Students attending the game – including leaders of university fraternities – are grilling hot dogs and burgers, with hundreds of students attending tailgates outside the stadium.

Isabella Torriani, a third-year neuroscience and political science student, said she attended the game – her first – to spend time with her friends.
She added that she was enjoying spending so much time among so many Bruins fans at pre-game tailgates.

For UCLA fourth-year political science student Maya Carpenter, who has come to the rivalry game for the last three years, attending the matchup is a tradition.

Organizations including the UCLA Community Programs Office and the Air Force ROTC at UCLA are outside the game. Thousands of Bruin and Trojan fans are attending hundreds of tailgates on the grounds of the Brookside Golf Club.

In a post on the social media platform X, the UCLA Police Department said it is monitoring a protest on campus, sharing a photo of AFSCME Local 3299 workers in Bruin Plaza.

This post was updated Nov. 22 at 1:02 a.m.
Saturday will mark arguably the biggest test of the season for UCLA football (4-6, 3-5 Big Ten) and USC (5-5, 3-4), as the two schools compete for the Victory Bell for the first time as Big Ten opponents.

In addition to the AFSCME Local 3299 strike, workers from the University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119 – which represents research and technical workers – are striking Wednesday and Thursday at UC San Francisco, also alleging unfair labor practices.

THE HILL – UCLA Dining has consolidated dining halls and converted buffet style restaurants into take-out locations in response to the strike, according to a written statement from a UCLA Dining and Hospitality spokesperson.

Over 200 AFSCME 3299 workers marched through Kerckhoff Hall, chanting, “3299,” and, “UC, UC, you’re no good, treat your workers like you should.” The workers also used amplified siren sounds and cowbells inside the building.

Workers from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 – which represents patient care, service and skilled craft workers – began their strike at 12:00 a.m.