Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Beauty parlor may open in Ackerman

UCLA students might find another reason to visit Ackerman Student Union more often: a potential beauty parlor complete with massages.

Ackerman might soon be home to a beauty salon as the Associated Students of UCLA Board of Directors approved a proposal to lease space to a center offering manicures, pedicures, and massages.

The nail-care salon, which will be run by the same operator of Campus Cuts, is anticipated to fill the space of the current hair-cutting venue. Campus Cuts would then relocate to the area recently occupied by Mojo Records.

Though ASUCLA is currently in the process of negotiating with the operator of Campus Cuts, the lease is anticipated to be identical to Mojo Records’ lease. Rent would be $2,000 each month for a period of five years.

Last month, Mojo Records, the union’s music store, was evicted after failing to pay its monthly rent. But ASUCLA officials aren’t particularly concerned that the possible nail salon could follow the footsteps of their non-paying predecessor.

“The hair salon has been a success, and we’re happy to accommodate the expansions of this service,” said Student Union Director Jerry Mann.

Mann added that students were interested in having a nail salon in the union, as indicated in a recent ASUCLA student union survey.

The online survey was conducted for a one-week period in which students were asked their preferences about various services in Ackerman.

Though the results of the survey indicated that most students wanted to see a movie theater or a bowling alley in the union, the beauty salon was one of the most practical in terms of space, Mann said.

The association hopes the anticipated salon will prove to be an asset to the union, generating more student traffic in Ackerman.

“These are services that they currently have to get somewhere else,” Mann said. “But now it’s in a current and more convenient location.”

First-year undeclared student Dorothy Le also said the potential salon could turn out to be popular among UCLA students.

“I think girls will really like it. It’ll be more convenient for them,” Le said.

Though the board unanimously approved the proposal to house a beauty parlor, some board members wondered why Ackerman doesn’t lease its space to outside clothing stores.

ASUCLA Executive Director Pat Eastman pointed out that the UCLA Store already has an outlet for outside apparel, its Fast Track section.

But more importantly, if Ackerman was to contain various clothing stores, BearWear sales could be compromised, she said.

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