Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Higher education UPDATE: Ark. Tech president defends theater closure
Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 3:05 PM
I wrote yesterday about concerns by supporters of the theater program at Arkansas Tech following closure of the program's workshop space over fire safety concerns several weeks ago. Important equipment is locked up there and no alternative space has yet been arranged
University officials met on the situation Monday and issued a news release afterward that said officials are working together to find a solution for students to continue their work. It said the university is committed to a fine arts program, but it seems to lay the blame for the current situation on the program's rejection of an administration plan for a new "black box" theater 10 years ago. Seems strange to bring that up, unless you know some of the old tensions between the administration and drama at Tech. Was there really only one solution 10 years ago and the alternative nothing?
The university administration's plans to seek a review of the program. The pains taken to note the small number of students affected — 30 theater majors — seem evidence of an ongoing animus by the administration. (In fact, there are perhaps two dozen more people minoring in the program and a number of speech students who depend on the program for a number of their required courses.) Fact is, drama alums contend, there was never a meaningful discussion about new theater facilities 10 years ago.
UPDATE: I had a rare conversation today with Dr. Robert Brown, president of Arkansas Tech, who's been silent in past controversies, but who said he'd decided to change course. He said he was unwilling to allow unfair criticism to go unchallenged this time around.
His bottom line in a telephone interview: "I want to emphasize one thing and one thing only — for me this is about safety. It is not about anything else." Read on for much more. He also provided a slide show of the workshop. (Louis Welcher, a retired university professor who lives in Russellville and is a friend of the Tech theater, has also contributed since I first posted this interview with Brown a testimonial to its leader, Ardith Morris.)
Brown said the issue arose because he happened to walk by the theater workspace last summer and was alarmed by what he saw. He mentioned arc welding tools near flammable materials and vast amounts of "clutter." He said he asked for an outside evaluation, from the fire department, because he knew his own criticism would not be received well given past controversies.
"It’s a dangerous situation," he said. "We’ve got numerous violations. They were not committed by anyone in administration. This is their management. They’re not willing to accept responsibility. I'm willing to help if I can. They want to use me as stifling freedom of expression."
He said, "I don't care what kind of play they can put on. They can do 'Oh! Calcutta!' I just want it to be safe."
Brown insisted he'd made a legitimate proposal to allot money for a new theater workshop 10 years ago, but the faculty (it currently consists of two full-time teachers) found it unacceptable. "They wanted a full-blown performing arts center. They'd settle for nothing less. I moved on. I had money to spend. I built a new visual arts center."
Brown commented that "nobody else on campus has let a lab get into the appalling condition that one is in."
He emphasized again the small number of majors — 30 — for two faculty members, though he acknowledged theater minors and other students who must take courses in the department. He said he believed theater should be a part of the institution and he was committed, within limited space available, to finding an alternative to the closed space and to retrieval of equipment there.
Does he have confidence in the faculty? "I didn’t select them. They’ve got tenure. I’d like to have confidence in them. But what I’ve seen has made me ask some pretty deep questions. How could responsible people let a situation like this go for so long?" So far, the faculty has not spoken publicly, though former students have had plenty to say.
Brown believes criticism of him has been "orchestrated." Hard feelings clearly linger over the issue of his directive to not use a real gun (Clarification: a starter pistol firing blanks) during a Sondheim play a few years ago, an issue that brought the ACLU into play. "That was a safety issue, too," he said. "I tried to fix it. I took it on the chin."
This time, he said, he's decided to speak out. "I don't want to be in the faculty's business," he said.
"But the student body comes first." He noted that Tech trains teachers. "If we put people in public schools who think that this is proper operating procedure, we’ve committed a failure."
He said architects, the Department of Higher Education and others will be reviewing the situation and the department. That, he said, is "not a threat, but the responsible thing to do." Brown points to the report on safety conditions and photos that documented the inspection.
Speaking of...
-
Pottsville quads get Arkansas Tech scholarships
March 9, 2012Arkansas Tech President Robert Brown has awarded presidential scholarships — good for free tuition — to Pottsville quadruplets Carlie, Cole, Curtis and Jonatham Latham. /more/
- More »
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Doigotta, here is an entry by Wikipedia for a Black Box Theater.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box_the…
With respect eLwood, what do you have against it?
