In the process of creating this newspaper, our staff generally asks, “What’s going on around campus?”

Now it seems that this question has spread campus-wide as students wonder about the state of this new semester.

Parking fees and cafeteria food prices have risen, our student government officials have changed, and talks of budget cuts leave many wondering what their future holds here at Bakersfield College.

The average student here at BC has to put so much trust in the administration to help them improve their educational success, but what many don’t realize is that the school relies just as much on us students. If students can keep programs’ classes full and graduate or transfer with a major in that program, it only helps keep that program alive. In the past, when programs have seen little to no graduates, those programs’ classes have been cut.

Helping others to help ourselves, however, isn’t the simple solution we all wish it could be.

With over 16,000 students all trying to fit their schedules into one semester, the administration acknowledges it cannot accommodate everyone’s requests.  Getting into necessary classes recently seemed like an impossible challenge, and those of us who did manage to get into classes are lucky to find an affordable parking spot.

With administration and students each trying to rely on each other, our campus is in somewhat of an awkward, blindfolded, three-legged race, with overall success being the finish line.

A large factor in how this race proceeds is the Governor’s tax initiative, proposition 30. If it passes, BC can continue to make due with what we currently have. However, if the proposition fails, it is projected that many more classes will be cut and more educators will be laid off.

When the college itself seems to be stretching itself too thin with multiple vacant and interim positions, it’s an extremely uncomfortable time trying to individually plan an educational future here at BC.

As students, we’re urged to make our voices heard by voting in student government elections and being a part of our campus community.

How can this happen effectively if the members we’ve voted in have been replaced by the time school begins?

Too much effort is put into these elections by the candidates as well as students for the results not to matter.

Then again, the administration can’t be putting too much importance on leadership roles such as SGA president, if the college itself, after six months, still cannot find its own.