WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Volume 37 No.12 Apr. 01 - Apr. 11, 2002 [ ARCHIVE ] [ FEEDBACK ] [ HELP ]
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Lab tech questions adminstration's spending

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Dear Editor,

      Upon reading the March 15-28 issue of The Ebbtide, I was glad to see that the staff was willing to write about the closure of the photo lab, but I am concerned that some of the deeper issues may have been overlooked.
      I have been a photo lab aide for approximately three years, performing a variety of tasks not only for the instructors, but also for the students. We are looked upon not only to keep the photo lab running, but to check out equipment and help students with any challenges that they may have.
      Many of us work overtime for which we are not getting paid, nor do we claim that time. We do it because we know that the photo lab budget is tight and we need a few extra minutes to get the lab up and running, or help students after the lab has officially closed. I do not do this job for the money; I do it because I love working with the students, helping them become better photographers.
      When I first heard about the photo lab closing, I was outraged. The closure occurred two weeks prior to finals. I could not believe the Administration would allow such a thing to happen. In my opinion, it was a breach of contract on the Administration's part. When students register for a photography course, it is the Administration's obligation to ensure the students are receiving what they paid for in their lab fees. In the above mentioned article, Goldstein, Dean of Humanities, was quoted as saying, "We don't need to get hysterical over something that will be resolved in less than a week."
      I believe that almost every student on campus would agree that losing a week's worth of time to complete assignments prior to finals is unacceptable. To the best of my knowledge, none of the lab aides (including myself) took drastic measures other than reporting this to the Ebbtide staff, to bring this to the attention of the media. I do know the student who called the media, but again it was done with malice towards the Administration, and it was not to "...piss off (Dean) Goldstein" as quoted by The Ebbtide.
      One area that should be investigated is the administration's spending. As reported in the March 1-14 issue of The Ebbtide, two students, along with the group's advisor and a staff member from the Women's Center were initially to be sent to Washington, D.C., to attend a four-day conference.
      However, the Budget Committee elected to allow four additional students at the cost of $1,400 per person, to attend.
      It wold be a wonderful learning experience for those students and a great opportunity for the College, but is it a required needed by those individuals for graduation?
      By the closing of the photo lab, a required course needed not only by Humanity and Art majors, but also Marketing students, in the crunch-time prior to finals, would be disadvantaged.
      So my question is, where does the administration's priorities lie? With academic programs or extracurricular activities? Could that $5,600 have been used to help struggling programs within the campus? The day the photo lab was closed, two other lab aids and myself volunteered to work for free to keep the lab open, but we were told that it was not allowed. So the viable solution was to reduce the lab hours where the least amount of impact would result.
      Those hours ended up being the evening hours. Since the lab is to be closing two hours earlier each night and closed on weekends, when are the evening students supposed to finish their assignments? Will they be expected to leave their jobs a few hours early so that they can compete for time in the lab? That does not seem very "viable" after all!
      Again, my concern is for the students. I have no vested interest in having the photo lab open longer hours, I am presently not taking any classes -and I am not motivated by the lost income. It all boils down to a broken commitment from the administration to provide a service that they offered, and their failure to satisfactorily complete that service.
      My hope is that the administration does not try to downplay the severity of their actions in this event. If certain students would not have stepped up and taken action, I am certain that this issue would not have bveen resolved as quickly as it was -if you can call it resolved. No matter who's at fault it was by closing the lab, the ones who truly felt the most impact and were hurt was the students.
Michael Huber
Photo Lab Tech

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wEbbtide Webmaster: Henry Lai

Lab tech questions adminstration's spending
.	Dear Editor, Upon reading the March 15-28 issue of The Ebbtide, I was glad to see that the staff was willing to write about the closure of the photo lab, but I am concerned that some of the deeper issues may have been overlooked. I have been a photo lab aide for approximately three years, performing a variety of tasks not only for the instructors, but also for the students. We are looked upon not only to keep the photo lab running, but to check out equipment and help students with any challenges that they may have. Many of us work overtime for which we are not getting paid, nor do we claim that time. We do it because we know that the photo lab budget is tight and we need a few extra minutes to get the lab up and running, or help students after the lab has officially closed. I do not do this job for the money; I do it because I love working with the students, helping them become better photographers. When I first heard about the photo lab closing, I was outraged. The closure occurred two weeks prior to finals. I could not believe the Administration would allow such a thing to happen. In my opinion, it was a breach of contract on the Administration's part. When students register for a photography course, it is the Administration's obligation to ensure the students are receiving what they paid for in their lab fees. In the above mentioned article, Goldstein, Dean of Humanities, was quoted as saying, "We don't need to get hysterical over something that will be resolved in less than a week." I believe that almost every student on campus would agree that losing a week's worth of time to complete assignments prior to finals is unacceptable. To the best of my knowledge, none of the lab aides (including myself) took drastic measures other than reporting this to the Ebbtide staff, to bring this to the attention of the media. I do know the student who called the media, but again it was done with malice towards the Administration, and it was not to "...piss off (Dean) Goldstein" as quoted by The Ebbtide. One area that should be investigated is the administration's spending. As reported in the March 1-14 issue of The Ebbtide, two students, along with the group's advisor and a staff member from the Women's Center were initially to be sent to Washington, D.C., to attend a four-day conference. However, the Budget Committee elected to allow four additional students at the cost of $1,400 per person, to attend. It wold be a wonderful learning experience for those students and a great opportunity for the College, but is it a required needed by those individuals for graduation? By the closing of the photo lab, a required course needed not only by Humanity and Art majors, but also Marketing students, in the crunch-time prior to finals, would be disadvantaged. So my question is, where does the administration's priorities lie? With academic programs or extracurricular activities? Could that $5,600 have been used to help struggling programs within the campus? The day the photo lab was closed, two other lab aids and myself volunteered to work for free to keep the lab open, but we were told that it was not allowed. So the viable solution was to reduce the lab hours where the least amount of impact would result. Those hours ended up being the evening hours. Since the lab is to be closing two hours earlier each night and closed on weekends, when are the evening students supposed to finish their assignments? Will they be expected to leave their jobs a few hours early so that they can compete for time in the lab? That does not seem very "viable" after all! Again, my concern is for the students. I have no vested interest in having the photo lab open longer hours, I am presently not taking any classes -and I am not motivated by the lost income. It all boils down to a broken commitment from the administration to provide a service that they offered, and their failure to satisfactorily complete that service. My hope is that the administration does not try to downplay the severity of their actions in this event. If certain students would not have stepped up and taken action, I am certain that this issue would not have bveen resolved as quickly as it was -if you can call it resolved. No matter who's at fault it was by closing the lab, the ones who truly felt the most impact and were hurt was the students. Michael Huber Photo Lab Tech	.
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