James Hermon/ Roundup
The exposure of “wasteful spending” within the Los Angeles Community College District, LACCD, by The Los Angeles Times in recent articles has caused students to speak out about their discontent.
Pierce College students are well aware of the construction that is taking place on their campus and around the district.
Many students have formed strong opinions since the Times released its series of articles that revealed negligent spending on renovation projects.
Los Angeles Valley College’s (LAVC) new science center cost $48 million to construct and another $3.5 million to correct flaws, according to the Times.
Brandi McMullen, linguistics major, witnessed the problems in LAVC’s science center first hand.
“They built that building really fast,” said McMullen. “I remember that the elevators didn’t work, there were loose tiles and electrical problems.”
McMullen took classes at Valley when she was unable to add them at Pierce.
“I’m glad that they [Times] exposed it because it was a serious hazard to students and faculty,” said McMullen.
For many students the thought of the district over spending is a sensitive subject considering there are budget cuts being made.
“It’s still tax payer money and the tax payers choose to support the bonds and propositions that made it possible for the district to make improvements, and for them to waste so much of it is disrespectful and unappreciative,” said Fernando Aquino, political science major.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-build2-20110301,0,1960046.story