Due to the continued threat of overlapping classes and its effect on the college hour, the Associated Students Organization is proposing an increase to extend the hour by 30 minutes and to also modify the amplified sound levels during these activities.
For at least two days a week, tradition has been that students and faculty are given a chance to participate in club and organizational activities on campus.
The ASO said it feels students are currently being cheated out of the campus hour they deserve every Tuesday and Thursday.
“We believe students should have an opportunity to take part in clubs, organizations, and other extra-curricular activities that further their education,” Cameron Samimi, ASO president, said.
Director of student development Harold Tyler said that years ago, the college hour was from 11 a.m. to noon, then it changed to 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“It has since been compromised to its current time of 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and during this hour anything can take place because it is an open hour,” Tyler said.
Students or faculty who would normally worry about going to classes or teaching classes would be free to participate in activities on campus or go to faculty meetings.
However, Samimi said since it is only an hour, it limits active participation from students and is further complicated by classes that overlap this time frame.
“There are seventy sections overlapping right now, and twenty of these are from the nursing department,” Samimi said.
ASO board member Celina Luna said that some of these classes also include cosmetology.
Although, classes were not supposed to be scheduled during this time, Tyler said there still are some because they were not able to make the changes in time.
“We still have classes that have a lab attached to them that are meeting at the same time as the college hour,” Tyler said.
Nonetheless, students should not expect to see any immediate changes because the process has to go through several channels which could take some time, Tyler said.
“We are asking the college to try to finish eliminating all classes that are offered during the hour,” Tyler said, “but it is probably going to take a year or two before it is totally put in place,” he said.
In addition, Samimi said the main reason for the lengthy process is that they are not only proposing an increase in the college hour from one hour to one-and-a-half hours, but they also want to have the amplified sound level raised from 90 to 140 decibels.
“Ninety decibels being the current level for amplified sound allowed for musical groups and speakers inhibits the life and community of this campus,” Samimi said.
By actively participating in clubs and campus events, Samimi said students would be better cultivating the campus community around them.
“Statistics agree that students who are active in extra-curricular activities achieve higher grades and perform better in the classroom environment,” Samimi said.
But with such a large number of classes overlapping, Samimi said it creates a burden because students can’t go to their activities.
“As student representatives, it is our duty to be the voice for the students and accessibility is one of the community colleges’ underlying themes,” Samimi said. “So let us live up to it.”
