Quarter system got you down? Have you fallen and can’t get up? Bruin Tea is a series investigating student questions and petty concerns about UCLA.
The white metal chairs outside Ackerman Union and other dining locations on campus are controlled by Associated Students UCLA. Cindy Bolton, the ASUCLA food service director, addressed the durability and screech of the chairs.
Bolton said ASUCLA repaints the chairs every few years but they have not been replaced in decades. She said the chairs have been at UCLA since at least 1985, when she was a student, so she does not know when or why they were originally chosen.
Bolton said the chairs have survived on campus for so long because of their durability and weight.
“They don’t travel much (as in disappear) and they don’t break easily,” she said.
Students have noted the chairs make a screeching noise when they’re moved. Bolton said she thinks this issue is unavoidable with the design and weight of the chair.
“I don’t believe putting rubber or plastic feet on the chairs would help much, as they would likely fall off after just a few drags across the ground,” Bolton said.
Reusing the chairs in a recent remodel, rather than buying new ones, boosted UCLA’s sustainability ratings by a few points, Bolton added.
TL;DR: “They screech when people drag them across the ground because they are metal and heavy, and the ground is usually either concrete or brick,” Bolton said.