Judy Seckler
GLENDALE COMMUNITY COLLEGE -- Not many people live to see a building
named in their honor.
However, with the dedication of the J. Walter Smith Center & Bookstore
on the Glendale Community College campus Tuesday, the college's former
dean of student activities joined a select group.
Smith, 80, was joined by about 500 students, staff, faculty and city
officials who came to honor the man most responsible for the construction
of the new complex.
The school's culinary arts department prepared a lavish banquet
complete with tacos, tamales, nachos, tacquitos, vegetables and fruit
platters. Guests washed down their food with ice tea and virgin
margaritas. A multi-flavored cake was baked in the shape of the new
center. A mariachi band, decked out in black costumes with silver braid
sewn down the seams, provided background music.
The center features meeting rooms, Associated Students and staff
offices, a student lounge with vending machines and a new bookstore.
Columns of white, green, red and yellow balloons and banners graced
the ramps and archway of the new center. A silver foil and gold crepe
paper pinata hung on the center's archway and completed the decor.
"All I can think about is the sacrifice students have made over the
years to save for the center," Smith said.
Smith managed funds generated by the Associated Students for more than
35 years. Smith was a member of the GCC staff for 45 years and retired in
1992.
About $1.5 million out of the building's total price tag of $4 million
has already been paid for by the Associated Students. Additional yearly
payments of $151,350 over 17 years from Glendale College Bookstore
proceeds will make up the difference.
Students are excited with what the center has to offer.
"There's space for clubs and organizations," said second year student
Natasha DePoyo, a senator for campus relations.
"It's a big event," former student Bryan Ramos said. "A lot of
students have been looking forward to having a place where they can
gather and a place they can call their own."
