UCLA is transforming into an intellectual vending machine, where
ideas have to resemble fast food and be readily available for 75
cents.
Such is the opinion held by Fred Notehelfer, a professor in the
history department and director of the Center for Japanese Studies.
Notehelfer is one of several disgruntled campus-dwellers, most of
whom are faculty members, upset by the degree to which they say
campus is being pervaded by commercialism.
And when they say commercialism, they mean anything ranging from
the beaded jewelry sold bazaar style on tables outside LuValle
Commons to the procession of trailers that visit campus almost
quarterly to shoot on UCLA grounds for the next Wilson brothers
teen movie.
Broadly speaking, Notehelfer and others believe a wide-scale
presence of such commercialism on campus is distracting the
university from its true purpose: to educate and provide a
thought-stimulating environment where students challenge each
others’ ideas.
Geoffrey Symcox, a professor in the history department, is one
of those calling for the supposed spread of commercialism to be
halted and reversed.
“How long will it be before we have a Wal-Mart on
campus?” he asked. “We are promoting the idea that the
life of the mind should come second, that students are here to shop
rather than learn.”
Notehelfer began teaching at UCLA in 1968, and since then he
said he has witnessed the university gradually change into a
commercial entity.
“Last year, even the quiet of the Sculpture Garden was
invaded by a “˜Coffee Sellers Cart,’ or marketers
selling goodies and food," he said. “Will no quiet, beautiful
spaces be left to us in which to talk and think?”
Notehelfer is most disturbed by the vendor stands placed on the
sidewalk in front of LuValle Commons, selling a variety of small
gifts and accessories.
“I am not against these products being marketed, but maybe
a university is not the right place for it,” he said.
“These products have invaded spaces set aside for different
types of contemplation: quiet spaces allowing human beings to
interact with broader ideals.”
He added if he was convinced the profit from the stands was
being used to fund scholarships or run seminars, he might accept
the benefits as outweighing the costs.
According to Keith Schoen, director of retail operations for the
Associated Students of UCLA, these outdoor concession vendors are
permitted to market their wares on campus in exchange for a 20
percent sales commission paid to ASUCLA.
In total, the sales bring in between $50,000 and $60,000 per
year with vendors at three different locations: LuValle Commons,
Ackerman Union and the Health Sciences store near the UCLA Medical
Center.
The profit made from these ventures, combined with money made
from other ASUCLA projects, are used to support ASUCLA operations,
fund campus student unions, and provide finances for student groups
via the campus programming fund.
“I guess you could call the concession vendors and the
stores “˜commercialism’ because we do advertise and we
have sales,” Schoen said. “But really, they are more so
retail outlets that support the campus and students.”
Schoen did however say that the concession stands only provide a
small portion of profit to ASUCLA and are only present at certain
locations for 15 weeks out of the year.
Additionally, most students seem not particularly disturbed by
the presence of the vendors.
“For a lot of students, the vendor stands are a way of
getting a service they need,” said Dria Fearn, a student
representative on the ASUCLA board of directors. “I highly
doubt that they seriously detract from the academic environment of
the university.”
Karen Orren, professor of political science, said the increase
in the number of films shot on campus was also cause for
concern.
“No one gets to park on (Charles E. Young Drive) except
for the handicapped, and movie trucks,” she said. “On
days when movies are being shot, I guess the handicapped are forced
to go elsewhere ““ this is transmitting the wrong
message.”
Orren suggested that certain locations on campus be selected for
such commercial enterprises, such as Bruin Plaza around the
Ackerman Store.
Commercial activity would then be concentrated and restricted to
one area, leaving the rest of the campus free of potential
disturbance.
“Perhaps the university should investigate some form of
campus protection guidelines, outlining an elaborate set of values
unique to our campus,” she said. “It should be a
priority to maintain UCLA as an intellectual oasis in what has
become a pretty venal corporate world.”
Most importantly, Notehelfer said in a case like this, faculty
and students should have a chance to voice opinions about the
forces that shape their lives.
“This is a typical case of a fait accompli, and we are now
told we simply have to live with it,” he said.
Overall, some form of action is being called for.
“Our university should not be in the business of selling
things,” Symcox said. “It is pathetic when we have to
grub for money by selling trinkets.”