Editorial: Dull Ackerman Union needs a safe pub

Ackerman Union doesn’t really hold much community value
for many students these days.

It’s very useful: Students can go there to eat, get their
hair cut, play video games and buy books.

But this makes it no more than an irregular stop on the way to
and from class: Most students only buy books once a quarter and few
people rarely eat there everyday.

No one really wants to socialize at Ackerman either because it
doesn’t have an interesting or lively atmosphere ““
it’s stale and unattractive. The seriousness of this problem
increases when considering the opportunity the Associated Students
of UCLA, who oversee business in Ackerman, have to fix it ““
by approving and constructing a campus pub there.

ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia Eastman has already said, in
broad terms, that the association will explore the issue in the
future, as a part of their Student Union Strategic Initiative. But
it’s in the best interest of all students for the issue to be
explored ““ and for results to be reached ““ a lot
faster.

There are a couple of misconceptions about the implementation of
a student bar that, once discussed in a realistic manner, should
become moot issues.

For example, some may argue most undergraduates are underage and
would not be able to drink legally.

Well ““ aside from the undergraduate students who can drink
““ the pub would also cater to the thousands of graduate
students, faculty and staff members on campus. This is why six
other UC campuses already have bars.

Some might also fear the pub will increase drinking overall and
subject students to dangers associated with it, such as drunk
driving and violence.

But the pub’s purpose is not to promote drinking ““
people already drink, and they can do so two blocks from UCLA.
Issues such as drunk driving are ones we already have, not ones the
pub would create.

The fact that the pub would forge the creation of a central
point on campus where people can meet informally and socialize
““ perhaps while watching UCLA sports on television or seeing
a student band play ““ is its true value. The pub would help
make UCLA smaller and help give it a personality ““ one that
would replace the cold, impersonal feeling it has now.

ASUCLA should take the time it needs to figure out the logistics
of creating a safe bar. But it should make sure it does this
productively and efficiently, talking to the necessary people
sooner than later such that time is not spent dillydallying over
hypotheticals and the pub actually gets done.