The Kern Community College District’s student trustee is considered by Bakersfield College’s SGA and faculty to be a trusted interpreter and emissary between KCCD board members and the student population.
However, some in BC’s Student Government Association feel that the student trustee position is simply a token and not really an influential voice at board meetings.
The student trustee, said Dean of Students Don Turney, is a valued presence at board meetings because the trustee serves as an “interpreter” or “translator” who conveys information to the general student population.
Board meetings are held at different times at BC’s Weill Institute, as well as at BC’s Executive Board Room, and Ridgecrest or at Mammoth, where Cerro Coso College has a satellite campus, said Turney.
The current student trustee, Rachelle Miller from Cerro Coso College, believes as student trustee, she is “the eyes, ears and voice of the students.”
The student trustee position is held by one individual from either Porterville College, Cerro Coso College, or Bakersfield College; the position rotates between these colleges.
“Rachelle’s great,” said Alan Crane, SGA’s legislative liaison and also student representative to the state student senate, or region five, which includes Reedley, Merced, Fresno City and Modesto colleges. “She got thrown into this, and she’s done a great job. No complaints,” Crane said.
Crane expressed dissatisfaction with the student trustee position and its potential for vocal power at KCCD board meetings, or the lack thereof.
Crane feels that the way the student trustee position is used in connection with the board leaves much to be desired.
Crane said he believes that there should be three student trustees and not just one at the board meetings; there should be a student trustee from Porterville and one from Cerro Coso as well as one from Bakersfield College.
The current use of just one student trustee is not particularly conducive to problem solving, Crane said.
The simultaneous presence of three student trustees representing each of the three colleges at board meetings would promote better communication between the three, Crane said.
“Porterville College is very disconnected with BC and vice versa,” Crane said.
“There always has been a disconnection between all the campuses.”
The board’s argument that the costs, including travel costs, behind using three student trustees instead of one is simply not a viable argument, Crane said.
Crane also commented that the student trustee has no real voice in the board meetings; the student trustee has only an “advisory vote,” as Crane put it.
Legal liability issues could supposedly be raised if the student trustee’s voice was lent more weight, Crane said. “I don’t even know if the trustee’s vote is even recorded,” Crane said. “It probably isn’t, since it is not an official vote.”
In order for the general student population’s voice to be truly heard and counted, the student trustee’s vote must be recorded, and his or her voice must be granted power, Crane said.
The board’s votes are made public, but in this publication there is no mention of what the student trustee voted on, nor where he or she stood on issues, Crane said.
Taking into account the student trustee’s voice and vote is not seen as a priority, Crane said.