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SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don/eldonnews.org • MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017
STAFF EDITORIAL
OPINION
Pink Out
Defunding Planned Parenthood
won’t end abortion, but it will prob-
ably result in a lot more unplanned
pregnancies.
By defunding Planned Parenthood,
opponents will limit access to contra-
ceptives and a lot of other great ser-
vices that Planned Parenthood offers.
Important services like STD testing and
cancer screenings, as well as simple
things like treatment for yeast infec-
tions (which seems like a huge deal
when you have one).
Being able to prevent pregnancies is
a powerful tool for young women who
Laura O. Garcia / el Don
CLASSROOM PROFESSIONALS
Amid increasingly
intense contract
talks with the
district, faculty
never let their
students down
T
he faculty and the board have
finally reached an agreement
on a contract, for now.
After more than a year of
unsuccessful negotiations, a
mediator was called in to help the board
and the faculty reach a compromise,
because they couldn’t work things out
among themselves.
The board claimed they were more
than willing to cooperate and never
refused a meeting with the faculty. The
faculty made similar claims and attend-
ed meetings. However, when it came
to the contract, no compromise was
reached.
As students, we wish that they had
been able to put their differences aside
and settle the contract disagreement
sooner. During this process, discourse
on both sides got heated and personal,
and communication between the board
and the faculty became unprofessional.
Both sides openly expressed their frus-
tration after closed sessions, adding to
the unprofessionalism of the situation.
The unprofessionalism faculty dis-
played during this process did not carry
into their classrooms.
While their contract was being nego-
tiated, faculty was still coming to work,
holding office hours, giving advice and
teaching classes to students who are
completely unaware of this issue and/
or don’t really care. As a staff, we thank
you.
As students, we understand the diffi-
culties of taking care of your responsi-
bilities, while worrying about life’s other
concerns. We recognize the challenge
you faced in coming to work, while your
health care benefits and your raises were
up in the air.
We hope that in the future the board
and the faculty will let go of the animos-
ity stemming from this period of negoti-
ation and be able to settle the 2017-2018
contract without contention.
can’t afford to go elsewhere. Being
able to turn to Planned Parenthood,
not only for contraceptives but also for
health care in general, is a blessing.
I know firsthand how beneficial ac-
cess to Planned Parenthood can be.
When I chose to start taking birth con-
trol, my simplest and least expensive
option was to make an appointment at
their nearby clinic. A nurse practitioner
discussed my options with me, an-
swered my questions, then sent me on
my way with a year’s supply. I’ve been
back since, and their staff has been
nothing but helpful and reassuring.
Why defund that?
—Natalie James