Q: How has the semester been so far, now that you are both in presidential positions?
Barrita expressed gratitude for the role he is in, being able to meet and connect with as many people as possible on and off-campus.
“I really like the role that I’m able to get involved in, like students and their concerns and their questions, and being able to really try to branch out to not only faculty, but to other students, to other groups and organizations outside of this campus. Not only just bring awareness to things that should be fixed, but to really fix those problems in general,” Barrita said.
Whisenhunt came in without any expectation, and was surprised to discover how much reach Fresno City College had.
“What I love is how vested the community is in this college, too. As I go into other spaces, everyone knows Fresno City College,” Whisenhunt said. “I just didn’t know the sheer scale that the entire city knows about Fresno City College.”
Q: In the middle of a federal shutdown and education cuts, how can you protect our students?
Whisenhunt explained that keeping students safe is one of her responsibilities and it is made possible through careful conversation with many parties, including students.
“Creating a safer environment is to ensure that we have infrastructure to do that, and that is one of my huge responsibilities, that I ensure that we make the daily decisions which are sometimes really tough,” Whisenhunt said. “A student once stood up and told me at another institution, ‘there’s nothing safe, it’s about making it safer.’ So I think it’s part of that intentional planning, getting parties around tables on different topics and areas.”
Whisenhunt understands the importance of fiscal stability, and referenced the State Center Community College District’s commitment to funding programs.
Q: What direct impacts or changes have you made to the campus so far?
Barrita referenced his continued efforts in making students aware of financial aid opportunities, as well as speaking with faculty members to ensure that as many students as possible can afford class.
“A lot of people are struggling financially to come to class, but I always try to make sure that they’re aware of things that we have, like financial aid,” Barrita said. “For students from this area or from the Central Valley that come to Fresno City College, is it affordable for them? I’d say that that’s pretty much it.”
Whisenhunt has worked to collaborate with as many people as possible so far in this semester, attempting to break the barriers of student leaders. She acknowledged that it is still early in her presidency and she has been trying to listen and assess as much as possible.
“One of the areas that we’ve been focused on is melting the lines between different leaders. From the point I came here, I’ve been like ‘it’s the president of the student body, I want to do this with him.’ I don’t want to just be here talking, because this is your president too,” Whisenhunt said.
Whisenhunt also has been focused on enhancing the experiences of students at the West Fresno Center and the First Responders campus.
“You may be familiar with the art project that we’re doing, it’s kind of like a mosaic, but how do we bring the community into the art project, too? One of my things is to be collaborative in the process,” Whisenhunt said.
Q: In a time where all kinds of professionals are being targeted for their views, how will you protect the first amendment rights of our students and the press?
Whisenhunt believes that everyone needs to maintain the ability to gather in the interest of free speech on campus, and is prepared to protect those who exercise it.
“It is incumbent that I protect freedom of speech, because it’s core to something much more than the college. It really is embodied by our founding fathers who envisioned this notion of the right of people to have freedom of expression, which could be religion and freedom of speech,” Whisenhunt said. “One of my responsibilities I think, is delineating and how we effectuate that through things like the ability to post on campus.”
Q: What challenges do students face and how can you help them?
Barrita highlighted a lack of student awareness among certain programs, specifically financial aid and the Ram Pantry.
“A big one we just talked about is financially finding ways to come to school,” Barrita said. “I talked to people all around on campus, people in my classes, and I’m like, ‘do you guys not know about EOPS? Are you guys not aware of FAFSA?’ Some people aren’t aware of FAFSA, which is, like, mind boggling.”
Whisenhunt referenced a growing mental health problem among students and hopes to raise awareness of the support systems around campus.
“How do we increase awareness of the support programs in a kind of post-covid environment? Just recognizing that there are a lot of supports including financial aid, counseling, but also psychological services, there’s mental health. Students are going through stuff so that there are people here that want to make sure that you succeed,” Whisenhunt said.
Q: For students not in ASG, how can they get their voices out there and feel represented?
Barrita emphasized that students are given opportunities to communicate with ASG through their weekly meetings, booths around campus and QR codes for students to scan and share their thoughts.
“We’re representing students. So anytime we have questions or concerns or things that we bring up during our meetings, everything is related towards the students’ problems,” Barrita said. “I always try my best to have our senators also branch out to their classes, or have QR codes around campus where people can anonymously ask questions or things that they find weird on campus that we can try to fix.”
Q: What vision of Fresno City College do you see in the next five years?
Barrita wishes for the campus to become more active in terms of extracurricular involvement.
“I would like to see a little bit less gray and more color in terms of events, things to do on campus. I really see that there are other people or groups or clubs, student government, departments that are really trying to get some more fun on the campus,” Barrita said.
Whisenhunt said that a continued commitment to academic success is key, and she wants the college to get to a point where more students feel ready to enter the workforce as trained leaders.
“We’re in the process right now of forming the next five years, but if you ask me, just in observations, I think it really is about making more students ready, making sure students that are completed, and making sure that they have a place to work,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s about exposing people, kind of democratizing how they see leadership.”
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to students, what would it be?
Barrita suggested that students find courage within themselves to meet new people and face new challenges.
“I was always in a shell in high school, I was never involved. You kind of reinvent yourself when you come to an environment like a new school,” Barrita said. “The eyes really don’t matter, it’s just about what you do.”
Whisenhunt encouraged students to focus on their end goals as opposed to their failures.
“It’s not about how you fall, it’s whether or not you get back up.”
Q: How do you manage your time at FCC and what do you do every day?
Barrita checks his emails as soon as he wakes up in the morning, and continues to work throughout the day in class and in the ASG office.
“I wake up checking my emails, and then from there, I live in Madera, so I wake up an hour early to get here, I have class, and then anytime I have free time, I’m in the ASG office doing stuff, whether it means getting projects prepared for the Fall Carnival or printing stuff out for ASG meetings, that’s my routine,” Barrita said.
Whisenhunt is similarly busy, but tries to take her time with each activity.
“The president’s day is busy, it’s double, triple booked a lot,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s like a balance of being present but also doing the substantive work to move it forward, because I need to have time to plan. But I learned as a student leader, it’s time management, and I’m not the best at it. But it’s not that I don’t try.
Q: What do you wish more students knew about the college?
Whisenhunt addressed all the historical figures that have passed through FCC during its long history, like Dolores Huerta and Martin Luther King Jr. She wants students to be inspired by this history to continue its legacy.
“Some really phenomenal people shared these same walls and spaces, and to know there’s almost like an energy here of success and movement from within the larger context of the world, the contributions of people that have been through these walls, it’s affecting the valley. You know that you are like part of a continuum of greatness. So when you feel it, you feel like you’re fired by yourself, there’s like this energy that’s moving you forward,” Whisenhunt said.
