Housing insensitive to needs of students

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in
Chief  Timothy Kudo

Managing Editor
 Michael Falcone

Viewpoint Editor
 Cuauhtemoc Ortega

Staff Representatives
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao
 Kelly Rayburn

Editorial Board Assistants
 Maegan Carberry
 Edward Chiao

  Unsigned editorials represent a majority opinion of
the Daily Bruin Editorial Board. All other columns, letters and
artwork represent the opinions of their authors.   All
submitted material must bear the author’s name, address, telephone
number, registration number, or affiliation with UCLA. Names will
not be withheld except in extreme cases.   The Bruin
complies with the Communication Board’s policy prohibiting the
publication of articles that perpetuate derogatory cultural or
ethnic stereotypes.   When multiple authors submit
material, some names may be kept on file rather than published with
the material. The Bruin reserves the right to edit submitted
material and to determine its placement in the paper. All
submissions become the property of The Bruin. The Communications
Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints
against any of its publications. For a copy of the complete
procedure, contact the Publications office at 118 Kerckhoff Hall.
Daily Bruin 118 Kerckhoff Hall 308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA
90024 (310) 825-9898

As housing director Michael Foraker can tell you, student rights
are not “real” rights ““ they’re actually
quite malleable. Clearly this was the case at the end of last
quarter, when he required students living in rooms with vacancies
““ as a result of changes in the availability of housing
““ to upgrade their contract, move to a new room or accept a
new roommate, despite the fact that students signed a contract to
live and pay the established rate of a triple room.

This is the most recent in a long string of offenses committed
by Housing dating back a couple of years to their alleged policy of
stashing athletes in other students’ rooms over breaks, or
their lame attempts to quell the discontent of residents affected
by dusty, dirty De Neve with six packs and a mini-fridge. With its
perennial disrespect for student life, the Housing bureaucracy
embodies the worst of what this university can be.

This decision, made in the face of student opposition, shows
Foraker’s ignorance of student needs and wants. Housing,
which is run under associate vice chancellor Sam Morabito, receives
no state funding and must make up its entire operating cost from
housing fees and summer conferences and is in some ways forced to
pay attention only to the bottom line. Sadly this dollars-and-cents
approach has gone too far.

Students have no control over the availability of housing, and
in this scenario it is the university’s fault that the De
Neve Plaza project was not completed on time to avoid this kind of
dilemma. Yet the university somehow feels it is justified in
forcing students to pay more or uproot themselves to make up for
its mistakes.

The blatant disregard for student financial and living needs is
indicative of Foraker and Co.’s inability to serve the
community. After cramming students in study lounges and
unforgivable project delays, this new injustice is a sign that
Chancellor Albert Carnesale needs to intervene to repair the damage
between Housing and students. For far too long the Hill has been
treated by all parts of campus as a separate entity socially and
financially. If the chancellor cares about the quality of campus
life, this rift must be sealed.

Undergraduate Student Association Council President Karren Lane
and internal vice president Kennisha Austin and the general
representatives should also team up with On Campus Housing Council
chair Adam Harmetz, who has been justly fighting this action, to
work for student interests. Thousands of undergraduates live on
campus and USAC must advocate for their interests. In the past,
there has been distrust, and at times enmity, between USAC and OCHC
but this is an issue in which old rivalries should not prevent the
two sides from coming together.

There is also support in both the state legislature and the UC
Board of Regents to provide for the first-time state subsidization
of university housing. Passage of this sort of legislation could
decrease the cost to students and allow UCLA administrators to
prioritize students over the bottom line. Housing issues are
multifaceted and require a holistic approach. On this issue as
well, OCHC, USAC external vice president Evan Okamura and Carnesale
should collectively lobby the state, and Gov. Gray Davis to
subsidize housing. If Davis truly values education, as he says in
his campaigns, then he will realize the importance of affordable
housing when attending college and will support such a bill.

It’s time that Foraker realizes that students don’t
get to leave the Hill at the end of the day when he does. This is
where they live ““ and they should have some power over
it.