Service and Activities Committee meeting evaluates student programs, services

On Tuesday April 7th, Bellevue College held their Services and Activities Committee Meeting. The meeting, spanning Tuesday through Wednesday afternoon, was administered in C211.

The College’s Services and Activities Committee exists to evaluate Bellevue College’s many different services and student programs. Through its meetings, the committee meets with BC’s many student programs, as well as various activities and services pertaining to the school and its students.

Throughout the discourse(s), the committee decides which programs they believe are legitimate and fulfill their intended purpose, especially in regards to the money and time that is invested into such programs.

The committee also allows Bellevue College’s different groups to communicate with the school regarding a wide array of different problems and concerns.

These various demands and inquiries cover issues ranging from financial to political, or merely moral and ethical concerns that arise within the school or their own program. While Tuesday’s meeting did include a great variety of student programs, including athletics, BC’s Jazz Club and many more, two programs seemed to be of particular interest. They were Black Student Union (BSU), and Early Learning, Family, & Childcare Center (ELFCC).

The BSU is currently a club at BC. According to the club’s president, Robin Bailey, “One of our goals, on behalf of the BSU, is to transform the club into a student program,”

Bailey went on to explain the mission statement of the BSU which is, “To enhance the quality of education, economics, and social awareness through shared culture, [and] life experiences among black students.”

One of the short-term goals of the BSU, especially if it becomes a student program, is to increase the number of participants and students that are involved in the club and its many resources.

In addition, one of the club’s more long-term goals, as Bailey explains, “is to include opening of the school’s Thurgood Marshall, [and] to increase membership among black students, to outreach in our community, including K-12 students.”

President Bailey and the rest of the BSU feel that if the club were to become a program, it would create a sense of permanence for the club and be able to reach out to more students throughout the community.

The next topic that also seemed to take the spotlight at the Services and Activities Committee was the daycare center. The Early Learning, Family, & Childcare Center (ELFCC), located at BC’s south entrance near the baseball field, is a daycare/learning center where BC students and other parents can drop off their children during the day. The center combines the welcoming, domestic atmosphere of a daycare, with the educational benefits of a school.

Nikoma [last name not submitted], a BC student and full-time mother, explained that the ELFCC, “is a terrific daycare service. It allows me to change my schedule when I need to and I love the safety and security of knowing my daughter is always close by.”

The ELFCC met regarding the changes in spending due to the budget cuts.

The meeting explored how they will go to extremes to avoid cuts in funding for this particular program.

Corrections: This article was written by Patrick Farricker. An earlier version of this article attributed it to Brittany Butterfield.