Coffee fuels our campus. It gets us through that 8 a.m. course, sustains us through midterms and finals, and brings us together to drink and talk between classes.
It’s also the focus of a series the Daily Bruin will launch next week.
Our Arts & Entertainment section will explore trends in coffee consumption, life as a student barista and alternative energy drinks. Multimedia departments will talk to coffeehouse frequenters and map the locations of some of our favorite brews.
Coffee is a personal beverage. There are important matters of alliance: Peet’s or Starbucks, sweet or bitter. There are the issues of size, milk quantity and caffeine content. A good or bad cup of coffee can make or break a day.
As an editorial board, we’re looking to find out what students think about this everyday issue. We want to know about what students think about the Associated Students UCLA coffee spots: Kerckhoff Coffeehouse, Café 451, Jimmy’s, Northern Lights, Bruin Buzz, Café Synapse and Untitled.
Here are some of the questions we’d like to hear your feedback on:
1. How often do you drink coffee? How often do you purchase coffee on campus?
2. How would you rate the taste of coffee at ASUCLA-owned shops on campus, from very bad to very good?
3. How would you rate the price at ASUCLA for what you get?
4. Which ASUCLA-owned coffee shop sells the best-tasting coffee?
5. What factors ““ cost, location, taste, convenience, fair trade ““ affect your decision most?
6. If given the option, would you choose to purchase coffee from vendors outside ASUCLA?
Coffee is especially important to the Daily Bruin’s history, and not just because our office is below Kerckhoff Coffeehouse.
In 1971, The Bruin protested a price increase for ASUCLA coffee. As an alternative, The Bruin offered free cups of coffee in its office, urging students to boycott ASUCLA’s brews and sign a petition.
Bridget O’Brien, a former Daily Bruin photo editor, reported from Central America on the fair trade coffee movement. Her work was published in The Bruin and in USA Today.
In 2007, O’Brien died in a car accident. In her memory, a scholarship fund that finances in-depth journalism was started. On this scholarship, Daily Bruin staff members have reported on a student group’s work with orphanages in Vietnam, basketball recruiting in Cameroon and the UCLA brand in China.
Outside the paper, environmental student organizations have lobbied for fair trade coffee options, and in 2001, the university made it available.
Coffee is rich in its significance for UCLA. It’s sparked energy in students to make changes, to work together and just to finish a paper.