Another semester has begun at Bakersfield College, and students are clamoring to return to their academic glory after a summer of indulgence. Yet, it seems that the administration is still lost in the summer shuffle.
More administration changes over the break, including the dean of students, have left BC with some interim administrators and new faces. This revolving door of administration, which has been going on for a few years, presents an apparent problem.
These people barely know the climate of BC, let alone the pulse of the campus. Such as the case: How can they best represent their charges while knowing little to nothing of the populous of BC?
Students at BC are focused on completing their educational goals, whether it be transferring or earning a certificate, and shouldn’t be bothered with the nuances of educational politics, and rightly so.
BC administration even pride themselves on this matter, especially now with more focus on transfer-tuned degree paths.
This focus cannot be achieved with a constant trundle of administration changes, and students should not suffer because of educational politics.
If BC administration wants to tout the transfer talk, let’s make sure students are indeed getting the best possible education that they can get.
We, as students, should not have to worry about what administrator is being replaced and how good of a job they will do making sure we get our education. Any student on campus will tell you they have plenty to worry about without adding school politics into the mix.
We need administrators who know the topography of the students, which can only be achieved by having lasting positions that get to know said students. Only through interaction and seeing the daily workings of the campus can an administrator truly be effective in propelling students to the next podium in the collegiate plateau.
Don’t expect students to know, participate, or care about administrators. We shouldn’t have to. However, that apathy for administrators should not mean a doomed career at BC.