Several UCLA student organizations finally found a home in the
newly named Student Activities Center, which celebrated its grand
opening Tuesday afternoon.
The ceremony was held in front of the building ““ formally
known as the Men’s Gymnasium ““ which was decorated with
blue and gold balloons. Speakers for the event included Chancellor
Albert Carnesale, administrators and members of both the Graduate
Student Association and the Undergraduate Students Association
Council.
Each speaker addressed the benefits and impact the Student
Activities Center will have on the UCLA community.
The building was under renovation for the past two and a half
years and is one of the oldest on campus; it was built in 1932.
Some of the organizations housed in the new center are the LGBT
Resource Center, the Center for Women and Men, Army and Navy ROTC,
the Education Abroad Program, the Student Retention Committee and
the Student Initiated Outreach Committee.
The speakers said the center’s aim is to centralize
student organizations so it can provide resources for students in
one location.
The center’s new site will give students better access to
its resources because it is located by both Bruin Walk and Bruin
Plaza.
Fabian Renteria, a fifth-year history and Chicana/o studies
student, said he feels the center’s location will increase
the number of visitors. Renteria helped on the campaign to get the
center started in 2000.
“Five years ago, services for students were spread out,
and now they are conveniently in one building,” Renteria
said.
The center also provides more space and facilities for each of
the organizations now headquartered there.
Ernesto Nodado, a fourth-year microbiology student who works at
the LGBT center, recalled the small room the organization formerly
had in Kinsey Hall.
“The room was as big as a discussion classroom,”
Nodado said. “Our new office is much more convenient and more
comfortable since there is so much space.”
In her speech, USAC President Anica McKesey said there likely
will be other buildings like the center on other UC campuses.
The center also will house the Graduate Student Resource Center,
which is the first of its kind. This new organization will provide
services that cater to the needs of UCLA graduate students.
The idea of opening a student activities center on the UCLA
campus dates back to 1999 when students tried to pass the Student
Programs, Activities and Resources Complex Referendum but
failed.
The SPARC Referendum grew out of the Community and Retention
Empowerment Referendum, which increased student fees by $5 to
better support student-run retention and outreach programs. SPARC
was designed to provide facilities for the growing student
population and house programs created by CARE.
SPARC was re-submitted and passed in 2000 with the help of both
graduate and undergraduate students.