A History of Lease Agreements Between the Ché Café and UCSD

The Ché Café was erected in 1980 by a group of students as a nod to the Argentine Marxist, Che Guevara. This student-run cooperative and vegan café is located next to the La Jolla Playhouse, south of Revelle College and the developing Eighth College. The space offers a multitude of services to undergraduates attending UC San Diego and the general public in the greater San Diego area, acting as a study space for students during the day and part of the local music scene at night. The collective prides itself on accepting anyone looking to get involved with the collective as well as acting as a strong sense of community for students on campus.

The leftist venue has long had disputes over the space it occupies with the school’s administration. Below is a timeline of the Ché Café and UCSD’s numerous lease disputes that ultimately led to a lawsuit. Included in this article are testimonies from core members of the collective. Their testimonies aim to provide transparency to the current student body regarding the past actions of the administration. In 2024, a new lease agreement will be drafted between all student-run collectives on campus and the University.

Since 1980, the café has had a long history of student involvement and is made up of undergraduates, alumni, and community members dedicated to hosting weekly music events on campus. “The Ché,” as students have colloquially nicknamed it, currently acts as a venue where local bands can perform. They have historically featured Nirvana, Green Day, The Frights, and Alex G in the space. Members of the Ché are dedicated to keeping a sober and “Brave Space” on campus by openly operating as a safe establishment: “Regardless of your race, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, faith, creed, abilities, or background.”

With support and donations from undergraduates, graduates, and community members alike, the Ché has managed to remain open as a venue. This, however, has not always been so concrete, as the University has attempted several times to evict the Ché since the building’s original creation by student volunteers.

In the spring of 2000, UCSD administration tried to unofficially shut the Ché down by switching the locks on the space without the members of the collective’s knowledge or form of consent. When questioned on the motivation behind the lockout, the University cited fights that broke out on the premises during a show where multiple patrons were injured. An article published in the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2000 stated, “University officials told students who run the cafe that they had to increase security and admit adults only. This followed incidents of fighting and injuries to some patrons, including a 14-year-old girl.” The changing of the locks led to a lock-in held by members and supporters of the collective to oppose the efforts of the University.

Then, in 2014, UCSD attempted to throw out its month-to-month lease with the student-run collective, providing an eviction notice. Members were given five days to vacate the premises after the Graduate Student Association (GSA) voted to decertify the co-op and terminate the Master Space Agreement and the venue’s lease. Concerns rose within the GSA regarding the little involvement of students within the organization compared to the roles played by alumni and members of the community. The student services the Ché was offering at the time were also called into question due to the lack of student involvement when the GSA decided to decertify the co-op in 2014 releasing the collective of their role as a student organization.

The GSA is made up of graduate students who are chosen through nomination. The GSA’s duties include voting on whether student collectives on campus (e.g. Groundwork Books, the Food Co-op, and the General Store) are both beneficial to student life and comprised of enough student body to be deserving of certification and funding from the administration. According to the GSA in 2014, the decertification came due to the Ché’s failure to comply with the Master Space Agreement by not paying their rent. The Master Space Agreement dictates the rules and regulations set for student collectives to occupy the buildings given to them on campus.

One older member of the collective who asked The Triton to remain anonymous for personal reasons agreed with the sentiment of the GSA. “We (the Ché) weren’t at the time doing a lot for the students; there weren’t really a lot of students involved.”

The Ché retaliated against the 2014 eviction notice with a lawsuit against the school accusing the administration of collusion with the GSA to “unlawfully” terminate the organization’s lease. The San Diego Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the University on March 27, 2015, citing the Ché’s failure to request a proper dispute resolution procedure according to the terms of their lease agreement or sufficient evidence of the accused collusion.

Despite this ruling from the Superior Court, the collective put forth a statement of occupation regarding the space in question. Within their statement, the co-op calls for action from students and members of the local San Diego community to aid in their occupation of the space saying, “We act as we are now, by occupying a space that rightly belongs to the students and community members who utilize it … Our occupation is ongoing — we invite you to join our fight.”

