Students who attend night classes are being denied student services which daytime students do not have trouble accessing.
With almost everything closed by 5 p.m. night students feel at a disadvantage from their daytime student colleagues.
“A lot of services at EC are closed at night,” Marco Sandoval, business administration major, said. “They should allow at least one night for students to come in and have access to all the student services.”
Among the services that are unavailable for night students is the Health Center, which closes at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Fridays at 3 p.m.
Except for vending machines, food is not available for night students because all the food outlets, such as the deli, are closed by 7 p.m.
“We come directly from work, we don’t have time to stop to get something to eat,” Sandoval said. “Even if we do have time to get food, we’re not supposed to eat in class. Luckily, some instructors understand and they let you slide.”
Rodriguez is in his first semester in night classes, but previously attended college during the day.
“It’s way different coming to school at night than during the day,” Rodriguez said. “The campus seems more alive during the day because everything is open.”
Students are also concerned with having to pay for sevices they do not use, like the $10 health fee.
“If the school is going to charge fees for day and night students to have student services available, then these services should be available all the time,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval said he believes nighttime students should not be required to pay for services they do not use.
“Night students get partial services, so we really should not have to pay one hundred percent of the fees,” Sandoval said. “Not that daytime students should pay more, but we shouldn’t have to pay for what we don’t use.”
Tutoring is not available at the time night students come out of class. For instance, the Writing Center closes at 7 p.m., but tutoring is over at 4 p.m.
“If you have an English paper due and need help, you’ll be out of luck,” Rodriguez said. “You can’t miss a whole day of work to come get tutoring.”
As important as college is, some students find it hard to come to campus during the day, making them miss out on events organized to inform students.
“I can’t make it to the career fairs or college fairs,” Rodriguez said. “Those events are held in the day, making it impossible for us to participate.”
Even with all the disadvantages, students are aware that the situation is not completely EC’s fault.
“I understand that the budget cuts make the situation worse,” Sandoval said. “It isn’t fair to us, so we should pay less for these services.”
“They should set up at least one night during the week for night students to come in and have access to all these services,” Rodriguez said.
“Administrators should figure out a way to meet our needs as well,” Rodriguez said.
