Viable solutions exist for ASUCLA crisis
By Tim Beasley
The students’ association has received a lot of bad publicity in
the past few months. Deservedly so in too many cases. The
student-majority board of directors has to assume ultimate
responsibility for what prompted this bad press.
Let’s face it: We’ve screwed up. New board members just aren’t
effective until October or November, and in some instances, for
longer. We wanted to believe the best and didn’t have information
to the extent or of the sort necessary to prompt us to take
smaller, less painful steps instead of large, nasty ones.
Food Service probably has the worst press. Students are most
sensitive to food price increases, but it’s also the area that has
the least control of its expenses. The board of directors has a
policy in place that Food Service must at the very least break even
and at the most make four percent "profit." After covering all its
allocated expenses, Food Service was supposed to make us a whopping
$2,430 for the 1994-95 year, to support things like programming
money and space. In February we were told Food Service was slated
to earn around $600,000 less than budgeted.
There are solutions. The easiest was to raise prices to keep up
with inflation. Management approached the board’s food service
committee several times in fall 1994 with requests to raise prices.
We repeatedly said no. Finally, when faced with potentially huge
losses, we had to say yes.
Other undesirable options? Charge for ice and empty cups, lower
student wages, reduce student benefits, increase managerial
workload, close less "profitable" food places on campus. On the
positive side, we could serve more profitable food or attract more
students to eat on campus. The latter options require time,
something the board didn’t have. In fact, there may be another food
service price increase in June. But this gives us breathing space
to work on long-term solutions.
Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re students too, and board member
status is worthless when it comes to buying food at UCLA. We get
the same service, pay the same prices and have the same complaints.
Our goals really are to keep food prices as low as possible. We’re
looking to increase income in ways that students won’t mind …
much. Nonetheless, our income comes primarily from students.
An editorial in the same late March Daily Bruin called for the
board to be accountable and responsible; I could have written that
editorial. We’ve spent dozens of hours in meetings (some closed to
the public) trying to figure out what was broken and why, how could
we miss it for so long, who was responsible and hashing out
possible solutions. What should the students association look like
in 12 months? What services should be offered?
A lot of possible solutions involve living, breathing human
beings  they’re generally dedicated, hardworking employees
who want to serve or work with students, and deserve, some respect.
Many options affect students directly. Many plans are still poorly
formed. They aren’t ready for public unveiling.
Personally, I’d like to state the following for the record,
having seen the Board in action. The ASUCLA Board of Directors is
acting as responsibly as any board can, given its situation and
constraints. These people care deeply about the association and its
mission and are being called upon to make a more than reasonable
number of very difficult decisions, affecting many employees, in a
short time.
You’ll undoubtedly be reading about the board and ASUCLA actions
a lot in the next two months, but because of the poor timing many
long-term solutions will occur over the Summer and early Fall. The
negative elements will stand out more than the positive.
We hope that ASUCLA will continue to be student-run (separate
from UCLA!), trying to provide space, money and service for
students for many years to come. When  if  you think of
ASUCLA, we’d really like for you to think study or meeting space,
or think of the ASUCLA-funded programs (Melnitz Movies, any of
various cultural nights, Environmental Coalition’s "Earth
Day").
Comments and suggestions, including complaints, are welcome. The
student board members are student representatives. You can write to
me at tbeasley@ucla.edu or at 301 Kerckhoff Hall (campus mail
164006); all board members can be reached at (310) 206-5966, at
asucla@asucla.ucla.edu, or even care of the Executive Director’s
office, 332 Kerckhoff Hall.
Beasley, a Slavic studies graduate student, is the chair of the
board of directors.