On October 21, 2010 a candidate forum for the board of trustees was held for the students at Yuba college. Very few students attended the forum. This was a opportunity for students to ask Board of Trustee Candidates questions about what they are going to contribute to Yuba College and the community if elected. Students should really get more involved in this election because it affects them. The current morale and atmosphere on campus is in need of some serious resolutions. The Board of Trustee Candidates all promised to try and improve this, but unless students and members of the community get involved how will they be able to make informed decisions about who is being real and who is just trying to gain status. The candidate forum was a chance to see the candidates up close and personal, and listen to what they had to say.
The Area One (Yuba County) candidates that attended were Francisco Reveles, Stephen Spencer, and Charles Shumacher. The Area Two (Sutter County) candidates that attended were Yuba College student Michael Defranco, Professor David Wheeler, Sarb Basrai, Baldev Johahl, Bill Falzett, Lal Chima, and Ernest Garcia.
The candidates said many things to win over students. They focused on students first and budget. They all seemed very passionate about the changes they would make, but how much of that passion was real? The Current administration took quite a beating as well.
Reveles seemed to have the experience in working with students and the desire to uphold the needs of students. He has a long background in education. This also makes him compassionate for the needs of teachers and classified staff. He believes in having an environment in which staff want to be comitted and passionate about their positions.
Charles Shumacher seemed realistic. He didn’t make any promises that he could not fulfill. He knows that he would only be one person on a board of many, but he did say that he would fight for the students needs. He believes in community involvement as we can’t rely on others to fix things for us. He also seemed like a family oriented person who would understand the needs of families in our communities.
Baldev Johahl seemed to be experienced with budgets as he is employed currently doing so. He also seemed to have a decent set of priorities. His daughter attends Yuba College and that is one reason we know he will be for the students. He also believes in doing, not just saying.
Lal Chima is trained in conflict management. That is something Yuba College could use. We need to be a more unified community and Chima may be able to help with this. He also believes in the value of teachers. They need to feel important as they are very important and vital to our community. He wants to put in efforts where efforts are needed and get rid of what is not needed.
A shift in priorities may be the result after this election. It is now time for voters to determine who can make these needed changes and who is blowing smoke.
Comment Policy: Comments are welcomed and encouraged. However, the editorial board reserves the right to edit or delete, without notice, any comments submitted to the blog. For more details, see our full Comment Policy.