SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Savannah State University students came together for a peaceful demonstration advocating for the performing arts program on Monday morning.
They are worried the program could be cut as the administration is conducting a yearly comprehensive review of all of the programs offered. The university looks at enrollment and graduation rates when they consider each program, both of those numbers being low for the performing arts.
Angelica McCoy is a visual arts student. She was one of the hundreds who marched through campus.
“This is kind of the most we can do to show them that we’re out here, we’re early, in the cold, and that we actually mean what we say. We want to defend and support our arts,” McCoy said.
Some of the classes potentially on the chopping block include acting, drawing, ballet and sculpting.
“We’ve created such a space and environment for the arts in general. A family has been established in the arts program that I would just hate to see get destroyed like that,” McCoy said. “To see that go away… there’s not something that we’re just going to sit here and be OK with.”
There is also a petition with almost 500 signatures. Many of the students who signed it are pursuing majors outside of performing arts, including Kayla Jordan. She says the arts still have a great impact on campus.
“Majority of my friends are visual arts majors. Last semester, I was a part of a theater production and art club, so I’m very involved in the visual arts scene at the school. When I heard about it, I just felt so bad for the people who have put so much time and work into their major,” Jordan said.
Dr. Richard Miller, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, says all of this is premature.
“We haven’t made any decisions whatsoever about all of our programs, not just the performing arts program,” Miller said. “The comprehensive review is with all of our programs. Every institution in our system is doing pretty much the same thing, and it’s a healthy process.”
Even if the program is not cut, students want change. Many of them spoke openly to Miller before the march. They say the administration is focusing more on other programs like business, science and technology.
They also say they are not being communicated with, getting little help from advisors, losing professors and struggling to get assistance from the financial aid office.
For now, they are asking for transparency, “hand-in-hand communication,” and patience to let them build the program and flourish. Jordan says her friends in the arts do not want to have to change majors or transfer schools.
“[Other colleges] don’t have the same culture, and they don’t have the same history. At the end of the day, [these students] came to Savannah, they want to graduate from Savannah, and they want to use Savannah and whatever it has to offer to continue their career here,” Jordan said.
According to Miller, there is no hard deadline for the completion of the review.