Editorial: ASUCLA should determine if sleep pods reflect student need

A new proposal brought forward by Adam Swart, an undergraduate representative on the Associated Students UCLA Board of Directors, would create a space for students to nap on campus in a collection of overpriced “sleep pods.” For students, the price tag of this project, which ranges between $30,000 and $45,000, should be a rude awakening.

Under the proposal, 11 of these 7-by-4-foot cylindrical “sleep pods” would be installed on the third floor of Ackerman Union. The snooze units would replace the lounge and pool table currently housed in the area.

Swart proposed the idea at the ASUCLA Board of Directors meeting on Oct. 25 after he received unanimous support from the ASUCLA Services Committee. Swart said the pods are a tangible way to address the issue of sleep deprivation among college students.

Before thousands of dollars are thrown to this questionable project, the board should make an effort to find out what students want to see in their student union – a space that should act as a hub for student life.

So far, Swart has only had informal conversations with students about the idea, which, he said, have all been positive.

An important question to ask students is: Do these futuristic pods meet a real student need, or are they one student’s idiosyncratic brainchild?

Swart has brought up the fact that places like Google have such pods, and that similar contraptions can be found in airports in cities such as Munich and Abu Dhabi.

But Ackerman Union shouldn’t feel like a corporate office or an airport.

It should be a place for students to engage with one another and escape the pressures that come with attending UCLA. And ASUCLA Executive Director Bob Williams said that creating this type of space for students is a priority for the Board of Directors.

Switching out a recreational area for a handful of pods won’t do much to serve the student population. Development for development’s sake, particularly when there is no demonstrated need for it, is in poor judgment.

As of now, the sleep pod proposal is in its preliminary stages and Williams said the Board of Directors is very open to student input. Students should make the effort to let ASUCLA know what they want from their student union.

Similarly, ASUCLA should make a conscious effort to figure out what students want – beyond the conversations Swart undertook in passing with friends and fellow classmates.

Though Swart is an appointed representative of the undergraduate student body, an idea as outlandish as his deserves to be field-tested with students before ASUCLA makes a $35,000 commitment.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.