only this one also has films, exhibitions, performances, lectures, and events that pull in the surrounding neighbors as well. As a major research university, UCLA sets a tone for rigor, respect and inquiry. Equally, it encourages the full use of its assets as a place for community. The community that is an established part of our public heritage, and the community of young people at the horizon line of their becoming.”