Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

University offers to foot the bill for Ché Café repairs

With the Ché on the heritage organization's endangered list, UCSD has a change of heart

Chancellor Khosla intervenes and tells his administration to save the Che.
Chancellor Khosla intervenes and tells his administration to save the Che.

After weeks of meetings between the Ché Café collective and UCSD administration, the two sides have announced an agreement that spells out specific improvements that will pave the way for the operation of the Ché with the blessing of the school and without the threat of eviction.

Four specific improvements to the building have been identified that UC administration has agreed to pay for. They include a new fire suppression sprinkler system, a fire alarm pull system, tempered windows, and a “travel/exit path evaluation.”

All improvements will be paid for by the administration, says Fabiola Orozco, a fourth-year psychology major and Ché collective member who was involved in the two meetings with UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla in mid-July.

When UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla took over negotiations, the meetings with the Ché collective took on "a completely different tone" — from confrontation to resolution.

Many in the collective say those meetings with Chancellor Khosla is when the fate of the 35-year-old music venue and vegetarian café turned around. It was at those meetings, says Orozco, when the chancellor directed all future Ché/administration meetings to go from confrontation to resolution. All the meetings after that, she says, were “a completely different tone.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Ché seemed doomed when it was served with an eviction notice March 17, which could have been executed with armed sheriff deputies at any point over the next 180 days. Diehard supporters manned the Ché 24/7 in anticipation of a confrontation and/or arrests.

Chancellor Khosla first postponed the eviction in July. It was just postponed a second time, until September 14, which is just a few days before it expires anyway. Orozco tells the Reader that it was her understanding that the reason the eviction wasn’t thrown out completely was that Vice Chancellor Juan Gonzales was on a two-week vacation and he needs to be the administrator to do it.

Orozco says the administration has not specified exactly where the funding for the improvements will come from. “But they have told us they are committed to finding the funding. I just can’t imagine we would have gone this far with their architects and our architects to create these plans if they weren’t going to follow through.”

Orozco says the school has agreed to pay for the architects hired by the collective. Orozco says this process has taught the all-volunteer Ché collective that it must not take things like lease agreements for granted any more. “Our next [master space agreement] comes up for renewal in August 2016. Those are agreements between the co-ops and the school. We’ve learned to pay more attention and be careful when we draft documents like that.”

Place

Che Café

1000 Scholars Drive, San Diego

She says it didn’t hurt that in June San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organization said the Ché building was identified as one of the ten most endangered historical sites. “We’ve learned to pay a lot more attention to our own history…. The Ché would have gone away if people hadn’t stood up and worked so hard on this for months." And, she says, it's not just off-campus Ché supporters. "I would say the current students have gotten a lot more involved in the Ché since all this started.”

There are nine shows set for September, including L.A.’s the Living Strange with local bands Shady Francos, Beach Goons, and Buddha Pixie on Friday. An experimental/noise showcase with Monochromacy, Casey Chisolm, Cave Spave, and Scott Nielsen/Michael Zimmerman Duo is set for Saturday.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Chancellor Khosla intervenes and tells his administration to save the Che.
Chancellor Khosla intervenes and tells his administration to save the Che.

After weeks of meetings between the Ché Café collective and UCSD administration, the two sides have announced an agreement that spells out specific improvements that will pave the way for the operation of the Ché with the blessing of the school and without the threat of eviction.

Four specific improvements to the building have been identified that UC administration has agreed to pay for. They include a new fire suppression sprinkler system, a fire alarm pull system, tempered windows, and a “travel/exit path evaluation.”

All improvements will be paid for by the administration, says Fabiola Orozco, a fourth-year psychology major and Ché collective member who was involved in the two meetings with UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla in mid-July.

When UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla took over negotiations, the meetings with the Ché collective took on "a completely different tone" — from confrontation to resolution.

Many in the collective say those meetings with Chancellor Khosla is when the fate of the 35-year-old music venue and vegetarian café turned around. It was at those meetings, says Orozco, when the chancellor directed all future Ché/administration meetings to go from confrontation to resolution. All the meetings after that, she says, were “a completely different tone.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Ché seemed doomed when it was served with an eviction notice March 17, which could have been executed with armed sheriff deputies at any point over the next 180 days. Diehard supporters manned the Ché 24/7 in anticipation of a confrontation and/or arrests.

Chancellor Khosla first postponed the eviction in July. It was just postponed a second time, until September 14, which is just a few days before it expires anyway. Orozco tells the Reader that it was her understanding that the reason the eviction wasn’t thrown out completely was that Vice Chancellor Juan Gonzales was on a two-week vacation and he needs to be the administrator to do it.

Orozco says the administration has not specified exactly where the funding for the improvements will come from. “But they have told us they are committed to finding the funding. I just can’t imagine we would have gone this far with their architects and our architects to create these plans if they weren’t going to follow through.”

Orozco says the school has agreed to pay for the architects hired by the collective. Orozco says this process has taught the all-volunteer Ché collective that it must not take things like lease agreements for granted any more. “Our next [master space agreement] comes up for renewal in August 2016. Those are agreements between the co-ops and the school. We’ve learned to pay more attention and be careful when we draft documents like that.”

Place

Che Café

1000 Scholars Drive, San Diego

She says it didn’t hurt that in June San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organization said the Ché building was identified as one of the ten most endangered historical sites. “We’ve learned to pay a lot more attention to our own history…. The Ché would have gone away if people hadn’t stood up and worked so hard on this for months." And, she says, it's not just off-campus Ché supporters. "I would say the current students have gotten a lot more involved in the Ché since all this started.”

There are nine shows set for September, including L.A.’s the Living Strange with local bands Shady Francos, Beach Goons, and Buddha Pixie on Friday. An experimental/noise showcase with Monochromacy, Casey Chisolm, Cave Spave, and Scott Nielsen/Michael Zimmerman Duo is set for Saturday.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to Get Legal Assistance When Your Car Accident Insurance Claim is Denied?

Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.