It’s been small talk on campus when the budget cuts come up – would taking summer session out of the academic year be a good, viable way to help budget woes?

There are mixed feelings about this idea. Some believe it would be a great idea. Many of De Anza’s traditional students don’t attend summer quarter. Summer quarter student population is largely comprised of high school students and students from universities who are visiting home and taking classes for no specific purpose than to get those few extra credits. Is it productive to spend money on the summer if it’s not used for the heart of De Anza’s student population?

Some instructors at De Anza believe so.

“The short answer is no, but the longer answer is year after year the voters in our community have supported De Anza College with bond funds,” said Wallis Leslie, English instructor at De Anza College. “We are betraying that public trust to shut our doors.”

It may seem unfair to close the doors on the very students one opened them for. Some De Anza students use the summer quarter to catch up on classes they were not able to take during the fall, winter and spring quarters due to reduced classes from budget cuts. De Anza students use summer quarter to take classes, with the intention of graduating sooner than later. The point is, students still use summer quarter, whether or not every student is a De Anza “native.”

Also, part-time instructors use summer quarter to make up hours they have been cut back. Losing summer would not only affect students, but also other aspects of De Anza, from the students and instructors to the staff and summer programs.

Do the pros outweigh the cons? The benefits to this proposal are outweighed by the drawbacks, both in number and in scope.