Students complain daily about various aspects of their UCLA
lives, but their opinions about dorm life do not have to go
unheard.
Students have the ability to make changes in on-campus housing,
said housing officials and the chair of the On Campus Housing
Committee.
These changes include major decisions such as housing fees,
which increased by 7.5 percent last year.
There are some factors, however, that will lead to similar
increases in the next few years such as programs, inflation,
employee salaries and debt service that students have no control
over, said Michael Foraker, director of housing.
Though these factors are constant, money allocations on extra
services vary from year to year and can be impacted by
students.
From the perspective of the administration, students can give
suggestions on anything, said Jack Gibbons, associate director of
the Office of Residential Life .
“Nothing is above the students,” said OCHC Chair
Michelle Sivert.
In the past students have made suggestions which led to changes
in on-campus housing food services.
Puzzles, a restaurant located across from Covel Commons, did not
stay open past 9:00 p.m. a few years ago, said Foraker. Now,
because of student requests, it is open past 2:00 a.m., six out of
seven days a week.
Soon there will be more automated teller machines put on the
Hill due to student requests, Sivert said.
Many of the housing changes, however, are costing extra money,
which is taken from housing fees. Students can also suggest
things to cut down on housing costs.
We can reduce expenditures by reducing furniture standards for
lounges and reducing the number of hours front desks are open,
Gibbons said.
Other ways of cutting down on costs are reducing exercise
equipment and programming in residence halls, Sivert said.
“There is a cost-benefit analysis,” Sivert
said. Cuts in housing fees have to come from somewhere, and
that is the quality of service, Sivert said.
“It is a trade-off,” said first-year undeclared
student Travis Kinard. “I’m willing to pay a little
more to have quality,” he said.
While some students think that paying extra for services is
worth the money, others do not think that the extra services are
necessary.
“The price of housing should go down,” said
first-year English student Angela Rios. “I’d rather
have extra money in my pocket.”
It is possible to fulfill student requests and add services
without spending extra money. Mark Schilling, director of the
Student Technology Center, negotiated with cable television
providers to add two new recommended stations, FX and Fox News,
with no added cost to students.
In order to make such changes, there are a few different ways
that students can give their input.
One way for students to get their voices heard is to go through
student government, Sivert said. Students can give feedback to
their floor external vice presidents, who meet with each other to
give comments to the hall EVP, who in turn meets with housing
officials at Policy Review Board Meetings.
“The purpose of Policy Review Board Meetings is to get
student voices heard,” Sivert said.
These meetings are a formal way to address housing issues and
help make the budget for the following year.
At the meetings, housing officials and student representatives
from OCHC cover major maintenance issues and allocations of money
to the residence halls, said Gibbons.
“There is an ongoing dialogue throughout the academic
year,” said Michael Foraker. Through the meetings, voices can
be heard on a week to week basis, he continued.
There are forms that students can fill out to give feedback for
services they value, said Business Manager of Housing Dan
Les. These forms are located at services such as the dining
halls and restaurants.
Students can also communicate with housing officials online.
They can make comments, complaints and suggestions directly to the
OCHC Web site, or they can fill out annual housing surveys.
With reports from Debra Greene.