On Sept. 4, the Board of Trustees held a meeting to discuss many topics that involve change for the San Joaquin Delta College campus.
Many students and faculty members showed up to the meeting to voice their opinions about the boards plan to cut the photography departments lab tech Wyatt Hatfield.
Students spoke out on how much having a lab tech has helped them be successful in the class or even trying to get credentials within the major.
The main issue with not having a lab tech is how much time will students have to complete their work or get the extra help they need.
As of right now, the students have around 40 hours a week to complete any assignments with the help and the tools necessary and without a lab tech, hours will be reduced to 12 hours which will not benefit students at all meaning they have to now rush to do assignments.
“I can think of a few instances where I really did have a lot of one on one time with the lab tech helping roll my film and just being accommodating I think it’s wonderful to have that,” said Delta student Josh Ebert.
The Hattfield is very important to the students who need help if no one is around.
Most students who showed up to the meeting said he has knowledge within the department that allows him to guide them through different projects.
If this position is cut, there will not be a lab tech starting in November.
This is problematic because November is when final projects are assigned, which will cause issues for students trying to finish said project.
“This is one of the most important projects in our class and without the lab hours that we have now it would be hard for her [Professor Kristyn Russell] to run a class, also helping with final projects and that ultimately affects the students and our grades and that’s something that we don’t want,” said Delta student Jada Daniels.
“This position serves students, it allows us to run a safe lab and create a community for our students,” said Professor Kristyn Russell.
Another topic gone over in the meeting included how the Delta book store was able to save students around $4,000 on textbooks due to the 15 percent off sale done over the summer.
There has been discussion of taking a vote, however no set date has come about.
