OPINION
OCTOBER 4, 2013
Defunding Hege Art Gallery would be a terrible waste
BY ANNA
OATES
Staff Wiurat
It's one of our most well-known features. It's one of the few
things that separate us in a great way from other small, private
liberal arts colleges.
And it's in danger.
Of course. I'm referring to the art gallery
in Hege Library.
Recently, there has been a lot of buzz
about the Administrative Program and
Services Assessment floating around
campus. Our school is planning on changing
a lot, and while most of the list focuses on
simply reconstructing parts of our school,
our library's art gallery might be eliminated.
"The art gallery's survival is uncertain
because of lack of funds," the Guilford
Beacon said. "The elimination of the
Administrative Assistant Position is
recommended. APSA recommends a five-
year timeline to raise funds, and if fundraising goals are not
met, elimination of the Art Gallery, as well as Terry Hammond's
position as curator, will be unavoidable."
Five years may seem like enough time to pull together some
money, but it's questionable, considering the sum needed is $1.5
million.
But why does this matter so much?
"It brightens the atmosphere, and it makes Guilford a better
place to be in general," junior Amanda Williams said.
And she's not alone. The campus has lit up with discussion
about this choice, and almost all of it is in favor of keeping the
art gallery.
"Over the 14 years I've been here, (the art gallery) has gotten
more positive press than anything else here at Guilford," said
Visiting Instructor of English Caroline McAlister. "It brings
together the Guilford community and the community outside
of the college."
The art gallery expresses much of what the Guilford College
community stands for. It showcases a wide variety of cultures
and encourages us to come together. It opens closed minds to
new viewpoints. And it offers a source of inspiration to anyone
who comes searching.
Not to mention that it's beautiful to walk through and makes
our campus truly unique.
Yet we're thinking about getting rid of such a treasure?
The board says if s because the gallery lacks direct impact.
However, that's not easy to give when speaking about gaining
new viewpoints and inspiration.
"(The gallery) has a way of truly touching people, and that's
not something you can record or replace," said Curator of the
Art Gallery Terry Hammond.
"Even though it's hard to quantify how many people go into
(the gallery) and are affected by it, I know a ton of people who
do go and really enjoy it," Williams said.
The art gallery's intangible value is important to many at
Guilford. But the art gallery doesn't just host art shows. It also
features lectures and other events, raising its use and capital.
"I've been to more lectures in the art gallery than anywhere
else on campus, and I truly enjoy them," McAlister said.
The lectures attract students from all different majors,
and many of them go on unrecorded walk-throughs after the
lectures.
"This is not something that is just for the art department,"
Hammond said, "It's used by many different disciplines. It's
surprising how integrated is. I've worked with everything from
the English department to the economics department."
The facts remain that the art gallery is a huge part of our
campus. It helps shape us, influence it and publicize it. And
we're on the verge of losing it.
Chances are that decision isn't going to change much in the
two weeks the administration gave us students to read and
respond to the report, and we certainly weren't represented well
in the APSA committee.
A college is made up of students, faculty and staff. Having
each group represented by a single person was a poor choice,
and now we are left with the aftermath.
Guilford, we have five years.
Are you ready to fight?
Teachers deserve more respect, money
BY ADITYA
GARG
STAFF WRITER
Job description: seeking people willing
to accept meager pay, Ihgh workloads
and constant criticism.
In today's political and social
environment, such
conditions are all too
common for teachers
and those entering
the education field.
Yet they receive
virtually no attention.
Instead of reform,
politicians like Sen.
Rand Paul and Rep.
Michelle Bachmann
voice opinions to
rid the country
of education funding and even the
Department of Education.
While other countries are redoubling
their investment in teachers and
education, the United States continues to
restrict and scale back its investment in
those sectors.
Talk about progress.
"Folks who have no idea what it
means to be an educator are making the
changes that impact educators," said
Professor of Education Studies David
Hildreth. "There is an erroneous belief
among these folks that anybody can be
a teacher."
Such "folks" are especially prevalent
in North Carolina, where the General
Assembly recently passed a bill
eliminating teacher tenure, automatic
pay increases for teachers who earn a
master's degree and the N.C. Teaching
Fellows Program.
"It is embedded in our culture," said
Dana Professor of Psychology Richard
Zweigenhaft. "For the past few decades,
we have seen a decreased commitment
to public education in America."
