• The “Q” Festival

    Walking through the spacious environment with its beautifully painted walls and light shining from the scattered windows, it’s hard to believe this building was once home to shelves of books packed from wall to wall. Unfortunately, the Maricopa County Library was shut down in 2009. Although, the dormant property was purchased through inter-governmental agreements by Paradise Valley Community College and later converted into the new math building. The “Q” building, as it is now called, offers some color to the old campus. In honoring the occasion, would it be pertinent to suggest a festival of sorts to lighten the atmosphere in these troubled times, one that will engage the student body to put their skills to the test and unites the local community? More importantly, it would be an occasion that inspires future hopefuls to enroll in our college. Especially now, considering the ever increasing budget cuts to the public education system, Paradise Valley Community College would benefit from such public relations.
    P.V.C.C., like most of the Maricopa Community Colleges, has been hit hard by recent budget cuts, though not as hard as the state universities and nowhere as severe as K-12. State universities can cover their losses through enrollment of future students without having to raise tuition fees to much, but even with the small increase in enrollment for P.V.C.C., the campus still must find other means of income to pay for more staff and equipment needed to make up for the loss and balance out the availability of resources for a now larger student body (McDill). There is also the fear most teachers, staff, and members of administration have at the possibility of losing their jobs. Maricopa Community Colleges have been hit hard by these changes to the state’s educational funding, and in wake of these events, it is up to students and the neighboring community to inspire a firm belief in the power of education.
    The “Q” Festival will be a voluntarily run, though business based-plan, designed to raise funds for Paradise Valley Community College and possibly other Maricopa Community Colleges by altering the newly developed math building, the “Q” building, into a marketplace. Local businesses, individual students, and clubs could create makeshift stores within the various rooms of the building. While the make-shift market persuades guests to come the college, teachers and staff volunteering their time could educate willing participants in the major growing fields of study with seminars or demonstrative classes. The idea is to bring in locals, and those interested in, or are currently looking for, a college with the marketplace. Furthermore, it will keep them engaged with the class demonstrations, theater performances, and other festivities. All this will be in the hopes of interesting potential students and raising money for the college. At the very least the plan will bring a sense of optimism in the education system back into people’s hearts.
    Imagine various rooms in the “Q” building being converted into stores, transforming the building into a marketplace. Students with exceptional creativity in arts and crafts could set up booths; clubs could set up shops and sell goods related to their activities. Possibly the biggest draw would receive support from the independent local businesses willing to set up their own shops in the building and on the walkways, with the arrangement of a portion of their sales commissioned to the college. Theater performances, art galleries, live music, and an assortment of booths lining the walk from the “Q” to the Center of Performing Arts building, would concentrate in an effort to keep visitors welcomed. For example, students majoring in anthropology could seek out donations for historic pieces or collected bone fragments and set up a walk-through exhibit on campus where knowledgeable students can give guided tours to visitors. This would help boost confidence in students as well as visitors seeing hands on application of students actually learning and retaining their studies.
    Teachers and staff interested in the festival could offer their time to educate guests in their particular fields of study, through presentations on current trends, and demonstrations of lessons they taught in their actual classes. Technology professors could pull apart computers and other electronic devices while presenting a visual lesson on how they work. Educators in psychology and human communication can interact with guests or business instructors and entertain them with online guides on how to run a business. Anything is possible.
    Gaining the attention of high school graduates is of utmost importance. They are potential students after graduation. Offering field trips to the festival for juniors and seniors is one of only several ways to reach out to the next generation of college aspirants.
    The core aspect of this celebration is to gain a sense of pride in community, a love of knowledge, and a plan to make a difference in both. Such an initiative is heart-felt, but detractors might argue that the cost of setting up a festival for the school would deepen an already limited budget. With the passing of Arizona’s proposal to reduce district funding by eighty-five percent this year. In response to the proposal, the district will inevitably have to raise tuition and possibly even property taxes to cover its future losses (Kelly).
    It is true that in recent years P.V.C.C. has had difficulty entertaining the community. Whereas its sister colleges, like Phoenix College or Estrella Mountain Community College, seem to have celebrations every other weekend, P.V.C.C. however, has been improving for quite some time now. One of the toughest challenges though, is dealing with outside business and who exactly is covering the insurance for whatever attractions are brought into a scheduled event. There is a good relation with most local businesses in the area but the difficulty in keeping them interested in special events comes down to the insurance policy. For example, covering the insurance of a coffee stand carries no real risk for the college; however, due to the risk of liability claims from such attractions like a rock wall climb or a human slingshot ride, the businesses or organizations fronting the attraction must have their own insurance. This tends to be a drawback for small business that cannot afford the expense in case of any unfortunate incidents (Ho).
    With that in mind, several avenues can be pursued to overcome the financial strains. One such avenue would be a gradual process with a few booths and make-shift stores to start out with. If the first year is successful the school might add more to the schedule the following years and build from there, then eventually gain enough money to help cover part of the insurance of those businesses wary to participate. Another option is to take a financial risk on the first run: construct a plan with an initiative, gather the necessary equipment needed for the celebration to get underway. The first year would be the most expensive, but with amenities purchased and plans made from the first year, there would be little to no expenses and minor changes the following years. As far as available times to host this festival, over an extended weekend or better yet, spring break and winter break would be ideal.
    Though seemingly difficult at first, this would prove to be a valuable study in the actual effort local communities place in education. Keep in mind that testing the waters has always been the fundamental method of accepting progress, to see what works and what doesn’t. By testing the limits, through experimenting with new ideas, gradually we can see what truly works.