Friday, March 7, 1997
Reconstruction wastes money
As a taxpayer, I am dumbfounded and incensed how some areas of
the UCLA campus are constantly being torn up, redone, and torn up
again. This uses tax dollars poorly and isn’t right or fair.
Even as I write, crews of orange-vested men are tearing apart
Bruin Walk around the Bruin statue for the umpteenth time. I asked
one of the workers why. He responded that he had to find out what
lay below. Didn’t someone keep records of what’s underground in
that area?
On top of that, the Daily Bruin noted a few days ago how easy it
was for the controlling forces to divide the cost overruns of the
Ackerman Student Union renovation which will be passed on to
students and taxpayers alike. Overruns, like the redoing of the
stairs on the northwest corner of the Ackerman Union building, was
front-paged on the Daily Bruin a few months ago. These overruns
should be absorbed by the construction firms and various
sub-contractors who worked on the building. How many more errors
were made in the interior away from the public eye that caused
these overruns? They are the builders’ mistakes. Student and
non-student taxpayers should not be made to pay for them.
UCLA officials have broken the trust and charge given to them to
act in our behalf for the wise and prudent administration of public
money and building programs.
Another money-guzzler is the Towell building. It is my
understanding it is to be leveled long before all the various
buildings have their earthquake retrofits completed. I find it hard
to believe that modifying Towell for other school organizations or
academic departments is too expensive. Office spaces and classrooms
could be created by freestanding partitions. Chain-link fences
could be installed for secure storage areas.
This has got to stop. Someone needs to investigate and bring to
light UCLA’s poor planning and construction.
Garry Cope
Property book officer/supply technician
Department of military science