The Associated Students UCLA board of directors will vote Friday on whether to spend up to $300,000 on renovations for the Global Viewpoint Lounge in Ackerman Union.
The renovated room would better accommodate UCLA admissions presentations, which UCLA has hosted in the Global Viewpoint Lounge for more than a year. ASUCLA officials are also considering the project so that student groups could use the lounge as a mid-sized entertainment space for their events, said Roy Champawat, director of the student union.
The renovations would improve the room’s acoustics and add two larger televisions for presentations in the lounge, as well as shift all the furniture in the room to face the windows above Bruin Plaza.
“Right now, we have large venues like the Ackerman Grand Ballroom and the Bruin Reception Room, but we have no medium-sized theaters (in Ackerman Union),” Champawat said.
Since the Global Viewpoint Lounge would no longer serve as a study space, ASUCLA would also create a separate lounge where Tsunami Sushi is currently, outside the south side of the current lounge. Plans include adding new carpet and furniture from the current lounge and getting new furniture for the new theater.
UCLA Student Affairs will pay for part of the renovations, but its financial contribution is still undetermined. The $300,000 allocation from ASUCLA’s general fund is based on estimates of the use of the room by students and the room’s net revenue.
Under the plan, Student Affairs would continue to use the room during daytime admissions presentations, and the lounge would serve as a mid-sized performance and event space for student groups in the evenings, Champawat said.
If the proposal passes, the ASUCLA Student Union Division and Student Affairs would talk to Design, Project Management and Operations from UCLA Facilities Management to get a final design and cost, Champawat said.
Some students said they support the renovations.
Brenda Monroy, a second-year communication studies student, said she thinks the Global Viewpoint Lounge is an ideal starting point for campus tours, and she would not mind if she had to go to a different lounge to study.
Others said they think it would be convenient for student groups to have a medium-sized venue.
“This is pretty good news for clubs who want to have meeting and events, especially for the one I’m in that has about 50 members,” said Yechan Lee, a second-year graduate student in East Asian studies.
Leon Figueroa, a second-year neuroscience student, said he prefers the Global Viewpoint Lounge over other study rooms because of the ambience and the view of Bruin Plaza.
“Moving to another place would feel like I would be studying at a library,” he said.
ASUCLA venues are free for student groups to use, but they need to make reservations and go through a lottery process to gain access to a specific room.
Champawat said he expects the board of directors to pass the proposal because ASUCLA’s executive, services and finance committees have supported it.
The ASUCLA board of directors will vote Friday at noon in Kerckhoff Hall State Rooms. Anyone can attend the meeting.