Originality could keep Ackerman competitive

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It doesn’t take a genius to understand why Moby Disc
washed up on Ackerman’s shore of financial problems. Not only
did the store face tough competition from more popular Westwood
music stores, it also had to deal with the fact that most college
students can download their music from the Internet for free
““ and though the legality of this is still questionable, the
fact that students do it is not.

Director of Student Union and Student Support Services Jerry
Mann thinks Moby’s failure is because of poor marketing and
students’ tastes changing since the store opened in September
2000. But the fact is Moby Disc never had a chance to succeed
““ it was a business that gave students something they could
have gotten for cheaper prices elsewhere. Mann and the Associated
Students of UCLA should realize bringing in a new store or business
offering products or services that are completely non-essential for
students will also fail. The problem with molding Ackerman Union
into a shopping mall, hoping it will bring in more money, is that
there’s no real market on campus for things like music.
Stores such as BearWear have a constant appeal to students and
visitors because it sells UCLA paraphernelia, something that
solicits a stronger sense of impulse buying ““ people who come
visit UCLA are more likely to buy a Bruin hat than a Madonna CD
available in MP3 format.

If ASUCLA wants its business ventures to be profitable, they
should use the space to provide students with services no one can
really compete with; they need to provide students with something
they can’t easily get in Westwood or on the Internet.

This something is an on-campus bar, along with a sit in
restaurant to accompany it. Food stands are already profitable
businesses in Ackerman, so it only makes sense to add a sit-down
restaurant and bar to give UCLA’s over 52,000-person campus
community more dining choices when they’re on campus, as
opposed to the casual, take-your-lunch-and-leave restaurants we
have now. An on-campus bar could quickly become a focal point on
campus, adding not only a sense of community to the vast expanse of
buildings we call UCLA, but also bringing in more money for ASUCLA.
Coupling the bar with a restaurant would help fortify it as the
campus center by not excluding undergraduates who are underage.
Arguing that most undergraduate students are under the age of 21
makes the needs of professors, graduate students, staff and those
undergraduates who are over the age of 21 seem irrelevant.

Professors and teaching assistants could also use the bar and
meet with students outside of class for office hours in a more
relaxed setting than a cramped office space. It could help
professors and students see each other outside of class to get to
know each other and develop rapport. At night, the pub could serve
as a social setting for students who want to have a good time after
late classes, studying or after meeting with a campus group or
organization without having to go to Westwood.

The on-campus bar would have the opportunity to establish its
own unique student atmosphere not found in Westwood bars. This edge
would keep students coming back ““ if not for the food and
drink, then at least for the relaxed atmosphere it can provide on
UCLA’s sometimes cold and impersonal campus.

The idea of an on-campus bar must not have crossed the minds of
ASUCLA’s current board of directors, because if it had, they
would have realized its extraordinary potential. The bar idea has
been tried by ASUCLA in the past ““ the proposal had the
approval of the previous chancellor, the dean of students and the
chief of police, but it was shut down by a few opponents.

It’s time the directors of ASUCLA try it again ““ we
bet if you put that on the annual student surveys, they would
prefer it over random music stores. ASUCLA made progress in
bringing Boba, now bring us beer.