Rather than encouraging talented
teachers to enter the field, legislators
created stronger roadblocks and limits.
"These legislative acts undermine the
respect, however limited it already is, for
professional educators," said Assistant
Professor and Chair of Education Studies
Julie Burke.
Burke explained that the effects of the
recent laws are already apparent.
'There were a lot more openings in
local schools after the 10th day (of school)
than I've seen in quite a while," Burke
said. "We are already seeing teachers
leaving the state for Virginia and South
Carolina, where salaries and benefits are
more sufficient."
Such an exodus of teachers will likely
increase in coming years unless the state
provides greater compensation.
Our teachers inherit the burden as
the caretakers of our nation's future and
ultimately the future of human progress.
Teachers are the foundation of our
society, the stimulators of intellectual
curiosity and experimentation, the
progenitors of a future that will only be
marked by increased complexities.
And what do we do?
We continue to pay them the lowest
salaries of any profession. We continue
to repeatedly restrict their classroom
budgets and capabilities. And we
continue to discourage bright talent from
entering the noblest of all fields.
"Most teachers have a passion above
and beyond tangible things like pay
and those who really care will stay in
education," said Hildreth. "But it is
harder and harder to do the things you
love when you feel this constant sense of
oppression."
"It is definitely fiiistrating when
teachers cannot get the supplies they
need for their class," Executive Director
of Talent Development for Guilford
County Schools Amy Holcombe told The
Guilfordian.
Such oppression and frustration is
simply unacceptable. Our society rests
on the shoulders of our teachers, yet
we show no sign of appreciation or
gratitude. Instead, we inundate them
with continued abuse and restrictions.
The future of our society depends
on the teachers that build it. If nothing
else, we must stop the continual
demoralization of teachers and the
use of education policies as a means
of expressing political or ideological
differences.
Education changes lives, ends poverty
and inspires prosperity. If we do not give
teachers the respect they deserve, the
pay they are worth and the resources
they need, we are digging the hole for
our own future.
tils
The future
of Guilford
Four big letters weigh heavy on our minds
and hearts these days: APSA.
Unless you've been living under a rock,
you've heard about the proposals in the
new Administrative Program and Services
Assessment report. You've received emails,
Facebook notifications, seen fliers on doors
or maybe overheard people talking in the
cafeteria. Undeniably, a huge controversy has
ignited our campus.
We are all concerned about the well-being
and future of the College. And frankly, we
should be.
We at The Guilfordian hope that the services
that strengthen our community and make
Guilford the unique institution it is will not
be discarded. We hope that the administration
will view staff and administrative departments
not just in terms of hard numbers or statistics,
but in terms of their far-reaching effects on the
community and the Guilford experience as a
whole.
We hope that the administration
understands that many of the areas that face
reduction or elimination are indispensable and
essential to Guilford's core.
If you usually ignore documents that
have scary words like "administrative" and
"assessment" in them, you should brave
through it for this one because, undoubtedly,
the decisions made for the APSA proposal will
affect you in some way. They will affect us aU.
In the report itself, the euphemism
"restructure" can be found throughout the
document. Much of what we love about
Guilfoid now faces this fate of restructuring,
or worse, elimination.
Services like the Friends Center, the Art
Gallery, Bonner Center, Career Development
Center and Multicultural Education face
downsizing, position cuts or being dumped in
with other departments.
And they are the lucky ones. Other services,
like the Conflict Resolution Resource Center,
could be cut altogether.
Reducing resources that enrich student
experience and propel community building
and diversity does not reflect what Guilford
stands for.
As an institution that emphasizes core
values of community, diversity, stewardship
and justice, it seems like our priorities are off
here — espedally given that areas such as the
PE Center and AffUetics will most likely be
maintained as is.
The smell of contradiction lingers in the air.
We feel grateful that we were eventually
induded in the conversation. We just hope this
indusion was out of more than just politeness.
We hope our voices will not just be heard,
but listened to intently.
Guilford's future depends on it.
Refleqing Guilford College's core Quaker values,
THE TOPICS AND CONTENT OF StAFF EDITORIALS ARE CHOSEN
THROUGH CONSENSUS OF ALL 16 EDITORS AND ONE R\CULTY
ADVISER OF The Guilfordian’s Editorial Board.