Issue date: 3/5/10 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: James Rose

The other day, I was sitting in class and overheard a conversation between two people. They were jibbering about the counselors on campus, and the conversation was heating up.
One guy was complaining that counselors weren't available on Fridays, all the while the other girl was nodding her head profusely. I just sat there, bewildered, watching them soak up negative energy.
Counselors aren't available on Fridays, he garbled.
He gave me a stare. All I could do is nod my head, slowly in agreement.
"Counselors are not available on Fridays anymore?" I thought to myself. That was all that I could think about.
And just like a classic 1940s detective, I decided to investigate.
Later, I walked into the counseling office. Whoosh! The sliding doors opened and I stepped through. I made my way to the window.
I asked the woman why counselors are not available on Fridays anymore, and she replied with two words, "budget cuts."
By cutting counselors' availability to just Mondays through Thursdays, LPC is providing a disservice to students.
"It's too bad that the economy is forcing us to cut the students' appointments," counseling assistant Donna Hawkinson said. "We are already short on counselors."
In contrast, last semester, counseling services were available on Fridays from nine to noon.
According to Hawkinson, there were only one or two counselors on duty on Fridays last semester, and only nine to 13 students showed up to their appointment.
Four days per week are not enough to serve all 9,000 LPC students. By taking out one day per week, a student's opportunity to meet with a counselor is slimmer than it already is. The waiting period for drop-in appointments, in my experience, is around 45 minutes.
Granted that on Fridays, only about a dozen students showed up to meet with a counselor, but that is still a dozen students that are now getting shut out due to "budget cuts."
Moreover, Fridays are the most desolate days at LPC. The traffic in the hallways is sparse compared to a cattle car of a Monday or Tuesday. Students might prefer to schedule an appointment on the least busiest day of the week to avoid the crowd.
And just as the logo on the Las Positas College Web site proudly beams "Students First," the real students, like the two in my class, are ironically not being catered to.

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