Dropping classes at Bakersfield College appears to be the norm.
There are various reasons why BC students drop classes. Some students drop classes because they just didn’t need the classes to transfer to four-year institutions. The last day to drop a class with a “W” was April 3.
“I dropped one class this semester because I didn’t need it,” said Janna Nikkel,19, a psychology major. “The school I want to transfer to told me that it would just be an extra class.”
Nikkel’s friend, Trisha Morrissey, 19, a liberal studies major, admitted that she never dropped a class for any reason while at BC. She needed all of the classes that she took.
Some students will drop classes because they are not doing well in those particular classes, and they don’t want their grade point averages to fall.
“I was getting a low grade in my biology class, and I didn’t want my GPA to go down, so I dropped the bio,” said Angela Hall, 28, nursing major. “I was overloaded anyway, and I didn’t want to try to get into the nursing program here with a bad grade on my transcript.”
Many BC students simply can’t afford the equipment, textbooks or time for some classes. Christina Ariza, 17, art major, found that she couldn’t afford the camera or other equipment for a photography class that she was interested in. Sam Rubio, 23, child development major, already had six classes this semester, and so she dropped her student development class because of time constraints. Her friend, George Rios, 22, culinary arts, admitted that he couldn’t afford the textbook and was falling behind.
“I had too much of a load. There was a lot of stress for me because of the time management problem,” said Ariel Sanchez, 20, English major. “So, I dropped my volleyball class.”
Some students are shocked by the amount of work required for some of their classes and then drop. Joshua Robles, 22, business administration, said that his philosophy class required an astonishing degree of reading comprehension and writing.
“There was more work in that philosophy class than in a math class where you just go through the steps,” Robles said.
Some students don’t appreciate the attitude of a professor. Sherry King, 42, liberal studies, felt that one of her professors this semester didn’t treat the students appropriately, and she remarked that the professor didn’t seem to regard the students as adults. King also said that the professor’s syllabus was confusing. She dropped that particular professor’s class.
Jason Ochoa, 26, computer studies, found that his schedule conflicted with his relationships with family and friends.
Jonathan Pineda, 21, undeclared, conceded that he simply couldn’t commit himself to some classes and dropped. Alex Serrano, 19, liberal studies, realized that an English class that he was taking this semester conflicted with other classes, and so he dropped the English.
“I was in the wrong anthropology class,” said Jeff Hall, 21, journalism major. “I was in physical anthropology, and I actually needed to take cultural anthropology.”
Hall admitted he preferred working. He also marveled at how thinned out the BC campus had become and noted that the Free Speech area earlier in the spring semester was packed with socializing students. That area is now barely dotted with fewer than a handful of students, he said.
“Students didn’t just drop classes; they dropped out,” Hall said.