Bakersfield College prides itself on being a school that focuses on the needs of the students and student success, yet so many departments that actually do work hand-in-hand with students go without resources they need or face staff cuts, which make it virtually impossible for them to increase student success.

Recently, it came to my attention that the library staff is facing a decrease in staff that could potentially eliminate 40 percent of the librarian staff.

The reference librarians are the ones who teach the student research workshops, the ones who work one-on-one with students to help them learn research techniques and do well on projects, and papers, and overall in their classes.

For many students, taking English B34 in conjunction with English B1A has been one of the only ways for them to complete it successfully. With potentially 40 percent less staff, the library might not be able to continue teaching it. The library offers so many programs that are essential to student success, and without the necessary amount of staff, many of these programs might take the backburner.

Yet even with all the ways the library impacts student success, BC still plans to cut its staff. After Marci Lingo and Dawn Dobie retire at the end of May and June respectively, BC does not have plans to replace Lingo, and it is unknown at this point if Dobie will be replaced.

Many students, myself included, have turned to reference librarians for help with projects. How can we, as students, feel that BC really cares about student success when it is so willing to take from those departments that actually do work with us to help us be successful?

Other departments that work directly with students to promote student success would be the writing center, the tutoring center, and even the counseling department – all of which have faced being understaffed.

Anyone who has gone into the counseling department can see that they don’t have the resources necessary to be as dedicated to the students as it should be. At times, it can be impossible to even get a counselor to talk to you, with the wait times nearing 6 hours at some points.

These counselors are necessary to students as to ensure we are taking the necessary courses to get us closer to graduating. The difficulty of getting an appointment or a walk-in visit with a counselor can be detrimental to students.

Even after having my own educational plan done with a counselor a year ago, I went in to see a counselor with my registration date nearing and discovered that I needed some classes that weren’t even on my ed plan, which actually meant two more semesters that I was unaware I would need. This goes to show how important it is to have a full staff of counselors who aren’t rushed to get an overflow of students through the process.

Also, at the beginning of this semester, there was a protest by classified workers, who are usually the very first people a student even talks to when they come on campus. They had to protest to even get a 3-percent raise.

Yet, these departments that are trying to benefit students are the ones who get put to the backburner. I’m sure BC has reasons for the staff cuts, like possibly budget cuts, which is completely understandable. I mean after all, BC has had more important things to spend money on, like $50,000 lawyers to fight football sanctions.