After more than 80 years of USC and UCLA football matchups, much has changed. In that time, one thing has been constant: The Trojan Knights standing 24/7 guard over the Tommy Trojan statue in Hahn Plaza for the week leading up to the game. Julia Haffie, the president of the Trojan Knights and a senior majoring in human biology, said the event began as a way to protect Tommy Trojan from the vandalism attempts of “pesky Bruins.” 

The tradition’s all-night duration will come to an end this year. On Monday morning, a University officer told the Trojan Knights that if they stayed in Hahn Plaza past 11:30 p.m., their organization and members would face suspension, Haffie said. 

This comes after the group stayed by Tommy Trojan all of Sunday night while following the no-sleeping restrictions first instituted during last year’s Tommy Watch. While the University cited no-camping rules as the reason for the sleeping restriction last school year, Monday’s decision did not cite a specific policy to justify the new limitations, Haffie said. 

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The USC Helenes’ Hecuba Watch will also end at 11:30 p.m., according to Anusha Deshpande, the director of athletics for the Helenes and a senior majoring in human biology as well as global medicine. Unlike Tommy Watch, however, Hecuba Watch was planned to end early this year to comment on a “double standard” that led to the removal of pro-Palestine protesters in the Spring.

Even while having a “really good, working relationship with [the Department of Public Safety],” Haffie said the Trojan Knights plan to follow the University’s guidelines and leave by 11:30 p.m. for the rest of Conquest Week, beginning Monday.

Haffie described the new restrictions as “upsetting” because the nighttime is when a majority of the vandalism attempts take place.

“It’s also a tradition we’ve been doing for so many years,” Haffie said “So, it’s very disheartening for us to have one Campus Activities official basically say that it’s over like that.”

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University said all students and organizations are expected to follow event policies but did not cite a specific policy that was violated by Tommy Watch.

The Knights initially received approval for an overnight permit Sept. 3. Haffie later confirmed the request with Campus Activities Oct. 7, she said. Later in October, the permit was rescinded and the organization was told they could only make two-day reservations, Haffie said. The group then made multiple reservations to span the entirety of Conquest Week, which were approved.

According to Haffie, DPS officials told organizers after the reservation’s approval that as long as they weren’t sleeping and removed large equipment, they would be allowed to stay out all night, a decision which was reversed Monday.