UCLA officials’ plans to remove Saxon Steps sparks Facebook petition by students
Students have started a petition to save Saxon Steps after officials announced plans for its removal.
By Antonio Gonzalez
March 7, 2012 3:13 a.m.
UCLA officials are planning to remove the staircase that leads from Gayley Avenue up to Saxon Suites, a decision that has sparked student opposition in the form of an online petition.
Housing and Hospitality Services is making arrangements to remove Saxon Steps during either spring quarter or summer break, said Peter Angelis, assistant vice chancellor of Housing and Hospitality Services.
The wooden, uneven, dirt-packed steps were never intended to be a permanent part of the campus, Angelis said. He said the steps were built at least 10 years ago, during which time concerns about safety have led to the addition of railing and improved lighting.
Once the steps are removed, the hillside will be landscaped to resemble its original state, he said.
With the addition of a staircase at the newly constructed Gardenia Way and Holly Ridge, Saxon Steps are no longer necessary as a means to get to the apartments and Westwood Village from the Hill, Angelis said. As construction on the Hill continues and more residents move into residence buildings, Angelis said the stairway through Holly and Gardenia will provide better access for pedestrians coming to and from the Hill.
But logistics, and sentimental attachment to the steps, have spurred an online student campaign to save them. After hearing at a Monday floor meeting last week that there were plans to remove the steps, second-year undeclared student Jose Zavala started a Facebook event titled “Save Saxon Steps.”
The event, which had 248 people planning to attend as of Tuesday evening, is advertising an online petition against Housing’s plans to alter the steps. The petition is located on Change.org, and 239 students have signed their names so far.
Zavala said he believes that for anyone who lives in the Rieber or Hedrick residential buildings, Saxon Steps are the most convenient way to get to Westwood. He said he thinks the Gardenia and Holly stairs are inconvenient because they require students to take multiple staircases that double back on themselves before getting to the North Village.
Some students who have posted on the Facebook event have expressed concern with the removal of the steps, citing their convenience to accessing the Hill.
“I think the solution to the steps is not to get rid of them but do more to improve them. It’d cost much less than taking them all out and replacing with trees,” one student posted on the Facebook event’s wall.
Others, however, said they think the change will be beneficial because of safety hazards posed by the stairs.
“(Saxon Steps) has become a dilapidated hazard that serves to ferry students into a community full of people,” a different post read. “It is poorly lit, falling apart and all around unsuitable for moving the large community of students it aims to serve.”
Michelle Acosta, a second-year undeclared student, said she feels Saxon Steps’ reputation as an unsafe area is blown out of proportion. She added that although the steps can feel unsafe at times, she likes using them, for the most part.
Zavala said he hopes that through his petition and Facebook event, he can make students aware of the impending removal of the steps because many students have not heard of the plans.
