Since the early 1940s, the Trojan Knights have cultivated a traditional campout by Tommy Trojan called “Tommy Watch” in hopes of protecting the statue from UCLA students during conquest week — the week leading up to the annual USC versus UCLA football game. The University’s increased enforcement of their camping rules ever since the pro-Palestine encampments last spring has raised concerns among Trojan Knights about the viability of doing Tommy Watch 24/7.

Trojan Knights President and a senior majoring in human biology, Julia Haffie said Tommy Watch is one of her favorite things the organization does as she believes it’s one of the ways they show their support for USC. 

“As the first female president, our club has changed so much. Lots of our traditions have maybe been changed or lost,” Haffie said. “But this is one that we kept for — basically since we started our organization.”

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Haffie said starting last year, Campus Activities started “cracking down” on the camping rules, specifically the no-sleeping, which she feels has been harmful to members, as they are no longer allowed to sleep during the event or use their previous camping equipment.  

“Obviously, we’re Trojan Knights, and we do care a lot about our school, but we’re also students and we just physically can’t stay awake for 24 hours, seven days a week straight in a row,” Haffie said. 

Jake Palmieri, another former president of the Trojan Knights and a current member, said the enforcement of these policies will certainly change what Tommy Watch will look like.

“Last year, we weren’t allowed to have cots for storage or for sleeping or laying down even,” Palmieri said. “And it’ll definitely modify what we bring, how we use the stuff that we bring, and the approach that we take throughout the week, for grounding, staying up.”

Haffie said it has been harder for members to be excited about Tommy Watch now, and several members have cited health concerns regarding staying up all night. Despite the complications, Haffie hopes to maintain their traditions by continuing to host games and by engaging with the USC community. 

“All students and organizations are expected to follow the Student Handbook and event policies,” the University wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. “Students with questions about event or activity planning can contact Campus Activities or Trojan Event Services.”

Former Trojan Knights President Ivan Paredes used to join the Trojan Knights Tommy Watch over Zoom during the pandemic; Conquest Week was one of his favorite events. 

“Tommy Watch has been my favorite event as a Trojan Knight by far,” Paredes said. “It is the thing that people recognize Trojan Knights the most [by].”

Paredes said the biggest stressor during his presidency was setting up and dismantling the campout area. He also said with the greater enforcement of camping rules comes new logistical challenges — especially for planning who’s out on night watch. 

“School doesn’t stop, work doesn’t stop, responsibilities don’t stop,” Paredes said. “So now I feel like [current Trojan Knights president] Julia has a big stressor on handling the overnight part of it, which, in my opinion, has always been what has separated Tommy Watch from other things.” 

Despite complications, Paredes remains optimistic as he said the Trojan Knights have been good at communicating with the University administration. Additionally, their faculty advisor, who was a Trojan Knight himself, has helped highlight the importance of their traditions to his peers. 

“Being told that we need to communicate and remind potentially new folks in administration how important this has been to USC’s history has been very helpful, and something I think will influence how we move forward,” Paredes said. 

Palmieri said that Tommy Watch is when he felt most at home, as he thinks it’s what ties the Trojan Knights to the University.  Palmieri said they will make modifications to their current setup to ensure they can handle any weather conditions. In light of the new regulations and the upcoming event, the Knights will need to modify the materials they use. 

“We had to use tarps to protect against the rain, we used Lifetime folding tables for storage, but when it did rain, that posed a struggle because we didn’t have a lot of off ground surface area,” Palmieri said. “Sometimes our stuff would get flooded, despite our best efforts to protect it.”

In spite of their troubles, Palmieri said they have received outside support from the USC community. He hopes those guarding Tommy Trojan can still embody the “same spirit and meaning” that the role has instilled in Tommy’s protectors in previous years — new camping rules and all. 

“I just want it to be a community atmosphere that everyone can come and talk and discuss and hang around and have a good time and not worry about — not necessarily not worry about adherence to rules, but not always have them at the forefront of their minds, because it’s a time for enjoyment and pride in what we do,” Palmieri said.