Collective and community member at the time of occupation, Dylen Zepeda, shared their experience occupying the space with The Triton. “It was a weird time honestly. The constant fear of getting the door busted open or something weird happening in the dead of night. But luckily nothing crazy happened when we were occupying. We were able to bring in some mattresses and other sorts of mats and stuff to the space days before actual occupation so it wasn’t so uncomfortable.”

After occupying the space for more than 100 days in 2015, including over some of the hottest months of summer, current UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla decided to reopen lease negotiations with the co-op.

One of the four principal student members of the collective in 2015, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Triton that the relationship between the administration and the organization was “pretty hostile.” The same alum was also present at the meetings with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Juan González, and greater administration regarding lease negotiations at the time.

The alum told The Triton that most of the collective members at the time took the attempted shutdown of the Ché personally. “The meetings weren’t super productive … Khosla wasn’t that interested in co-ops or ‘the Ché’ … they were very close to removing us with the police and I guess last minute it sounded like González stepped in and convinced maybe Khosla to re-examine if it’s feasible to do something about it without just getting rid of it.”

The same member also stated that once the Ché got legal mediation involved, “It was pretty productive, and we were just finalizing what they wanted in the lease and what we were agreeing to … because eventually what they wanted was pretty reasonable.” This statement is regarding safety renovations the school insisted be put in place before reopening the space.

Tom Corringham, a UCSD alumnus and former core member of the collective, told The Triton that an agreement was reached to renovate the space in 2017 for safety measures such as a “Fire suppression system … a new ADA compliant bathroom and some other work as well” with the school.

After these renovations were completed, a new rent of $1 a year per student organization was also agreed upon on page two of the new draft of the Master Space Agreement. The new Master Space Agreement remains to this day including the lease of $1 a year for the four main student-run co-ops operating on campus today.

In a 2017 article from The San Diego Union-Tribune, Vice Chancellor González said, “The new lease agreements show the University’s support for campus co-ops and the experiences they provide students.”

On August 4, 2017, an article published in UC San Diego Today by the University claims that the new Master Space Agreement allows, “organizations an opportunity to engage with the campus community, enhance the quality of student life, and provide unique cultural experiences.”

The UC San Diego Today article also quoted former Vice Chancellor González as saying, “The co-ops provide enhanced cultural interaction with a diverse student population, bringing new opportunities and engagement that our students would not otherwise encounter. We want our co-ops to thrive and be successful.”

After repairs were made in 2018, the Ché re-opened, under a new 40-month lease with the University. Following a 48-month extension, that lease will be up on October 31, 2024 and negotiations with the University will once again begin for not only the Ché but all four of the student-run co-ops on campus including the General Store, the Food Co-op, and Groundwork Books.

That being said, Corringham, a former core member of the collective from 2017, also expressed his optimism regarding the new negotiations saying, “Now we should be in a better place because I think there is a lot more student involvement … if now we are a good resource for students then they (the University) should value that, they should appreciate that, that was one of their interests in the lease negotiations,” citing additional student involvement as a positive factor in the upcoming lease agreements for the Ché and other student-run collectives on campus.

Another member of the collective who joined in 2015, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Triton regarding the new lease negotiations: “I would have a concern that if that Vice Chancellor [González] is gone, do we have someone like him on their side, ‘cause I think he was going to bat for us,” regarding the Ché.

Corringham also expressed his hope for the upcoming lease and told The Triton, “I hope that the process will be easier this time around than last time. I think there were a lot of points of contention in the last lease negotiation that could have been avoided with clearer communication between the administration and the collectives.”

Note: Look out for coverage of lease negotiations between the co-ops on campus, such as the Ché Café, and UCSD later this year.

Alessandra Breall is a contributing writer for The Triton.

Correction: The ending date of the Ché’s lease has been corrected to October 31, 2024. A previous version of this article stated July 2024.