What if we accepted and took responsibility for our “community” college so it best served our community? What if VC’s community became independent of government whims, fickleness, arbitrary budgets and politics?

Belt-tightening and budget-cutting suck. However, rather than holler and yell “it ain’t fair” (life isn’t), and “it ain’t right” (a philosophical question), we as a community could find workable solutions. We could decide what we want, then make it happen. Do we only want a bread-and-butter, meat-and-potatoes diet of education (English, history, math), or do we want added spice and flavor (ceramics, foreign language, arts, a newspaper, etc.)?

If we want added spice, we need to brainstorm. To get the brainstorming ball rolling, I suggest Ventura College:

— Offer Fund Raising/Grant Writing 101. “A practical day-to-day nuts and bolts class to benefit students with experience they can apply in their careers and the college with sorely needed program funding.”

— Explore a partnership or mentorship with another school (university or technological) or business.

— Consider an alumni program, branching out into endowments, etc.

(Such courses offer hands-on learning/real life experience, and the college benefits. It’s a win-win situation.)

There are no guarantees we as a community can heal our college. But sure as the sun rises in the east, if we do nothing, nothing will change. Even if we give the old college effort, things might not change. Then again, they just might.

So long as there is a chance, let’s claim VC as a college for our community and find a way to make it work for us — on our terms.

— Tana Bevan, Oxnard