Interim President Ara Aguiar addressed enrollment increasing 11% compared to last year, the budget status and she announced an initiative to enhance curriculum during the Pierce College Council (PCC) meeting on Thursday.
“We are facing a $2 million deficit for the academic year, we have gone through 14 million dollars within the past two years,” Aguair said. “In essence, we are going back to pre-pandemic budgetary issues. Our goal is to break even this year.”
In addition, Aguiar explained she is aware the cross country fields need to be redone to better serve the community. However, before the fields can be addressed, Aguiar wants to focus on the items they have already committed to and then invest in other projects around campus.
Department chair Alex Villalta raised concerns about air conditioning throughout campus.
He explained that he had to cancel his previous class due to the broken air conditioning in his classroom. When he first walked into the class, the thermostat was at 73 degrees, but as students began to pile in the class, the temperature rose to 92 degrees.
Villalta stated that his classroom is right by the mountains, which only intensifies the heat. This has been an ongoing issue for him considering that he has sent multiple emails and submitted a few work orders about the broken air conditioner.
“This issue has affected my students’ performances and my morale,” Villalta said. “It is now the fifth week of school and I’m quite surprised no one has heard of this concern, the whole college should be talking about it. I have seen students clearing sweat from their arms. It’s embarrassing for me, I’ll tell you that much. We are not getting the results we were promised. This is a major safety issue for our students.”
Senior Administrative Analyst Mofe Doyle admitted that he sensed tensions and frustrations throughout the meeting.
“We are here for the students, we are one team and we are in this together we are not anything but that,” Doyle said. “It saddens me when I see this much frustration and it’s very uncomfortable. We are all Pierce at the end of the day.”
Representing the Diversity Committee, Mario Macias discussed how more involvement on campus can create a healthier environment for the students. They meet 10 times in the academic year, and host a multicultural day in the spring. The Diversity Committee is looking for a coordinating team that can help launch the event.
“The Chicano and Latino night was a wonderful event,” Macias said. “It was quite engaging and we need to make more of a collective effort to invite students and colleagues. I wish more students would have been there to enjoy the program, this was the type of event that inspires and empowers students.”
