Many say that Westwood Village does not offer enough to the
average UCLA student, but one believes the solution lies in getting
businesses and students together to discuss working toward a common
goal of improving the Village.
Fourth-year civil engineering student Joseph Vardner led a group
of UCLA administrators and Westwood business representatives
Wednesday morning in discussing what could be done to improve
Village life during the first meeting of the Revitalize Westwood
Committee. The group is open to all Westwood businesses, homeowners
and students wanting to discuss how to bring life back to the
city.
“Westwood and students should come together,”
Vardner said.
Everyone knows the problems Westwood faces and what needs to be
done to fix the city, but the lack of student involvement in
working with businesses toward making their goals become reality
has hindered the community’s progress, he said.
The Revitalize Westwood Committee is designed to bring together
Westwood merchants and students in meetings that have seldom been
held before, Vardner said. Representatives from U-Dog, Bel Air
Camera, Oakley’s Barber Shop and Nine Thirty attended the
meeting.
The shortage of stores providing student necessities is part of
the problem of attracting more students into the Village, he
added.
“One of the things I’ve constantly heard since the
beginning of the year is, “˜Where can I find a Target or
K-mart?'” Vardner said.
U-Dog co-manager Rob Sanford agreed, saying businesses failed to
capitalize on the “consumerable moment” during which
people found they needed something and were willing to pay full
price for an object.
The lack of knowledge many incoming UCLA students have about
Westwood may be another issue that has discouraged them from
shopping there.
“One of the biggest problems I see is freshmen being
really unfamiliar with what is in the Village,” said Clinton
Schudy, general manager of Oakley’s Barber Shop.
The barber shop, which opened in 1929, is the oldest business in
Westwood still around, but many students have not heard of it
because of the presence of a hair salon in Ackerman, he said.
“It’s unfair competition. I can’t go into the
dorms to hand out fliers, yet they have something right in the
student union,” Schudy said.
The availability of student services on campus has caused many
to simply go to the first place they see in Ackerman, said Steven
Sann, owner of newly opening restaurant Nine Thirty.
“Students think, “˜I can go down to the student union
and find this,’ and “˜I tried the service on the campus
first because I knew it was there,'” Sann said.
One of the methods businesses are attempting to attract more
students to their stores is the addition of BruinCard payment
machines within their shops.
But some businesses have been reluctant to implement the system
because of the long transaction time the BruinCard system
requires.
“BruinCard has an average 90-second transaction
time,” said U-Dog co-manager David Woodard.
Bel Air Camera manager Suzanne Ponder said part of her plan to
attract students is to continue being an integral part of the
community.
“We have always had a close relationship with UCLA,”
Ponder said. “I look forward to Westwood filling up and the
continued support of UCLA and its students.”
Vardner said he plans on meeting with five other businesses on a
one-on-one basis, and is encouraging more businesses to attend the
next the Revitalize Westwood Committee meeting to be held in the
upcoming weeks.