Student and community organizations have expressed concern that UCLA may no longer be involved with an annual event to clean up Westwood Village and the North Village, which they say would lead to fewer volunteers for the event.
The Westwood Organized MEGA Project, or WOMP, is an annual volunteer day when UCLA students and Westwood community members work to clean and beautify the Village. The university has participated in the event since its creation in 2010. WOMP took place for the third time in late April and was extended to the North Village this year.
But in a WOMP planning meeting in January, John Heidt, vice chair of the Westwood Community Council and co-chair for WOMP, said he was told by UCLA officials that the university did not necessarily need to be connected to the event.
Heidt said Keith Parker, assistant vice chancellor of government and community relations, said at the meeting he wanted to reallocate university resources to other projects.
Parker could not be reached for comment. Phil Hampton, a university spokesman, said the concerns are premature at this point.
“I think the point we want to emphasize is that there has been no decision made for WOMP next year,” Hampton said.
Rachel Corell, executive director of the UCLA Volunteer Center, also said the center has not reached a decision about its involvement in WOMP next year.
Programming decisions are based on student volunteers’ feedback about specific community service events, Corell said.
Heidt said the community’s main concerns are related to outreach, adding that the Volunteer Center contributes heavily in bringing the event to the attention of students.
While WOMP organizers raise all of the funds for the event, the Volunteer Center reaches out to the university population and has contributed volunteers in past years, Heidt said.
In response to concerns about the possible lack of university support, the Westwood Neighborhood Council, the Westwood Community Council and the Westwood Homeowners Association all passed unanimous resolutions stating UCLA should support the event.
Heidt said he was not sure how WOMP would continue without the Volunteer Center’s support, because coordinating with students would be much more difficult.
“It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t support it,” he said. “This project engenders a lot of goodwill in the community.”
The Undergraduate Students Association Council is also looking to pass a resolution urging the Volunteer Center to show the same support to WOMP that it has in the past, said Adam Swart, the USAC president’s chief of staff and a board member of the Westwood Community Council.
Swart said the Volunteer Center was an important part of WOMP’s effectiveness.
“(The event) will go on regardless of whether we have UCLA support, but it won’t be as effective or impactful,” Swart said.
Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, said he has spoken with UCLA officials about the issue.
He is “optimistic” the Volunteer Center will reaffirm its support for the event, he said.