2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor
An old colleague comes back and talks about Chabot's future
Issue date: 3/8/07 Section: Editorials
- Page 1 of 1
From 1986 to 1993, I was a student at Chabot College. From 1990 to 1991, I was President of the ASCC, and from 1991-1992 I was Editor-in-Chief of The Chabot Spectator.
During my tenure, the one lesson that was emphasized time and again in my dealings with faculty and staff was "compromise."
Have those lessons been lost over the past fifteen years?
Only during the first few years of my studies at Chabot did College Hour offer what it was originally intended to offer: a one-hour diversion from campus responsibilities, two days a week.
At that time, unknown bands from the community, up-and-coming comedians, and cultural groups of all kinds were the norm during College Hour, and the campus took pride in these all-too-short, yet welcome interruptions.
Now the campus is at an important crossroads in its growth. New construction offers to improve the quality and quantity of services, but College Hour may be impacted on the short term.
Previously, when classes were scheduled during College Hour, they were often deemed Colloquia, and many were not major-specific courses.
Now is a different age, and because of the growth of the campus, facilities are not as regularly available as they once were.
This is not some diabolical plot, nor is it an action taken in ignorance by either the administration or the faculty. It is merely a necessary evil, for the short term.
And that leads me to where I see the role of the ASCC in this issue.
To the ASCC, I say: Support the short-term change in scheduling because it will maintain the availability of courses for the very constituents you claim to serve. And remind the representatives of the faculty and the administration that your support is, as Chancellor Cota and President Lofft said, "limited to the 2007-2008 academic year."
When construction is done, ramp up your College Hour activities, and invite the very people who are now asking for the change in scheduling so that you can show the value of College Hour to the entire campus and to the community.
Dean Pangelinan
During my tenure, the one lesson that was emphasized time and again in my dealings with faculty and staff was "compromise."
Have those lessons been lost over the past fifteen years?
Only during the first few years of my studies at Chabot did College Hour offer what it was originally intended to offer: a one-hour diversion from campus responsibilities, two days a week.
At that time, unknown bands from the community, up-and-coming comedians, and cultural groups of all kinds were the norm during College Hour, and the campus took pride in these all-too-short, yet welcome interruptions.
Now the campus is at an important crossroads in its growth. New construction offers to improve the quality and quantity of services, but College Hour may be impacted on the short term.
Previously, when classes were scheduled during College Hour, they were often deemed Colloquia, and many were not major-specific courses.
Now is a different age, and because of the growth of the campus, facilities are not as regularly available as they once were.
This is not some diabolical plot, nor is it an action taken in ignorance by either the administration or the faculty. It is merely a necessary evil, for the short term.
And that leads me to where I see the role of the ASCC in this issue.
To the ASCC, I say: Support the short-term change in scheduling because it will maintain the availability of courses for the very constituents you claim to serve. And remind the representatives of the faculty and the administration that your support is, as Chancellor Cota and President Lofft said, "limited to the 2007-2008 academic year."
When construction is done, ramp up your College Hour activities, and invite the very people who are now asking for the change in scheduling so that you can show the value of College Hour to the entire campus and to the community.
Dean Pangelinan
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