I would like to respond to Katharine Jensen’s submission
“Bar inappropriate for Ackerman” (Nov. 5). As one of
the undergraduates on the students’ association board of
directors and chair of the Services Committee, I take issue with
her assertion that a pub is inappropriate for this campus.
A stroll through Ackerman Union during non-school hours brings
to mind one word: dead. The whole point of a student union is to be
a constant gathering place for all constituencies of campus life
(students, faculty and staff), but our current facilities fall
short of this goal.
To set the record straight, the vision for the pub is a
restaurant atmosphere that serves wine and beer. Hard alcohol, one
of the definitive elements of a bar, will not be served. This
all-ages facility will also act as an entertainment venue where you
can catch some live music or watch an away game with fellow
Bruins.
Jensen states, “There is no reason that alcohol should be
present in our student union.” However, UCLA remains in the
minority, as six UC campuses (including Berkeley and San Diego)
already serve alcohol in their student unions. In addition, the
UCLA Graduate Students Association serves alcohol in Kerckhoff Hall
at their monthly GradBar ““ a consistently successful
event.
Currently, UCLA students are going to other places for this
social outlet ““ like the bars in Westwood and various
fraternity and apartment parties ““ where the consumption of
alcohol is likely neither responsible nor regulated. For these
reasons, Pam Viele, director of Student Health Education for the
Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center, supports the idea
of a campus pub because it is a place where safe drinking behavior
can be modeled, as well as a place where the oversight of
consumption levels will take place (read: you will be cut off once
you have had too much to drink).
More directly, the assertion that students should go to Westwood
to drink defeats the point of a central gathering place where all
constituencies can interact. While many undergraduates may frequent
the bars in Westwood, most graduate students, staff and faculty do
not.
As Jensen points out, there are other places for students to
gather, namely the residence halls. While the Office of Residential
Life provides an amazing social outlet for its residents, the vast
majority of UCLA students (about 80 percent) do not live at the
residence halls.
There is no reason to believe that the pub would exclude those
that are not of legal drinking age. The distinction of this being
open to all students was a necessary condition placed upon it.
While there is alcohol present in the pub, it is by no means that
central form of entertainment. Like the music or the football game,
the beer and wine are a single part of the experience, and by no
means a mutually exclusive part.
The pub has had overwhelmingly positive reception, according to
student union surveys conducted electronically. Students ranked the
pub fourth in the most recent survey as a service they want to see
in Ackerman Union. Students clearly support the creation of a
pub.
While not all students will be able to partake in the
consumption of beer and wine, all will be able to enjoy the
entertainment and interact with fellow members of the UCLA
community. The motivation for the pub is to create this venue for
interaction.
Fern is on the ASUCLA Board of Directors.