Club advisers say they are overworked by new schedules
The English Society shut down at the end of the spring 2019 semester.
Professors who could no longer moderate the club said the English Society closed due to lack of support and a shifting curriculum
“It’s been a journey as to way we had to put it on hold,” said Lisa Telesca, Language Arts professor and English Society moderator. “It’s not forever; it’s on hiatus.”
English curriculum changes were mandated by California Assembly Bill 705. The bill forces community college English and math professors to instruct transfer-level coursework in two semesters. The legislation accelerates students through math and English requirements to increase the graduates.
But the bill also stressed professors in those subjects including the club moderators.
They said they hope once their department gets used to the new workflow, the club will return.
“It’s very time consuming and our hearts are broken,” Telesca said. “It’s our baby.”
The English Society flourished for five years. Each semester the Society’s student-submitted poetry event grew larger. Club membership rose.
The club moderators Jana Fossum and Telesca took students on field trips, organized an annual Halloween party, and an end of the semester tea party.
“It really was a different way to work with the students,” Fossum said, whose club’s mission encouraged literature appreciation.
The annual poetry festival, the club’s most attended event at Citrus, was attended by the college superintendent/president, Geraldine Perri, in the Spring. The festival encouraged students to submit a poem and read it in hopes of winning prizes and recognition.
“If there is one thing that maybe can survive, and it is up to our department, is the poetry festival,” Telesca said.
The English Society did not meet the Academic Senate’s requirements for a committee, which meant Fossum and Telesca served as moderators in their free time.
“It’s nobody’s fault; all faculty are required to be on two committees in addition to our load,” Telesca said. “The English Society does not count as a committee.”
The professors said if the English Society could have counted as a committee, the group may not have met its end.
“A broader umbrella for what could count as committee work might help.” Telesca said.
The English Society worked also gave students leadership in club decisions.
“It’s a disservice to students that our committee work happens behind closed doors as opposed to the English Society where you’re really engaged,” Fossum said.
The Society closed after its year-end tea party. Language Arts and Library Dean Gina Hogan attended the event and explained the club’s options if it continued meeting.
“The students did talk about them continuing and doing their own thing, which we were like ‘yes, do it, we support you,'” Fossum said. “It was really a place for them to feel welcome and that’s what I feel bad about when these clubs have to stop because they are places for students to feel welcomed.”
A new club, the Book Owls, was co-founded by former English Society member Lambert Cheung. He said he never thought he would become the leader of the club. English Prof. Eiland is the new adviser.
“We want to give former members of the English Society a club they can hold onto until they graduate,” Cheung said.
Another former English Society member Irene Cruz said she believes an English club should continue to connect literature students.
“As an English major and as a reader, I like having a place to go where I can talk about literature, as well as finding out what to do with an English degree,” Cruz said.
Cheung already has club events planned for the semester.
He said his goal is to keep the club going long enough for Telesca and Fossum to reconstitute English Society, or to “pass the torch” of the Book Owls to future students.
Fossum said her favorite memory was seeing someone dressed as Edgar Allan Poe at their first Halloween Festival. Telesca said was watching the growth of the poetry festival every year was her best reward.
“We’ve had tears with the kids,” she said as she wept.
The Book Owls meet from 2:30 p.m to 3:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Student Center.
