Last week I was turned down from a RISD class for the third semester in a row.
Once again I made the trek up College Hill grinding my teeth. I had received nearly the same answer as before. The woodworking class I wished to enroll in was capped at 15 and full. No exceptions were to be made. As a Brown student I was last on the priority list. Try again next year.
My previous experience did not mean anything to the new Director of Industrial Design, Mickey Ackerman.
"It wouldn't matter if you had been a professional cabinet maker for five years," he told me when I asked if it made a difference what I had done in the past. Indeed, he was telling the truth. It wouldn't matter if I had been a professional for the last five years, because as long as I am not a RISD student, I doubt I will ever have the chance to enroll in a woodworking course.
Ackerman agreed with my concern that I will likely receive the same answer every time I try to enroll in the class, thus graduating from Brown without ever taking a woodworking class.
From what I gather, I'm not the only Brown student who has encountered opposition and disappointment at RISD.
In fact, I believe I am one of many Brown students who have been misled by Brown and the admissions office into believing the RISD cross-registration program is a well-supported and realistic option.
Before I go any further, let me briefly describe my woodworking experience. I worked for three years in a high school shop renowned for its Chippendale reproductions. Chippendale furniture is what you might expect to find in your dining room or at the John Brown Museum.
My first year in woodworking class was dedicated to building a mahogany desk. The next two years were spent building a reproduction of a bureau that was auctioned off for close to a quarter million dollars.
My point is not to brag but rather to reaffirm my interest in continuing an activity as important to me as the OMAC is to an athlete and as necessary as theater is to an actor.
Of course, I was advised to explore other options, and I did. The search process brings to light one of the biggest problems with cross-registration: scheduling. Many RISD classes meet once a week for five hours, obviously limiting course selection at Brown.
You can understand how glad I was this fall to have not only an open time block, but also one that matched the class I desired to take. Yet, when forced to pursue other options, I have been left with few I am interested in or eligible for. Again, there are problems with class size and waiting to hear from a professor.
I am currently exploring options in metalworking, sculpture and even RISD's non-credit and expensive Continuing Education program, but you can imagine my discontent in departing woodworking and furniture.
Enough is enough. I have met several RISD instructors, including department heads. I've seen my advisor numerous times to talk about the problem. I met with Dean William Shaw and Dean Armando Bengochea last spring. I'm scheduled to speak with Dorothy Testa, Brown's associate director of admissions.
Yet before I appeal to them and to President Simmons for assistance and clarification, I appeal to you, fellow students. If you have experienced trouble getting into a RISD class or have gotten into one, I want to hear from you. If the Brown/RISD program works I want to know what I'm missing.
But if gears are grinding in your ears too, something must be done.
John Nagler '07 can be reached at John_Nagler
@brown.edu.