ATU's engineering curricula and faculty are accredited at the same level as the U of A. But being a small school, there are almost no graduate assistants... instead, the freshmen and sophs are taught by real professors and given good student-teacher time.
There is no drug-alcohol culture at ATU like there is at the U of A. It is a safe campus.
I attended both ATU and the U of A and I saw firsthand the difference between the schools. I graduated ATU in 1986 (bachelor's Computer Science) and MBA at U of A (1988). My son is an honors student at ATU now, and already is being approached by U of A (and others) for grad school.
Thank you, LinCo. A room and stackable chairs, huh? Doesn't seem to me that would give students much background in actual theater. Seems more like a "cafetorium", but in black. ATU would have a hard time convincing me they couldn't find an appropriate bit of room in that Fine Arts building when it was being planned.
With all do respect Slingerland, have you really looked inside the University? Safe campus? What about all the attacks that happened last year? And there are a ton of Graduate Assistants in my department. Graduate Assistants teach freshman and sophomores now. While things have came a long way since 1988, nothing has been done to help the Theatre department. That is the real matter at hand. The university is allowed to be slanderous with their words and speak out, but the students, faculty and many others have to be silent in order to receive any help. That to me is not a University. That made it quite clear in their press release that they do not care about these students. Which there are more than 30 students in the Theatre program. Take for instance dozens of students minoring in the Theatre and the required 15 hours for Speech and Journalism. I am ashamed at this so called "university." What if it was a science lab? Or football or any other building on campus? Would they be so inclined to take immediate action to fix it?
Danett, with respect, did you read my post? Or just skimmed it and decided to bite back?
I am a 1986 alum of ATU, not 1988. My son is a junior there now. He is an engineering major, and he has never been stuck with a grad assistant in any class. It is one of the main reasons he picked ATU... no grad assistants in his field.
Yes, my son is an engineering major at a university that specializes in TECHNICAL subjects such as math, chemistry, physics, engineering. It is not a center for liberal arts such as theatre and speech, although it has excellent journalism and music departments. For theatre majors, to be blunt, there are better schools.
So based on your post, I suspect that the liberal arts areas have added grad assistants. I am sorry to hear that, but the school is a technical university first.
You are correct about the attacks last year... but also look at the attacks EVERY YEAR at the U of A and then try to say that ATU is unsafe. "Safe" is (unfortunately) a comparative thing.
Last... I actually do agree with you that the theater situation is a shame. When I was there, the theatre stuff was stored in a ramshackle building behind Roush dorm. Plays were performed in the Witherspoon auditorium. It makes no sense to me that storage for props and costumes is not available.
All that needs to be said about Arkansas Tech is when the person over student services (housing, health clinics, those things) left and was replaced by the head of the university PR operation, who has no experience in higher ed or student affairs other than university PR at Arkansas Tech something is amiss.
Slingerland: the concept of a university is a place where one can gain experiences in a variety of fields and for faculty to create new knowledge. Let's look at theater for example: you state Tech is a university that specializes in technical fields. The theater program could be using say, engineering resources in it's program (hey, some engineer might like to act or work as an electrician on a play as a hobby) to create better rigging systems or improved lighting. This benefits both the theater (new knowledge) and engineering (place to work on something new) fields, students, and faculty.
As a fellow alum of Tech Slingerland, Tech seems to be more interested in not it's technical fields (I don't know if you've visited Corley Hall ever, but it's been a dump since day one) but cranking out more brainwashed business majors (el Chuck is an econ professor albeit he's not seen in a classroom or anywhere where he might have to talk to a student that isn't either SGA president or an athlete in 12-14 years). Business faculty are cheap and easy to come by for Tech compared to engineering or science faculty (the whole limited research thing), it's easy to pawn them off as retail managers or something when they get out, and the coursework isn't silly hard (Let's compare your average sophomore business class like Principles of Marketing to Statics in terms of effort required). Sadly, the previous statement is true for more than just Tech.
