There’s something to be respected in most trendsetters. Those who are brave enough to break away from the established pack, and try to do things their own way. Of course, trendsetting comes with an inherent risk; sometimes, the trend doesn’t catch on, and the trendsetter is left alone in the cold. Or in this case, in a stuffy classroom in the middle of summer.

In theory, the idea of cramming three different sessions into a single summer doesn’t sound like such a bad plan. Transfer students can get their last few requirements in before the fall semester, and incoming high schoolers will be able to sign up for summer classes. That’s important, because EC is going to be in desperate need of those high schoolers.

The reason the fresh students are so needed is that in order to make room for these new summer sessions, EC has had to mangle it’s scheduling so hideously that it’s almost completely incompatible with those of other colleges in the area.

Once upon a time, if a class wasn’t offered at EC, students could spend the winter or summer at another college before coming back for spring or fall, and vice versa. Now students are pretty much left with the choice of attending only EC, or being able to attend everywhere else.

Now, with the flow of students from other schools seriously curtailed, it’s EC’s wallet that will feel the sting. Less students in our classes means less money from the state, and despite all of the fees students pay, the funds from the state is where the majority of the school’s money comes from. That couldn’t be a problem though, right?

Of course, it’s not like anyone took winter classes anyways. Well, other than those athletes who have to spend their summers in training. I’m sure the EC hockey team wouldn’t mind if it actually existed. There’s also those crazy folks who would rather be sitting in class during the gloomy, cold parts of the year, rather than during the height of the world famous California summer. I’m sure they’ll be fine if they just pray to get classes in a relatively new classroom, rather than in ovens like those in the Administration Building.

On second thought, how about EC just goes back to following the crowd?