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Thursday, 5/29/97 Brewin' off campus Students look to retail sites in Westwood as an alternative to studying at UCLA libraries

By Matt Grace Daily Bruin Contributor After a day imprisoned on campus, many students escape UCLA in search of a good cup of coffee, a place to study and an opportunity to work on that much deprived social life. However, at times this freedom can conflict with the retail side of Westwood. Other than Kerckhoff Coffeehouse and scattered spots in the Ackerman Student Union, the UCLA campus offers very few places to study other than the libraries. Many students prefer going to local Westwood spots rather than having to wrestle with the on-campus parking situation and the monotonous solitude of the libraries. "I enjoy the people watching," mused David Hart, a fourth-year theater student, on his motivation for avoiding campus to study. "A flirtatious exchange is possible here," he said, scanning the Coffee Bean in Westwood. Unfortunately, one cherished spot off-campus has been threatened as of late. Borders Books in Westwood has recently introduced a "no backpack policy," much to the chagrin of the regulars who frequent the store. Customers must now check in their backpack before entering the store. "The main thing about the bag policy is that people were stealing," explained Shavaun Morrissey, a bookseller at Borders. "The bag policy had to do with other customers, not just students." Some still see this as a bureaucratic attempt to eliminate lingering students. They feel Borders no longer cares for their most loyal customers. "It's too much, it's really annoying," argued Lissette Lopez, a fourth-year physiological science student. "It's a college town, it's not that we come in here and don't buy anything." Hart, who likes to buy his coffee at the Coffee Bean in Westwood, and then study at Borders, feels that because the store "cannot tell the socioeconomic status of every student that walks in, they cannot tell the potential sale." He believes they tend to think of students as a nuisance and act quickly to usher them out. "Here I feel like I am being watched constantly," said Lopez, passing an annoyed glance around the store. Even though she regularly makes purchases at the coffee shop, she still receives unwelcome stares from the employees. Lisa Cheley, a fourth-year psychobiology student, also has reasons to feel unwanted. "Every time I have gone they have kicked me out," Cheley said. On more than one occasion Cheley and her friend Noelle Miller have been forced to leave by the manager. Despite making several purchases at the coffee bar, Cheley and Miller said that they were told that "real" customers had priority. The manager went on to say that students contribute nothing to the net income of Borders and are not welcome. Consequently, Miller and Cheley have decided to boycott Borders. They encouraged their family and friends to do the same. "I will never bring my business here again," Miller concluded. Those at Borders offer an opposing view. "Most college students don't buy things," Morrissey claimed. "If people need a table, students need to move." However, store manager Nicole Pinsky claims that the store thrives on students who wish to hang out there. "I hope I am not alienating any long-term customers," Pinsky responded. "We got to try to find the thing that pleasures the most people; the last thing we want to be is retail pigs." Pinsky feels that there is a problem with an overall lack of quality study space for students at UCLA. Consequently students accumulate at alternative spots, like book stores and coffee shops. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, when many UCLA services were unavailable to students, Pinsky recalled that over 400 students were scattered throughout the store. After discussing the situation with ASUCLA, she thought the problem would be resolved. However, Pinsky was left to fend for herself. "They let me down," Pinsky said with disgust. In response to Pinsky's addressing the study space problem, ASUCLA Executive Director Patricia Eastman denied that one even existed. "We felt we should not get involved in how (Borders) take(s) care of business," Eastman said. She did, however, mention an ongoing study concerning UCLA's current use of space. "Right now we are doing a major study of all of our space," Eastman added. "The hope is to make more student space." So for those currently frustrated with the present situation, ASUCLA says change is on the way. The direction of this change remains to be seen. AARON TOUT Alejandra Descals, a UCLA extension student specializing in hotel management, studies at Captgo on Broxton Avenue.