Who is supposed to salute the poll on the hotel/conference center?

We now have confirmation that the telephone poll on the hotel/conference center was in fact sponsored by the capital projects folks at UCLA. (See our earlier post of a recording of the poll.)

Apparently, the goal is to have 400 completed interviews. Whether we will get info on the details of the polling methodology – how many call recipients refused to participate, etc. - is unclear.

Reports have come in from people at some distance from campus that they have received poll calls. Obviously, the neighborhood opposition – presumably that is the subject of the poll – will be concentrated among those who live close to campus and worry about traffic. The wider the area covered, the less will be the percentage opposition; you don’t need a poll to tell you that.

So if the poll results are released, who is supposed to salute them? Faculty opposition has largely centered on the business model of the hotel and the concern that the hotel/conference center in one way or another will drain revenue from the campus. The poll has no particular relevance to that issue which was the key to the Academic Senate’s official opposition. Hotel owners in the area are concerned about competition from a publicly-supported hotel. The poll has no relevance to their issue. The business model for the existing Faculty Center is also not connected to the poll. Those who are concerned with architectural preservation of the Faculty Center also would not be influenced by poll results.

So what is the purpose of the poll? To prove neighborhood opposition comes from NIMBYism? Even if that were so, it is not of particular relevance to the main issues of concern to faculty.

Who is supposed to salute the poll?