GSA discusses future of on-campus pub

After heated debate among Graduate Student Association members
about sharing a pub with undergraduates, a new resolution in
support of an on-campus pub was approved at their meeting Wednesday
night.

Yet in the middle of the new resolution, GSA members continue to
debate over pub space for their social gatherings and events.

Graduate students have complained that many of their departments
do not provide opportunities for them to meet other graduate
students.

Charles Harless, GSA president, said for graduate student issues
to be heard, graduate students need to participate in the
pub’s plans.

“We at GSA support ASUCLA to create a pub on campus, but
graduate students need to be active in the planning,” he
said.

Designated hours for graduate students and monitoring drinking
behavior of undergraduates have been the major issues brought up
repeatedly by GSA members.

With no graduate student involvement in the pub’s
planning, Harless said these issues will not be addressed.

Richard Kahn, GSA representative, said designated hours are
necessary for graduate students who plan to go to the pub.

Many supporters of the on-campus pub say it can serve as a
gathering place for both undergraduates and graduate students.

Hanish Rathod, GSA vice president of external affairs, said
graduate students should not complain about socializing in a pub
with undergraduates present.

Rathod said as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University, no
problems erupted when undergraduates and graduate students
socialized together.

Supporters of the pub say it can give undergraduates a chance to
see that graduate students also need a sense of belonging to the
university.

After visiting various student unions in other colleges,
Patricia Eastman, ASUCLA executive director, said an on-campus pub
would make Ackerman Union more appealing to students.

“Our vision is that this facility will be more upscale
than the fast food services in Ackerman,” she said.

Eastman said an on-campus pub would give undergraduates a chance
to learn responsible consumption of alcohol.

Because the on-campus pub would serve the entire student body,
GSA members also debated monitoring drinking behavior of
undergraduates.

Eastman said students would be monitored whether it’s with
stamps or wristbands to keep the environment as safe as
possible.

An on-campus pub in Ackerman Union would give graduate students
a sense of community, but they want reassurance that undergraduates
will be monitored.

The proposed monitoring programs do not alleviate many of
graduate students’ concerns over their undergraduate
counterparts.

Jenny Lallou, a second-year graduate student in humanities, said
undergraduates should know proper behavior when drinking.

“Undergraduates need to know it’s not going to be
like a frat house,” she said.

But Kenny Wu, a third-year political science student, said most
undergraduates know proper etiquette.

“I know undergraduates who do not abuse alcohol in
public,” he said.

Still, some graduate students are concerned that drinking among
undergraduates could get out of control.

Debanise Howlman, a second-year psychology graduate student,
said undergraduate binge drinking could make the pub unsafe.

“The atmosphere is no longer comfortable when undergrads
drink too much,” she said.

However, Amanda Ma, a second-year mathematics student, argued
there are undergraduates who consume alcohol responsibly.

“Not all undergraduates are going to abuse alcohol,”
she said.