(Artist: Stephan Pastis)
A disclaimer: I do not drink spirits...At least, not that often. That said, the commentary of the character of Rat in this struck a nerve with me today. Because it has been a rather bad one, especially as regards my quest to further my education.
Here is the deal:
As many of you who have visited this blog before know, I returned to school to complete my Bachelors degree after a 27 year lapse (what I sometimes refer to as my 'extended sabbatical') in the fall of 2010. I chose to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks for a variety of reasons, ranging from the intimate size of the department, to its reasonable cost, to being able to experience the storytelling and arts of the native Alaskan peoples and gain inspiration from them. I have been able to achieve a 3.3 cumulative GPA and, although I have had some scheduling setbacks due to finances, I now have ~11 credit hours left to qualify for my B.A. degree in theatre (design emphasis) with an art minor and am hoping to raise the funds to graduate in the Spring of, or at the very latest, the Fall of 2015.
And then today I find out via a letter from one of the professors in my department that the University is looking at cutting the B.A. in theatre as a major. Which, if they do, would mean that for all intents and purposes my roughly 31 years worth of effort towards the completion of my degree could end up for naught.
Granted, the B.A. in theatre is not the only program that the university is examining for possible change and/or deletion. Several other programs in the humanities are potentially on the chopping block as well. And I feel for those affected by cuts in other areas. After all, isn't a major aspect of what a university is about to give students the skills to think? To explore? To embrace the world in all its aspects?
Yeah. Apparently, those in authority find more use in degrees in mining and petroleum engineering. You know, the 'practical things'.
I have seen, over the last few days, a string of articles cross my various feeds regarding the utility of the arts and how it is a mistake for students to study them. And it has gnawed at me. Because I experienced so much of that mindset from a variety of individuals for so many years. Thankfully, I was able to rise beyond them. But what about the young people who, because of actions like those being considered by the powers that be at UAF, will not have access to opportunities to explore what inspires them? As followers/readers here might know, I want to teach. To open the world to others as it was opened to me by so many marvelous mentors in high school and college. And I dearly love the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Even without having done a campus visit, it took me little time at all to discover how much I seemed to 'fit' there. Which is one of the reasons why these projected actions hurt my soul as much as they do.
So now, I'm going to share a link to a petition, which is being directed to the Chancellor and the Provost. I hope that you will consider signing it, in support not just of the theatre department which has been something of a home to me, but also in support of the arts in general. And for those who might want to follow them.
https://www.change.org/p/brian-rogers-save-theatre-uaf-2?recruiter=179957591&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive
Thanks for reading this ramble. More later....
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My school related fundraising site:
Help Me Continue My Educational Momentum
A portfolio of my various work and projects, both theatrical and otherwise.
My general, rather eclectic, Tumblr:
Semi-Random Shavings
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