Former Pierce College student body president and current Northridge East Neighborhood Council vice president Glenn Bailey started a petition to get elected to the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees, and sat down with the Roundup to talk about it.
RU: What was it like for you to go to Pierce back in the day?
GB: I think the community college experience was very positive for me. There were good instructors and the classes were a reasonable size.
I liked the campus, and some of it has changed for the better as far as the buildings that have been completed. I have concern about the ones that have been fenced up and not being used for the last three-plus years.
RU: You were once student body president. What was the activism like?
GB: In terms of the activism, you meet a lot of interesting people, work on a lot of issues and try to make change.
RU: Why are you running for Board of Trustees?
GB: As a past student body president at Pierce College, I kind of saw the interaction between both the ASO, the college administration and the college district, including college trustees, because we got to vote on who the student trustee was, and I attended some of the trustee meetings back then.
Admittedly, it was awhile back, but I have had an ongoing interest in Pierce and in the college district in general.
I am stepping up at this point to give back, and try to work to be an independent person.
RU: Why does Pierce play a role in the community?
GB: Pierce is, for the entire valley, an incredibly important institution. It is the first step for many folks either in their career, or in moving on to a four year college.
Pierce also happens to be the last remaining agricultural center college in terms of having an area used for horticulture and agriculture.
I would certainly like to help Pierce keep it.
RU: Do you think there has been a problem with building development?
GB: There have been a number of improvements with the building program, but there are a number of things that are serious questions in my mind as to why buildings are sitting unused.
These buildings that have been fenced off for over three years, and it doesn’t make sense to me. The theater building, for example, was supposed to be a six month renovation. It’s been three years. There is still $1.6 billion left in the building fund.
GB: What do you think is happening with the farm?
RU: A decade or more ago the community banded together working with the college, and to safe the Pierce College farm, and we thought it was permanently saved.
It was kind of a shock to many in the community to hear that Robert McBroom has been given notice to leave the farm. It is important to make it a win-win for both the college, and for the farm, and for the community.
