There is a certain temptation to rail against the system when it comes to the shortage of classes in the Department of Visual Art. Over the five past semesters in which I've repeatedly tried to get into various VA courses and failed, I've seen plenty of disappointed faces and heard many muttered obscenities from those who share my frustrating experiences. Yet, I've also witnessed the extraordinary character with which some students manage to deal with this problem.
Take, for example, what happened in the first class of VA 111: "Beginning Drawing." With over 50 people vying for 20 spots, the instructor apologized, saying she would have to prioritize certain students above others. Senior VA concentrators were guaranteed a place in the class; junior concentrators were next on the list. That left 10 precious spots remaining, which would be given away through a lottery.
Everyone else, from underclass concentrators to senior non-concentrators, wrote his or her name on slips of paper, threw the slips into a brown paper bag, and nervously watched as they were drawn. Feeling a little like a lemming, I put my name in as well, but with low expectations. A senior non-concentrator, my odds weren't better than anyone else's.
As the lottery began, I could sense the familiarly resigned exasperation of other senior non-concentrators whose names were not picked. Like me, for four years these students had failed to win the lottery and been told "try again next year." Now they would have no more chances.
Yet three acts of incredible generosity happened. After winning seats in the class through the lottery, two sophomores and one junior gave their positions to three senior non-concentrators. Unfortunately, there were four senior non-concentrators in the room, and I was left without a space.
Nevertheless, this kind of charity still overwhelmed me-though the fact that students were put in this situation in the first place left such a sour taste in my mouth that I had to leave the room. For as long as the Department of Visual Art continues to suffer a systemic lack of resources, those who volunteered their spots in the course might never have another chance at any upper-level VA course again.
This kind of shortage becomes even more painfully apparent in other upper-level VA courses. For example, 77 students pre-registered for the 15 seats in VA 151: "Beginning Photography." And these numbers don't even take into account the few dozen additional naïve students who show up on the first day to try "shopping" these classes.
To be fair, the University has tried to address this long-standing chronic shortage. In response to many students' and parents' complaints, President Ruth Simmons made the Department of Visual Art a priority when she took office four years ago. Over the last two years more resources were given to the department, nearly doubling the number of introductory-level courses such as VA 10: "Studio Foundation." Recently, the University hired one new, full-time professor.
Unfortunately, as another visiting assistant professor left at the same time, the total number of faculty capable of teaching these upper-level courses remains the same. And simply offering more introductory courses has exacerbated the overcrowding of upper-level courses, since more students than ever are now trying to get into them after completing classes such as VA 10. In the words of one instructor, the department has "shot itself in the foot."
Without more resources, Brown students will continue to face extremely limited options. Already, many feel misled by the Admission Office after facing enormous difficulty in trying to get into a Rhode Island School of Design class (see "Enrolling in a RISD class is mission impossible," John Nagler, Sept. 17, 2004). In the first place, Brown and RISD do not coordinate their academic calendars or class times - RISD's classes run longer and its semester ends later. And even if Brown students do manage to structure their class schedules around the hours of a RISD studio class, they have to scramble to find housing when the Brown semester ends (see "Out of Sync," Staff Editorial, Oct. 7, 2004). Expanding the art courses available at Brown would save its students having to beg and machinate, usually to no avail, for arts instruction at the bottom of College Hill.
Most importantly, an inherent good exists in offering more visual arts courses for students who specialize in fields ranging from computer science to political science. Professors in the Department of Visual Art tend to appreciate the different perspective non-concentrators bring to their classes, but given the lack of VA funding, non-concentrators are virtually barred from enrolling in the department. Were the University to better support the student population's great diversity of artistic talent, the Department of Visual Art could foster a more creative environment for its concentrators while more fully enriching the broader experience of other undergraduates.
Brown University prides itself in creating a diverse population of students that exercises many talents. But when enrolling in an arts course becomes a heartbreakingly worthless endeavor, students like me can only feel increasingly disappointed by the University's limited educational opportunities.
Herald comic artist Eddie Ahn '05 is half-lemming, half-aspiring artist.
