A 38-year-old eating facility in the heart of South Campus may
soon be getting a makeover.
The proposed SAFE referendum, named for its relevance to
students, activities, facilities and employees, is set to appear on
both undergraduate and graduate student elections ballots this
quarter and would fund projects that include a new South Campus
Student Center to replace the Bombshelter.
The new building, which is part of the Associated Students UCLA
Food Service Master Plan for the improvements of numerous
facilities throughout campus, would be designed according to the
University of California policy for new buildings. The policy was
passed in 2003.
The new center would be enclosed with its own kitchen, longer
service hours and a wider variety of food to accommodate the
students, faculty and researchers who use the area, said Tina Park,
undergraduate member of the ASUCLA Board of Directors.
The Bombshelter was originally built as a vending site, so all
of the food it serves has to be made in Ackerman Union and brought
down to South Campus, Park said.
The plan is to get the new center open for the 2007-2008 school
year, said Bob Williams, interim executive director of ASUCLA.
“The facility would be more like (North Campus eateries)
LuValle Commons and Northern Lights.”
Both facilities offer a variety of food and a large area for
students to gather, neither of which currently exists on South
Campus, he said.
The building would be built according to the UC Green Building
Policy, which calls for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design standards for environmental sustainability, or its
equivalent.
The policy calls for a minimum sustainability standard and then
works off a point system, giving the designers a choice of which
aspects to make environmentally sustainable, said Crystal Durham,
member of the UCLA chapter of the California Student Sustainability
Coalition. “They can choose off of a menu ““ energy
efficiency, lighting, indoor atmosphere and environment, workspace
conditions and others.”
All new UC buildings must meet the green policy standards but
are left with the option of bypassing the cost and oversight of
LEED certification by creating their own standards.
By implementing the environmental standards, money is expected
to be saved in the long run.
LaKretz Hall and Auditorium in South Campus will be UCLA’s
first building to meet the green policy standards and is set to
open in the fall, Durham said.
If the SAFE referendum passes, ASUCLA expects to put $6 million
to $6.5 million into the project, with the rest of the $12 million
project expected to be funded by donors, Williams said.
The details of the referendum, specifically the pricing, was
proposed by an Entities Committee, composed of members of
Undergraduate Students Association Council, Graduate Student
Association, ASUCLA Board of Directors and the Communications
Board. It was then brought back to the four groups for approval to
be placed on the ballots, said Yousef Tajsar, undergraduate member
of the ASUCLA Board of Directors.
The referendum would allow for a variety of other food
facilities projects.
“We’re really trying to push for a Jamba Juice
lounge in (Ackerman Union) A-level, although there is no finalized
agreement,” Williams said. Tropix would then be replaced by a
facility providing health foods.
If SAFE does not pass, the minor projects may still be able to
go forward, but much of the plan would be financially infeasible,
Williams said.