Shoreline Community College — Attraction in Shoreline

Do NOT ENROLL HERE** DISCMINATION!! In april 2023 I am writing to share a deeply distressing and disheartening experience I had while enrolled in the Biotechnology program at SCC. In April 2023, I was excited to begin my journey in a STEM field, but my aspirations were quickly shattered by the discriminatory and retaliatory actions of my instructor, Tony Hyun. From the start, Tony Hyun, a male instructor of Asian descent, singled me out. As a woman of color with a disability, I was immediately made to feel unwelcome. During a lab activity, Tony Hyun made a series of humiliating and unprofessional remarks about my weight. He stated that he did not have a gown in my size and hadn't had a student "my size" in his class for years. He then tried to force me to try on a gown that was two sizes too small in front of my peers. When I refused, his attitude toward me changed. He threatened to dock my participation points, even though the necessary equipment was not available for me to participate in the activity. I felt embarrassed and isolated, especially since he was aware of my physical challenges and how they would prevent me from wearing the gown. He didn't seem to care and continued to press the issue and make comments about my size. In Washington State, discrimination based on weight is illegal. Later, I was subjected to more of Tony Hyun's discriminatory comments. He made disparaging remarks about Muslims and head wraps, stating that people of that religion would not succeed in the biotechnology industry because their head wraps could be a "contamination factor" in an ISO zone. A Muslim student in the class, who wore a head wrap, visibly reacted to his comments. When she bravely challenged him, I backed her up, pointing out that special sanitary head wraps could be created for the industry. My instructor did not like being challenged. He was a self-absorbed and pompous man who would spend class time talking about himself instead of the course material. When students questioned him, he became physically agitated and resentful. After being challenged that day, he redirected his anger toward me. He approached me aggressively, asking if I was going to participate in the activity even though he still had not provided the correct gown. He said rudely that it was "hard to find a size that will fit someone with my body type." My female peers noticed his discriminatory behavior and urged me to report it. That night, I was so upset I couldn't sleep. The emotional toll of being treated so poorly was overwhelming. The next day, I reported my experience to the program coordinator, who connected me to the Dean of Staff. I filed a report, but the investigation that followed felt like a sham. The college did not interview me, and the investigation concluded without a resolution. The instructor was allowed to continue teaching, and he retaliated against me by purposefully excluding me from class activities. Feeling completely unsupported and discouraged, I was forced to withdraw from the program. This experience made it clear that students, especially disabled students and students of color, are not...

I recently transferred out of Shoreline due to several administrative issues. If you are considering community college, here is what you need to know about Shoreline.

Pros Most teachers do care about their students and will try to help you as best they can Tuition is very cheap compared to University of Washington There is virtually zero competition for classes, etc, especially if you're in STEM

Cons Shoreline is severely understaffed and underfunded There is only one academic advisor assigned for all of STEM; it is literally impossible for one person to be knowledgable enough to answer every question of every student of every STEM-related field & university and/or provide meaningful guidance. I hated my time with this person because they kept giving wrong information to me and other students, however it is not their fault at the end of the day for being overworked. There is currently only one Engineering professor for the entire school, with the second one on sabbatical until April; this limits available courses Clubs, especially STEM-related, are disappearing because professors are overworked There is little communication between administrative departments Unless it directly involves the school receiving money (whether from a student or from the government), Administration does not communicate with you; several times I or other students reached out for help with questions, issues, or for normal things like receiving transcripts and we would either not hear anything back at all or we would not receive a response for weeks. As a marginalized person in STEM, I often felt fetishsized & used as a statistic; I want to learn Calculus and proper grammar not discuss how wronged I've been done by society. This fetishization came from school administrative policies; the professors themselves always treated each student like human beings with dignity and respect.

Bottom Line: This is not a school to attend if you have dreams in STEM; not only are there fewer resources available than other schools, but the professors are overworked and the academic advisors give out wrong information. If you are looking for a degree in Humanities, this school is still overworked but has more resources available for you compared to STEM and will serve you OK.

Edit: Downgrading to one star after the college lost a class action law suit for handling...

This was a lovely campus with decent classes. Unfortunately, the addition of a GIANT dormitory in 2019 obscured the original Japanese-style design / layout. Plus, the addition is dumping hundreds more bodies (and more cars) into an already overcrowded scene. This college intentionally admits too many students every quarter, resulting in a fiasco parking situation for a few weeks at the beginning of every term. I enjoyed my time here (especially when campus wasn't too busy, like during summer quarters), but I fear this "new' college will be overcrowded and more inaccessibility. A note about accessibility: Support for disabled students is outstanding from a service perspective, but not so much physically. The campus has only a few parking spaces for disabled folks overall, and they're often taken. It especially needs more spots for the popular unemployment / "Workforce Education" offices in the FOSS building. Getting around campus, walkways are challenging to traverse with a wheelchair -- expect lots of hills, curves, and (tree-root) bumps. The "pagoda-style" student-union building ("PUB") lost its parking (due to the new apartments), so there's NO easy access to this building and a few others as well, including the library--that's a huge miss for...