Oh, and Danett is right. Arkansas Tech is run by the pettiest bunch of jokers you've ever met. From Brown on down it's all about making themselves look good. It's a giant case of genital envy from Chuck Brown over UA-Fayetteville as the big dog in town. When I was there in the early 2000s, they banned the campus media from discussing Razorback athletics ever. Not joking one bit.
anoncow, I visit the campus several times a semester, and Corley is a PARADISE compared to Dean Hall of my day (grin). I'm still friends with a couple of my old instructors and drop in to say "hi". Plus my son is there.
I agree that the theater issue is an embarrassment, and every college has petty politics. What I take umbrage on is eLwood's comment. You are correct that a university should offer a variety of experiences... but I point out that universityies do specialize, and ATU doesn't have the big bucks the U of A has. So in a choice between curricula, sometimes a low-interest curricula has to take the back seat.
FYI (both to you and Danett), your comment about engineering students appearing in plays as a hobby, I did exactly that. If you look in the 1983-84 Agricola, look for the one-act plays "Rhinocerous" and "Night at Star Saloon" and you'll see a couple of picture of me. I was supporting cast, and somehow got typecast as a asshole and a bartender...
Of course, being the ever practical computer science student, there was an ulterior motive on my part... the woman I was dating was a speech/theatre major, and I saw participating in plays with her as the gateway to my own private "auditions" with her later on. (Picture dirty old man laughing...)
I'm an alum, and was in the department ten years ago during the time of the quoted discussion of a black box. It never happened. It was a one sentence conversation that never expanded, and it's deplorable of Dr Watson to use that as ammunition in his press-release of a news story.
It's not about the departments. It's not about the faculty. It's about how any accredited university at Tech's level has some form of accessible performing arts. They're kidding themselves if they think this is going to go away. It's not like these 3 faculty and 90-ish affected students are asking for all $6.7 million of Hull's football renovation. They're asking for a room in which to teach their courses and make their art, which serves not only the university but the River Valley as a whole. They've done it on peanuts for years, and they'll do it again.
Slingerland - Concur on Dean, I saw pictures and man it was a dump. Corley always has had the weird HVAC issues that cause the faculty and some students to really hate it (one CS prof has/had a website indicating his office temperature and if it was outside a specific (and broad) range, he was canceling his office hours). At least by the time I was at Tech we didn't have to march to Corley to use AS-400 terminals in the computer labs, we could just shell into our CS Linux machine to do work or do things in the Library computer labs. I valued my time at Tech and truly look back on the good memories I made with friends there, but the administration ruins it for me. I am not really proud to be an alumni of there after some of the stunts Chuck pulled. For example, he used to shake your hand at graduation. In 2009 he pulled the "OMG IT'S H1N1" out and has just sat there ever since (a friend of mine informed me UAMS, which had people on site with it did the traditional hand shaking, just had some hand cleaner available).
I bet if you ring UA and ask their theater faculty they would say compared to engineering and business they are getting the scraps. Thing is at Tech is they are not even getting scraps (those are going to English and History (Music Department is a pet Brown project, so they are well funded) to keep them afloat, a lack of desire to replace the ever aging and poorly constructed Witherspoon causes issues there). They are on fire and Dr. Brown won't even stop his state owned rig to pee on them. Long term there needs to be a solution that fixes a number of problems - one a lack of space for liberal arts in general compared to business and applied sciences given the growing student base (limited construction for liberal arts has occurred in the past 10 years, let's see. New Art Building because the old one had floors that were at risk of collapsing, that's it if I recall correctly). Speech got the old Energy Building after Business (and engineering moved fully into Corley) moved to the new Business building, but I think they can't use part of it because it wasn't properly outfitted (one part was designed for a nuclear reactor to be installed).
The other problem Tech has is it's dependence on donors that tend to be backwards thinking. One large donor had to be informed that coed dorms have been okay since the 1960s or 1970s after he was offended at cohabitation of males and females. Few of them value the arts at all.
I pleased to learn that ATU does not value me as an alumnus of the program. From a numbers standpoint, I was just one person from a small graduating class. One person who graduated with honors. One person who went on to get her MA in Theatre. One person who is now working on her doctorate. Clearly, educating me wasn't a good use of resources. Perhaps they will stop asking me for money.
anoncow: " One large donor had to be informed that coed dorms have been okay since the 1960s or 1970s after he was offended at cohabitation of males and females"
Heh, heh... the only "co-ed" dorm when I was there in the early 1980s was Dulaney, and that was only because it had individual entrances for each quad of rooms. All the other dorms had a lobby with fairly strict security.
