The board of trustees meeting on Nov. 20 was a largely dull one, especially when compared to the riotous affairs we’ve come to expect in the past few months. Glenn Hansen, president of the College of DuPage Faculty Association, called for the replacement of college President Robert Breuder, an expected event given the association’s vote of no confidence in the president earlier this semester. The board debated an $85,000 audit of imprest payments, likely spurred by negative publicity for the college in the wake of several high profile articles by Tea Party watchdog Adam Andrzejewski. This was unanimously rejected, though the reasons for individual objection varied, highlighting the ideological differences on the board.

With the election of Bruce Rauner as governor, President Breuder suggested in his newsletter that we will not be seeing the $20 million he was aggressively seeking earlier this year. In fact, the state has advised schools to scale back their budget, in anticipation of even more cuts. All the embarrassment the college went through this year was, indeed, for nothing.

The full-time faculty is against the administration, President Breuder didn’t get the results he was hoping for, and Andzrejewski’s smear campaign has shown itself to be very successful.

That’s the story so far. The story that we will pick up again in the spring and follow to conclusion. But what does it mean for students? Where does that leave us?

Looking forward, we have to keep the upcoming election for three board of trustees members in mind. Kathy Hamilton, the Tea Party sympathetic, vice chairwoman of the board has been on a media blitz these past few months, presumably in anticipation of this. She told the conservative website Illinois Review that she is looking for three candidates to run for these positions, candidates we can reasonably assume will share her conservative affiliation.

Candidates for this position have to declare by the end of December. The scary thing? Depending on who they are, they’re looking pretty strong. The current board and the Breuder administration seem to be in a pretty vulnerable position given the media assault we’ve seen. It stands to reason that one or more hyperconservative candidates could very realistically get elected in the current local political climate.

This, we feel, would be disastrous for the student body. The ideology of the Tea Party seems directly opposed to the goals and needs of a community college. We are, in no uncertainty, a big government entity. A damn good one. A necessary one. One that helps people, allows them opportunities that simply would not exist without the College of DuPage. The anti-tax, small government stance of the Tea Party would logically result in the tightening of resources here, and the rejection of proposals that might result in a tax increase for local taxpayers. The college would be hamstrung at the least, and gutted at the very imaginable, very realistic worst. We’ve seen this happen around the country.

“But that’s what we need around here,” you might say. “We need someone to sell the stupid wine. Close the stupid restaurant. Trim the fat. Someone needs to put an end to the Dark Lord Breuder’s bacchanalian orgies on the taxpayers dime!”

Sure. We don’t agree with the way some things have been handled by the current administration. We do need a change. There are things that need to be fixed here at the college, and this election could be an opportunity to start that process. But let’s be reasonable. This college does more things right than it does wrong. We still have great facilities and better professors. We still have solid degree programs, certificate programs, and a plethora of options to transfer to four year schools. If we think of the college as a car that isn’t running well, we might consider an oil change. The election of a Tea Party majority board might be thought of as changing the engine. And getting a cheaper set of tires. And putting one of those dumb spoilers on the back, with duct tape.

So be angry at Breuder, and his office full of dead animals. Be angry at the administration, and the silly ways in which they sometimes spend your tuition. Be angry at the board, who have made a mockery of this institution. Demand cheaper books, better classes, lower cost and more convenience. But in doing so, don’t take the nuclear option. We don’t need radical change at this school. We certainly don’t need the radical change the Tea Party would no doubt bring. Think about that over break, before we throw away the proverbial baby with the bathwater, and if the Tea Party gets their way, the tub.