When the communist scare swept across America, no street corner was safe from the countrywide threat of certain destruction. In Hollywood, it was no different.
Many actors, directors and writers were being forced out of work after being put on a “blacklist,” which put them under investigation for being communists.
Bakersfield College now has its own blacklist, only they are calling it a waitlist, which sounds better but has the same evil intent. Many of the attending students have already fallen victim to being put on it.
Back in the good old days of spring 2004, you would try your best to register for a class. If you couldn’t get in, you grabbed an add slip, crashed in on the first day and sweet talked the professor hoping he would add you. The process was tough, but students knew that it was only a few weeks before vacant seats started to appear.
Now that has all changed. Instead of crashing, you are now put on the waitlist and given a number, like you’re at the DMV.
You attend the first day and listen as any registered student who did not show up is automatically dropped. The instructor goes down the waitlist and adds only the people at the top. Everyone else, as one instructor of mine put it, “can leave and try your luck next year.”
This new system seems convenient. It does eliminate the problem of extra students so no one has to sit on the floor. However, it causes more burdens and stress than not just getting a decent schedule. One student complained how he registered for a class, paid for it, was then dropped, received a refund and put on the waitlist.
Another student talked about how she was waitlist No. 24 and only three registered students didn’t show up, making her odds very slim.
An instructor complained about not knowing how to use it and wasn’t sure how to add anyone. I’m complaining that this new system just sucks.
This is my second year at BC, and I can tell everyone that the lack of student attendance after the first two weeks is inevitable.
I remember one instructor bragging that no one ever drops her class, even though at the beginning of the semester, people resembled clowns cramming into a tiny car. But by the end of it, the class had enough empty desks to build a fort.
No matter how important the class or the popularity of the professor, students just have a knack for giving up for one reason or another.
Sometimes that first day just tells you there is no way you’ll be able to keep up. The class textbook can give you insight into the nature of the material. If you have to read the dictionary while going through the first chapter, that’s probably a sign it is time to jump ship.
The waitlist has caused me to change my schedule seven times, because I was doomed if I was put on it. I tried to get in on a 7 a.m. health class and was surprised to be No. 18 on the list. I did a Web drop and figured I probably didn’t care to hear about body fat that early anyway.
BC has always tried to keep the campus up to date but does it with limited funds and ability. Kind of like an Amish farmer rigging a V8 engine to a buggy.
Perhaps there are more logical solutions out there for the school to consider, but hell if I know ’em. All I am sure of is that if you get on the waitlist and are below No. 3, don’t even bother showing up.
One way to help students is to take a close look at your General Education requirements and move them around a bit. Choosing an alternate set of classes can be a headache, but it is worth it. With this new system, you can’t count on getting the classes you need. Take sociology instead of psychology and philosophy instead of math.
Until we are given larger classrooms and more instructors, we are now at the mercy of the waitlist. Well, at least until the communists rise up and save us, and I won’t be holding my breath for that one.