Administration should get with the program

For three semesters, I attempted to register for Dr. Charles Webb's fiction workshop. His reputation and the poetry he has written convinced me that he was the person who could teach me to write well. Much to my frustration, the class was filled every time.

I tried again this semester, and the sleepy voice of Mr. VRR confirmed my request. I could not believe it. Finally! I sat there, stunned, holding the phone until that voice reminded me that I had forgotten to make my next selection.

Carrie Porche Jones

My next choice was for an anthropology class taught by Barbara Lemasters. Bingo! Mr. VRR granted my second request. I was so ecstatic that I had to buy my books right away. I ran to my car and flew down the 405 freeway to the campus bookstore, bought the required materials and sang all the way back to Los Angeles.

The first day of class, I walked into the room and wondered where Lemaster was.

I did not have to wait long. A different professor came in and announced she would be teaching the class because Lemaster had taken a leave of absence to do research. My heart twisted and my body slumped with disappointment.

At the end of class, I left for my second class, the fiction workshop. Again, I sat there and wondered who was the person that was seated at the teacher's desk.

He introduced himself and announced that he was replacing Webb, who was not going to teach fiction this semester.

This time my disappointment quickly turned to anger. Neither professor could have decided the day before classes began that they would rather do something else. Administration had to have known last spring or even earlier that these people had other plans for the fall.

Given the fact that both professors are popular and well- respected, administration should have notified students via the schedule, the campus newspaper or in the registration process that there had been a change. Many students follow a teacher all through college because they connect positively with them, and unannounced changes can have adverse effects on the student.

I am not judging the replacements. They are competent and will do the best job possible, but I am disappointed and angry. Who decided students do not need to be alerted to when changes are made? Students are people who deserve the right to be notified of changes that affect them.

Canceling a vacation trip because school opened one week early, and then going to class only to be disappointed twice in one day makes me wary of Cal State Long Beach's planners and schedulers. Can we trust what we read and hear from administration?

Tell us what is going on. Administration expects us to be competent enough to give the university our best efforts. In return, we expect administration to treat us with the maturity and respect we deserve.

Carrie Porche Jones is a jounalism major.