At the time, Dulaney was an honors dorm for the "upstanding" upperclassmen. It was also VERY easy for the girlfriend to come spend the night (or in some cases, simply move in)... But since 1987, Dulaney is just a memory, having been bulldozed down into the parking lot to the south of Wilson. Sigh. Good memories, though...
Thanks Slingerland for reminding me that Tech still rolled about 15-20 years behind in the 80's. As much as I fault Brown for things, I don't give him enough credit for bringing Tech into at least the current millennium. I heard stories that Kersh had the physical plant using diesel fuel as a herbicide in the 90s as a cost saving mechanism. I was at a summer camp at Tech in '97, my god the facilities were in poor shape (Paine was marked for demo but enrollment grew once they put in a new library and acted like they were getting out of the 60s so they saved it). By the time I arrived as an undergrad in 2001 things were remarkably in usable condition.
Well, all I really know about Arkansas Tech is that it had a fine band program under Gene Witherspoon.
"but cranking out more brainwashed business majors..."
I'm reminded more of a band directors mill than any other thing.
This seems like such an easy fix...
Have President Brown tell his food service provider that he needs a new theater facility.
Voila! Food service provider antes up the money (after a new contract is hastily arranged covering the next umpteen years) and Tech gets a new theater.
Problem solved.
Next!
You're absolutely right about Witherspoon. It may still be great for all I know.
Looking at the pictures, I have to agree with Brown on this one (albeit his hacks should have been more clear and forthcoming from day one - say listen this was very unsafe, here's how and why instead of mentioning we offered them something new 10 years ago and they said no). That's very unsafe any way you cut it and reflects poorly on the faculty. Having a small facility doesn't preclude cleanliness or asking for some warehouse space from the physical plant.
I can also see the faculty making over the top demands, but he needs to lead and say we're building X if you don't like it well tough luck. You can't fire a tenured faculty member, but you can sure move their offices.
Slingerland, are you saying that your son never had a TA teacher or that there are no TAs teaching lower level engineering courses? If the latter, you might better check again.
70%er, my son has never had a graduate assistant as a classroom teacher.
Let's make sure we're saying the same thing... I'm referring to a graduate assistant as a graduate student with a bachelor's degree who is pursuing a masters or PhD. I'm not referring to a senior who is guiding a lab course.
This is a university president throwing his faculty under the bus. THROWING them under the bus. Is anyone actually surprised that they (or students) aren't speaking out?
And I don't recall "a real gun" being involved at any point in the controversy over Assassins. I saw the play (after Stephen Sondheim and others took Dr. Brown to task for canceling it) and the "real guns" were prop starter pistols that LOOKED like starter pistols. The only thing Dr. Brown took on the chin was his own foot.
OK, I don't get this. I was theatre major and we had shops like this and our professors would tell us to clean it up when it needed it. Don't these people report to the president? So clean it the fuck up and shut the fuck up! Why he is defending anything other than his own incompetent staff?
The gun from Assassin's was a prop gun, not real. And the shop is in disarray because we were in the process of tearing down the set that was up, and readying the facility for use as a rehearsal space. The lights by costuming weren't circuited, they were stored. The lights above the audience were circuited with extension cable because that is the only way we can use the facility given to us. Obviously welding was not being used as a welding center. We normally go outside, and have water and fire extinguishers nearby. It's labeled welding because that's where we STORE our welding equipment.
I don't know. I understand that it seems unsafe, but for the most part, these pictures have explanations behind them that deal with us trying to do the best we can with what is given. We were given an old gymnasium, and we tried to make a fully functioning scene shop and theatre out of it. This is the best we can do. I've heard so many stories about what happened with Norman vs Black Box that I don't really know what to think. And, regardless, that was ten years ago. This facility has operated the same way for ten years.
As far as publicly denouncing faculty... I have never heard of a University President so openly bash his employees. Regardless of harsh words between faculty and president, or any situation, what he says in this article does no one any good.
I am now deeply ashamed to say that I'm in my third year at Arkansas Tech. I hope this exposure finally brings the theatre department the funding it needs. The department has all the potential it needs to become a powerhouse. There's talent, dedication, and love of performance throughout. With support, it could become a major source of revenue for the university. I hope to see the arts flourish in the Russellville area. We need to set aside the past and work toward this.
