My Walk from North to South Campus

 UCLA’s campus is split into two distinct campuses: North and South. North and South Campus are “Characterized by the geographic split of social sciences and humanities in the northern part of UCLA, and physical and life sciences in UCLA’s south” (Jung).  

Fig. 1. Reed Hutchinson, Building Name Origins, UCLA Magazine, https://s3.amazonaws.com/cms.ipressroom.com/173/files/20204/5ebfaf192cfac24bf25d48bf_building+name+origins/building+name+origins_mid.jpg

I’m a Cognitive Science student, and for the first two years of college, I mainly found myself in South Campus because I had to take math, computer science, and psychology classes. It is a very interdisciplinary major, so occasionally I would find myself in Dodd Hall for a philosophy class. However, I find myself more in North Campus this year (my third year!), especially because I have been taking more GE’s and because I have added an Information and Media Literacy minor. Many of the classes that I am taking this quarter are actually in the Information and Education Studies building next to YRL! 

North Campus has some beautiful architecture, including one of the most iconic buildings at UCLA: Royce Hall. Royce Hall was opened in 1929, and it was built in Italian Romanesque style inspired by the Basilica of Sant-Ambrogio in Milan (Gondo and Meyer). Much of the buildings in North Campus follows this style, characterized by grand architecture and reddish brick. One of my favorite North Campus buildings is Dodd Hall (the entrance is so pretty!). 

Royce Hall

Me in front of Dodd Hall

As I walked over to South Campus, you can feel a shift in building architecture. Buildings feel less grand, some that are more modern and some that are more simple in general (Sridhar). I think a good example is Boelter Hall, named after Llewellyn M.K. Boelter, a renowned researcher that led UCLA’s Engineering department (Siegel and Park). 

Boelter Rooftop

The elegance and grand architecture in North Campus compared to the minimalist and simple architecture in South Campus is also very reflective of the students and their clothing style. 

I touched on this a little bit in my first blog post, but this division parallels what Professor Vesna describes as the “two cultures” problem, where artists and scientists are separated (in UCLA, physically) and are unable to collaborate (Vesna 121). However, despite these differences, the entire campus comes together, especially in times on crisis – such as the encampments and TA strikes. It is then, when I feel that the students hold most power – when both sides of the campus join to advocate for a certain cause. 

Works Cited

Gondo, Nancy, and Karenna Meyer. “The Secret Lives of Campus Buildings.” UCLA, 7 Nov. 2023, newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/campus-buildings-secrets-royce-hall.

Jung, Justin. “A Campus Divided | PRIME.” A Campus Divided | PRIME, prime.dailybruin.com/justinnorth&southcampus.

Siegel, Sandy. “Hail to the Hills: UCLA Building Name Origins.” UCLA, 2014, newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/ucla-building-name-origins. Accessed 16 May 2025.

Sridhar, Kedaar. “Academic Diversity: My Journey from South to North Campus.” UCLA Bruin Blog, 6 Apr. 2022, blog.admissions.ucla.edu/2022/04/06/academic-diversity-my-journey-from-south-to-north-campus/. Accessed 16 May 2025.

Vesna, Victoria. "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between." Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, 2001, pp. 121-125.