Students Compete for College Classes on 1st Day Back : Moorpark: Lines are the order of the day as enrollees scramble for fewer community campus courses, due to budget cuts, and run up pricey tabs for books.

On her first day as a Moorpark College freshman, Melissa Siegel did better in the classroom than she did in the parking lot.

“It took me 20 minutes to find a parking space,” she said, standing outside the bookstore after being introduced to another college concept--paying for textbooks.

“It’s a whole new atmosphere,” said the recent Calabasas High School graduate. “It’s definitely different from high school. It’s weird going into a class where you know absolutely no one.”

For Siegel and thousands of other community college students throughout Ventura County, Monday was the first day of class after the summer break and confusion reigned at Ventura, Oxnard and Moorpark colleges.

With fewer classes available because of budget cutbacks, students were standing in long lines to enroll for courses still open. Fall registration at Ventura and Moorpark dropped this year and both campuses scaled back the number of classes offered, officials said.

Ventura College lost 10.7% of its classes in budget cuts, and Moorpark is offering 4.5% fewer classes than last fall. Oxnard, the county’s smallest community college, received only a .6% cut in class offerings because college district officials wanted to protect its growth. Of the three campuses, Oxnard was the only college that saw a rise in registration this fall, officials said.

Sporting new backpacks and summer tans, students on Monday scrambled to find classes and buy books. They also waited in long lines at the bookstore and competed for parking places.

At Ventura College, Stephanie Mujica, a 22-year-old nursing student, was inside the campus bookstore Monday afternoon, trying not to wince too hard as the cashier rang up her purchases.

Three marking pens, a pile of cassette tapes, index cards and several thick textbooks totaled $124.25. Mujica paid for it in cash and sighed.

“I have two chapters to read by Thursday,” she said.

Simi Valley resident Angela Romano, 17, took advantage of a short break in one of her classes to scan the listing of courses still available at Moorpark College.

She was looking for an entry level business course, Business 1, and not finding much to choose from.

“There are not a lot of 1’s available,” she said.

Most of the on-campus activity at Moorpark College was centered in and around the college bookstore and business office, where students lined up to buy books and pay for their courses.

Book store manager Steve Grimm stood watch over eight humming cash registers while students lined up in the aisles, textbooks and supplies cradled in their arms.

“This is typical,” said Grimm, who opened the store at 7:45 a.m. and planned to close at 9 p.m. “It’s a twice-a-year thing, fall and spring. You realize you’re not going to see your family for a couple of weeks.”

The overwhelming crowds on the first few days of the semester are partially caused by a misconception among students that they need their books before reporting to class, Grimm said.

Many times, Grimm said, students will find that the reading lists for classes have changed and they don’t need the books they have already purchased.

“Get it right the first time!” implores a sign hanging from the store ceiling. “Please go to class before you buy your books.”

Across the county at Ventura College, Lorenzo Solis, 20, was already catching up on his reading assignments outside the college library.

His professors had just distributed their syllabuses and dismissed students early, Solis said. “I like it because it’s probably the shortest day I’ll have all year,” he said.

Several hundred feet away, Mariluz Lopez was hawking her used history textbook in front of the student bookstore.

“Anybody want to buy a History 7B book?” she yelled, waving her blue American history book to a line of students outside the bookstore.

Lopez, who is taking classes for her teaching credential, said she missed the book buyback program last week. The program allows students to sell textbooks back to the college at reduced prices.

“I paid $37.50 for it last semester,” Lopez said. “It’s going for $28 (used) in the bookstore, and I’m asking $25 or $20 for it. If I don’t sell it, I’ll be stuck with it.”

At Oxnard College, Prof. Michael Bowen was trying to get acquainted with his students in intermediate algebra.

The chalkboard behind him was blank except for the class schedule, and Bowen was conducting an easy first day--going around the room and asking each student for his or her name, major and hobbies.

But Jennifer Brogan, a 20-year-old marine biology major, was impatient to leave. She looked out the door, checked her watch and tapped her fingers.

“I hate math,” Brogan whispered. “I can think of plenty of places where I’d rather be.”