Can we get back on the actual subject matter here regarding the theatre department being thrown to the curb? thanks!
nimnod- we did keep our shop clean and never had to be told to do so. Besides, the fire marshal hasn't locked out the current students for not cleaning up after themselves. The problems that resulted to the locking of doors have been problems for years- at least 15 that I'm aware of, but Dr. Brown would rather spend his donations on other projects than the theatre dept where doors have been falling off hinges and electrical wiring has been exposed. We always had to make due and bust our tails together w/out the support of the university and our shows always kicked ass.
russel- What you don't seem to realize is that the current students and tons of alumni have been working together for weeks before the fire marshal report was ever made public. In fact, we have hounded the press to get the support we need so don't say we arent speaking out when its obvious that you don't have a clue.
Nimnod:
I imagine your shop was very different from ATU's. The "shop" is an old women's basketball gym converted to serve multiple purposes: the area closed off is the large gym portion with wooden floors and a leaky ceiling, a couple of side rooms and a concrete mezzanine. This has to hold all the theatre program's costumes, props, paint supplies, work tools, etc. and also serve as a performance space.
The argument from the theatre program is they're not given enough money to pay for the things every other program has. The argument from the administration is that the faculty aren't doing enough with the shoestring budget they're given.
I will agree with Dr. Brown about this: it's not about philosophy, it's about money, and he flat-out doesn't want to spend anything more than the bare minimum on the theatre program.
I am an alum of both Tech and U of A. I am ashamed and appalled by Dr. Brown's comments about his faculty. I wish there were a way to request Tech stop begging me for money at every turn because it is now crystal clear that they aren't using our money in a equitable way among all departments. Too bad Dr. Brown chose to embarrass his alumni by showing exactly zero support for his team. Pitiful.
NIMROD- stop making assumptions and find something better to waste your time with.
As a member of the SGA, I asked Dr Brown what would be done about the Speech and Theatre facilities during a meeting. I was given the run-around face-to-face.
When I tried to press it...and other SGA members shut me down. I quit SGA. Nicki Goodlett tried to talk me out of quitting. And I didn't listen to her.
The thing that I learned from conversations with Nicki afterwards was that quitting never solved anything.
The facilities at ATU have been an ongoing concern since before that meeting. The administration has known about some of these concernsfor at least 4 years.
If safety was truly the concern....why has it taken so long? Why was my life put in 'danger' during my stay at ATU?
I am calling it like I see it...and it is nothing but smoke and mirrors for Dr Brown.
Unfortunately, Dr. Brown does not seem entirely wrong here. That is a mess, and even if he caught them at the perfect time, it is still a picture of a mess. HOWEVER, he has shown his true colors and they are not pretty. If you are a leader, and you notice employees are not living up to your expectations, one should find a professional and respectful way in which to correct the problem. Not speak publicly about people who hold more reputable degrees than your own in such a hateful and distasteful manner. I hope the board of trustees for the university at large notices how crude, quick to temper, and unprofessional he has just shown himself to be.
It should be noted that the only people defending ATU are anonymous. I am proud to say that I am a 2007 Graduate from ATU and would like to express my displeasure at how the University is treating my program and the professors that taught me everything that I now use in my profession.
As a faculty member (without tenure yet) at TECH, I think it's understandable that I might post anonymously. I can tell you that many of my colleagues have forwarded Dr. Brown's unfortunate comments to me today and each person is horrified by his blatant disrespect of his staff. It is disheartening to say the very least.
When ANYBODY says "It is not about anything else", you can know with certainty that it IS about something else.
I graduated proudly from the Theatre Dept. a few years back and I'm not at all surprised by Dr. Brown's comments. His disdain for the dept. was well known long before the ASSASSINS incident. I remember the first time I saw him come to watch one of our productions. He was clearly less than thrilled to be there at all. Pretty much confirmed to all the students that he could not care less. Also, I'm surprised he'd show that slideshow. It essentially illustrates the argument the students have been trying to make for years. We have long been operating in sub-par conditions with antiquated resources. Thanks for that, too, Dr. B. Your support of your faculty and students is inspiring.
