COD students getting no respect

College of DuPage administration and trustees are treating us like Rodney Dangerfield. As a taxpayer and a student at the College of DuPage I have seen a lot of “no respect” over the last few years.

Here are some examples: No respect for the environment: Removal of the Bio-Swales in the parking lots because they were not “pretty.” No respect for our eyes: So many huge ugly signs that you cannot find the buildings behind them. No respect for our means: Massive tuition increases. No respect for our dignity: Public parking spaces for rent. No Respect for our neighbors: Legal fees and arguments with the village Of Glen Ellyn. No respect for people: Firing the real workers and hiring deans/management staff. No respect for our finances: Pay up now or you cannot stay registered for the class. No respect for the arts, or any other hands-on program: We are only going to pay teachers half pay for lab and hands on classes. No respect for our tax dollars: The purpose of having a public college is not to make money, it is to educate students.

In the photography program we need the direct hands on tools and systems to learn on. We need darkrooms, printers, paper cutters, computers, software, lighting studios. But most of all we need instructors who work with us, hands on, to set the camera, adjust the light, show us how to load the film reel or manage the digital images. The caring hands, the professional eye over my shoulder, the small tweak of the lighting all encompass what we are trying to learn.

The instructors who support and really care about our growth and our art do not deserve “no respect” or half pay.

Bob Fairbairn

Winfield