Voices Are Raised to Defend Valley College

* On Nov. 16, The Los Angeles Times printed “Voices of Disillusionment,” an article that referred to the fact that enrollment in Los Angeles Community Colleges had declined in the past few years. The article discussed the concerns of four students who had left Valley College. Two students had gone on to attend other community colleges, one joined the work force and one attended a private vocational school. Many of the facts in the story are accurate. However, it is the facts that are missing that is a cause of concern to the majority of the 15,688 students, 433 faculty, 250 classified staff, 22 administrators and countless alumni of Valley College.

This article appeared the same week that found 22 high school college advisers visiting Valley College to gather information for high school seniors, the same week that 29 community and business mentors met with 45 students enrolled in the Puente Program, and the week after 650 students were honored for their scholastic achievements at the Dean’s Reception. The week of Nov. 16, more than 4,000 students registered on “Guarantee Day” for spring, 1996, classes. This action, if taken by one of the students in the story, would have found her in her desired classes.

An entire edition of the Los Angeles Times could be filled with quotes from students who feel that Valley College and other community colleges have given them the education and or job training they desired. Yes, students from the Los Angeles district travel to neighboring campuses, but students from neighboring campuses also come into the L.A. Community College District. Community college enrollment is down statewide, and most of our students have financial need.

It is very misleading to isolate four individuals from a student body of almost 16,000 students and then proceed to portray their comments as a representative sample of that student body. We invite the community to come to Valley College, or any of the California community colleges, and see firsthand the work, effort and individual success that is accomplished on our campuses. Valley pride, community college pride, is alive and well.

TYREE WIEDER

Wieder is president of Valley College

* Having just graduated from Los Angeles Valley College this past May, I could not help but understand what these students and ex-students were experiencing.

I can sum up the problem as far as the treatment of students and the lack of the needed classes in one word: attitude! All schools are in the business of providing the service of education, at a price. Until academia starts treating students like customers, the current problems and the falling enrollment will continue.

To those students who cite the high cost of going to community college as a reason they dropped out, get real! I went to school with students who were sent here from Japan. The reason was quality education at a very low cost. The fees are a bargain. If students say they cannot afford $13 a unit plus books, it is obvious that they are not willing to work hard and make an investment in their own futures.

RICHARD M. MEYERS

Northridge

* As a single mother of five on welfare, returning to school after a 17-year absence, I found Valley College had all the elements I needed to succeed in achieving my educational goals. I began my college studies quite hesitant as to whether or not I could get the classes I needed, or if I would even fit into the college atmosphere of studies and homework. Since starting out at Valley as a student in the GAIN program in summer of 1992, I never had a problem getting any of the classes I needed. I have always found the faculty and staff of LAVC very supportive of all its students.

Instead of searching out minor problems that all schools have and focusing on only these, your writer should have taken a closer look at what Valley College has to offer to all of its students--faculty and staff that care for each student as well as that student’s education. The classes aren’t that difficult to get into if the student takes some responsibility for his or her own education. Many students don’t bother to see a counselor and find out what classes they need to take until registration for the new semester has already begun. If the student is serious about his education, he plans ahead. If he is not, he sits back and waits and then finds someone else to blame for his lack of preparedness.

I find that to blame Valley College for the economic crunch that most families and students are facing is ludicrous; $13 a unit is nothing compared to some of the astronomical fees that other colleges and universities charge.

I have never found myself “lost in a crowd” at Valley College. As a student old enough to be the mother of some of my classmates, I have never felt out of place. There is a balance of ages of students at Valley, and I have always found that very comforting. If someone feels lost in a crowd it’s because they choose not to get involved. There are 19 clubs and organizations on campus that students could become a part of.

As a single mother with limited time, just like any other student, I got involved. Because I choose to get involved, I have built lasting friendships with faculty, staff and classmates that I am sure will continue long after I’ve left Valley College.

LORI DANEY

Van Nuys

Daney is vice president of Tau Alpha Epsilon Scholastic Honor Society at Valley College.

* I have been a member of the faculty at Valley College for more than 25 years. While I agree that much of what is discussed in your article is unfortunately true, given the state of fiscal matters in community colleges, there are other inferences in your article that are not entirely accurate.

First of all, community colleges in urban areas are not designed to be like a small private four-year institution. Most of our students have to hold at least a part-time job to survive, even if they are still living with their parents. They come and they go from campus. They are not able to hang out, and extracurricular activities are a sacrifice for many. As a result, there is little sense of a college community. There is the opportunity to get occupational certificates and AA degrees if a student is willing to be persistent. It’s by no means a walk in the park for our students, but it is there for the taking.

I also feel that our administration, faculty and staff are very caring. Because of the economic pressures we get frustrated--and some burned out--but I doubt if you’ll find a more caring group anywhere.

In our department, we go to great pains to see that we offer all our core classes for a theater major in the evening over a two-year period. This allows night students the opportunity to get their certificates and degrees without having to cram courses in during their lunch hour.

During the last two years we have initiated an apprenticeship program with a local theater company (Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon). Each of the last two summers our students have had the opportunity to work with this company, make contacts and get paid. Two of them have gotten professional contracts with Actors Equity that have led to the start of a professional career. Several members of that company are lending their services to help with our current production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

A drop in the bucket maybe, but we are trying.

PETER PARKIN

Parkin is a professor of theater at Valley College.

* I too grew up disadvantaged, a product of East L.A. No one in my family attended college. I have been solely responsible for my own financial support. This has required that I work part time in order to attend college. I too have been frustrated by the deficiencies of educational institutions. But all systems, jobs and careers have faults. The successful person finds a way around these barriers.

As students, we all dream of good friends, intellectual stimulation and a career. We must not lose sight of the fact that each of these demands personal initiative and, sometimes, significant self-sacrifice.

Contrary to the students quoted in The Times’ article, my experience at Valley College has been very positive. I sought out friends in my classes, in groups such as the Puente Program, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and through participation in student government. I found counselors ready to advise me about school and career decisions. I found academic help in the writing center, the math lab and even free tutoring for low-income students. Each of these experiences required that I take the first step. Certainly, Valley College is large, contributing to a student’s feeling of being “an ant in the crowd,” but by joining smaller segments of the campus, I regained the feeling of belonging.

I would argue that the opportunities of a good quality, low-cost education at Valley College far outweigh the drawbacks of older buildings, a large student body, and difficult-to-obtain classes. The bottom line for me is expressed by a sign hanging in my counselor’s office: “If you think college is expensive, try ignorance.”

JENNIFER GALICIA FRAZEE

Toluca Lake

* “Voices of Disillusionment” is an astounding example of ineptitude in addressing factors relating to the declining enrollment of the L.A. Community College District, a district of 97,212 students. The author does not present a demographic analysis of the changes in the racial, ethnic, age and socioeconomic attributes of the population of Los Angeles County. He does not sample students who are currently attending the district. He samples four students who have left the district, all four from Valley College. To make meaningful judgments on the attitudes of the district’s students toward the colleges they attend, you would need a sample of hundreds of students to achieve reasonable statistical margins of error. Instead, John Chandler samples 4 hundred-thousandths of 1% of all the students in the district, all from Valley College. If Chandler sampled four former employees of The Times who had gone to work at other newspapers in Southern California and used their interviews as the basis for explaining publishing and financial problems of the paper, I suspect that he would be looking for another job with another employer soon after he presented that article.

THOMAS J. YACOVONE

Agoura Hills

Yacovone is Sociology Department chair and director of the Honors Program at Valley College