Letters

ASUCLA devoted to serving students We, the
Associated Students of UCLA Board of Directors, are writing in
response to the column “Privatization
of ASUCLA not guaranteed solution“ by Michael Weiner
(Daily Bruin, News, April 23). Weiner writes that ASUCLA has been
untrue to its student focus by leasing space in Ackerman Union to
certain third parties. He further claims that privatization has
become the centerpiece of ASUCLA’s financial strategy. We
wish to point out that the lease revenue from these arrangements is
far from the centerpiece of our financial strategy. In fact, the
total revenue anticipated from third-party leases accounts for only
seven percent of the turnaround strategies, which we put in place
last spring ($262,000 of $3.7 million). Further, each of the
third-party operators brings a service or product to campus in
which they are recognized leaders. We believe, and student survey
data supports, that these are services and products that the campus
community needs and wants. It is important for ASUCLA to focus on
its core competencies, and we believe that these outside experts
add value and excellence to the students’ experience in our
facilities. Lastly, each third-party operator must follow the Code
of Conduct and provide goods and services in a matter that benefits
our constituencies. It is also important to note that the Joint
Operations Committee does not have decision-making authority over
ASUCLA matters. It is a forum for discussion between the board of
directors and the UCLA administration. Finally, Weiner suggests
that we should embrace our past and that, by being smaller and more
humble, we will better serve students. A review of the past reveals
that ASUCLA was once a much larger organization that included
Intercollegiate Athletics, parking, travel service, a child care
center, dry cleaners and a host of other services. We believe that
our contribution to the campus should evolve, just as the needs of
the students on campus have evolved. We have taken extraordinary
measures to assure that the long tradition of student ownership and
control of ASUCLA’s enterprises remains. The mostly
student-run board of directors has encouraged our management team
to embrace our mission to maintain student control through
participatory decision-making, including the development and
implementation of a plan that eliminated 44 career positions,
without compromising the products, services and facilities of the
association. Further, we have taken these measures to maintain this
student-governed organization’s autonomy at the same time
that the temporary student union fee will decrease from the current
$51 to $7.50 per year. We are committed to the student fee
reduction that will occur in the academic year 2002-2003. The model
of ASUCLA is that the enterprises we operate generate revenues to
support the Student Union instead of relying on a student fee. We
believe that this is an example of our student focus and
commitment.

ASUCLA Board of Directors

Bruin ad misleadingI am writing because I was
appalled to see the ad in the Daily Bruin titled, “Take Back
the Campus! Combat the Radical Feminist Assault on Truth!”
(April 18, page 35). There is no clear indication as to who
submitted the ad and no information about the “Independent
Women’s Forum.” Their ad twists information and makes
statements filled with inaccuracies, distortions and inflammatory
comments under the guise of “facts.” It is designed to
ferment intolerant, anti-woman as well as anti-feminist sentiment
and action on campus. It incites hate. This ad is a nasty attack on
women that would never be permitted if taken out to attack African
American or Asian studies. I am shocked that you accepted this ad
and allowed such hate-filled propaganda to be printed on the pages
of the Daily Bruin. I hope that you will take action to mitigate
the potentially dangerous impact of such propaganda. A feature
story on the organized anti-woman backlash in this country, and how
it is being enacted on college campuses, would educate your readers
about what this kind of ad really represents. A review of your
policies regarding advertising seems to be in order. Taking action
on this issue will continue the high standards that the UCLA
community has come to expect from the Daily Bruin.

Barrie Levy Adjunct faculty member Social welfare and
Women’s studies