Book rental is a reality that exists in community colleges all over the nation and with the times quickly changing, Trustee John Paul Drayer believes the rental of laptops and tablets should be the next logical step for Cerritos College.

During the Wednesday, June 10 Board of Trustees meeting, Drayer brought up his concern for low income students who don’t always have access to the technology needed to complete college assignments.

“I represent a very poor area in Bellflower, I have a barrio in part of my Downey district, I teach school in a very poor area, I work with students living in poverty, you need a leveled playing field. I brought up the concern of how can we help our students, so they don’t have to drop out due to low income,” Drayer expressed.

The Area 3 Trustee referenced Nicholas Negroponte’s “One Laptop per Child” program, which creates and distributes low cost laptops for children in developing countries.

“…why not scholarships for students through foundations or ASCC? Let’s get students a discount. Books are going online, we need to think differently,” Drayer said.

Dean of Student Support Services, Kimberly Westby, reminded Drayer of a program already in place through financial aid that helps students get discounts on laptops.

Trustee Drayer called for more promotion of such program.

He is aware of the unique circumstances that Cerritos College students suffer.

“Some people don’t qualify for financial aid. If we could bridge the gap through scholarships or group discounts, that would be great,” the trustee said.

Twenty-nine percent of Cerritos College students don’t qualify for financial aid and may fall under the aforementioned unique circumstances leaving them to struggle to afford laptops or tablets.

According to U.S News, 71 percent of Cerritos students either received a grant or scholarship aid averaging at $3,146 per year.

With the rising cost of books, classes, the average cost of a tablet according to Computer World at $386, and a laptop averaging at $500, according to Laptop Mag, low-income students are left with a tight budget.

Martha Jauregui, cosmetology major, expressed, “Tablets and all of that are really expensive right now and it’s hard for us to do our homework.”

The library hours currently in place, which are 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. with closed doors on weekends, may not be enough for evening students who need to use a computer.

“That would be good. I feel that if you are [a] low income [student] you don’t really have the money to afford that, to rent them would be awesome,” Cindy Razo, nursing major said.

Razo was not aware of the financial aid assistance program to get discounts on laptops. “If more people knew, they would be talking about it.”

“It would be a good program that would help get homework done,” Tori Wallace, former Cerritos College student said.

Wallace was the only one aware of the financial aid assistance, through her own admitted digging, while Juaregui and Razo were oblivious of the program’s existence.

Drayer, who has in the past worked with students and the Social Equality Club, is aware of student complaints.

He asked, “How are you surveying students to see
what they really need?”