A group of 18 UCLA graduate students traveled to Los Angeles City Hall on Feb. 19 to discuss whether privatization of the Los Angeles Zoo is the right answer to budget woes.
Because of California’s economic situation, concern has surfaced regarding whether public spaces should be turned over to private businesses to relieve some of the state’s budget troubles.
Every year, the School of Public Affairs works with UCLA Government and Community Relations to come up with focus points that are considered important to the city of Los Angeles, said Gwen Payne, administrative analyst of external programs for School of Public Affairs.
To achieve these goals, graduate students go to City Hall to interview city officials in order to gather information that can help to answer these questions, Payne said.
There were six teams of three, and each team had 30-minute interviews with three city officials to ask questions about what their focus is regarding the L.A. Zoo, Payne said.
“We used the interviews to provide a space in which these high- level individuals could feel comfortable to answer pointed questions on very specific issues,” said Matt O’Keefe, a second-year public policy graduate student.
Frank Gilliam, dean of UCLA School of Public Affairs, said the event is a good time for students to engage in real-life issues.
“(The students) get to test some of the theories they’ve been studying in the classroom and the city gets input from unbiased, objective and really fresh observers,” Gilliam said.
As for engaging with city officials, O’Keefe said he was happy about how easy it was to talk to them about the issues at hand.
“The access was fantastic and I was really impressed at how closely the people we spoke to were listening to what we had to say,” O’Keefe said. “I was incredibly impressed to see how much they cared about what we had to say and how much they are looking forward to the results of our work.”
One particular interviewee was John R. Lewis, general manager for the L.A. Zoo. Others included city and county officials, as well as civic and nonprofit leaders.
At the end of the day, the graduate students regrouped to discuss what they had found during the interview process. Their findings included five key issues: public welfare related to the zoo, cost cutting, issues of labor, animal welfare, and proposed models and plans for the zoo.
They then presented their findings to an audience made up of community members, as well as the individuals who were interviewed.
“We came together … to present what (city officials) all said about each other, to each other, about the process … to explain where there is consensus and where there is still debate,” O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe acknowledged the tranquility in the room as he said there was not a lot of animosity, despite the contentious nature of the issue.
The next step is to wait and see if the issues brought up will be pursued and addressed by Wendy Greuel, Los Angeles City Controller, Payne said.