Doigotta-
a black room and stackable chairs and a cafetorium are incredibly different things. And a black box theater is neither of those. I have worked at every theater in this town, and all of them have a variation on the black box, and some of them use them much better than others.
I had a whole rant I was going to go off on, but I won't.
After seeing the slideshow, I can understand the fire marshal's concerns.
But I can understand the student's point of view too. The photos remind me of the old Ice House near Dickson Street in Fayetteville back in the 80s. I'll admit it was a dangerous fire hazard, but some good music shows were produced there. The fire marshal, who was probably not a music fan, shut it down.
Shortly after that, a large crowd attended a Fayetteville city council meeting and the room was filled way over the capacity listed on the sign. I mentioned that problem to the fire marshal during the meeting, and his response was to leave the room. So the authorities tend to be somewhat selective about the fire laws they choose to enforce.
Wow. If safety is the number one concern why did Dr. Brown have to get the Fire Marshall involved? Is he so afraid of two women that he had to call a big, brave, fireman to defend him. Why didn't he call when he first had concerns. Does he not have a entire staff of maintenance people to draw on?
Where was the Physical Plant Director? Oh, fired for expressing Safety concerns back when Critz had the Physical Plant in it. Maybe the Physical Plant Director was sleeping. No, that one was allowed to retire a year and a half after receiving a Regulation 21 violation. (untrained people working in asbestos without protective gear) The violation didn't make the news because they didn't post that one on the website. Neither did the fact that the ceilings of Roush and Jones contained asbestos. Unless it has been abated since I was there last, Jones still has it. Do the students know? Safety First!The current Physical Plant Director came from Acedemic Advising, not really a confidence inspiring resume item to stake the safety of your entire institution.
Intergrity. It's more than just a word. When you say that the Fire Marshall's visit was ROUTINE in the first article released on the 15th of SEP and then on the 5th of OCT you ADMIT to calling him in you are showing that you have none. ATU's Board of Trustees needs to reign in this tyrant before he calls up a campus OutReach Pastor and chews him out for having "Meet at HOG Wild" on his marquee. Or is it too late for that?
Life isn't fair. Suck it up. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing all this bitching about how he's picking on the theater department. You GAVE him the excuse to shut you down. Had you kept your shit clean and legal, you wouldn't be dealing with this now.
The only ones to blame are yourselves.
--A recent graduate of tech...
arkansas TECHNICAL university had to close down a facility due to fire safety concerns???????
If I were them I would have dreamed up some other reason.
That sounds about as embarrassing as a culinary school being closed down for salmanila, or maybe the criminal justice department closed down for excessive burglary!
Don't they have like work study or something and a TECH student in say industrial managment might do a little audit and remediation deal for an internship?
We pay some big bucks to insure OSHA compliance and our insurance carrier hires consultants to inspect. That looks like a job category that might be hiring.
A TECHNICAL university getting any building within a mile of campus closed down by the fire marshall sounds as embarrassing as Osama Bin Ladin holed up a mile from Pakistan's equivalent of West Point.
EMMMMMMBARRASSING!!!!!!!!
One should compare the words of Dr. Brown to the words of Dr. Watson released yesterday to the words in the original Techionary closing news release to the actual Fire Marshall's report. It's pretty clear that Dr. Brown is making fairly wild assumptions about the danger involved. The Fire Marshal report shows that he was uncertain about much of the situation of the actual workshop operation, and many of his concerns have already been addressed. The Techionary theatre workshop is OSHA compliant, which is not even a requirement in Arkansas.
This isn't a case of someone getting disciplinary action because things were in temporary disarray (few things were). This is a case of a building being shut down (why is the museum allowed to operate in this fire hazard? there is no physical separation between the spaces), students at risk of losing credit, experience, and portfolio work, and faculty at risk because of a report that is usually handed directly to faculty to address. The Fire Marshal makes this report at least once a year, and these are not new conditions. Why is this the first time the administration has seen fit to act?
The photos in the slideshow were taken on October 3rd. The Techionary had been closed to all people since the Fire Marshall "ordered it closed" (read the report. he didn't. he even suggested just moving costumes and welding off-site). It is looks like a mess that's because the students were halfway through a class when they were ordered out of the building. Things like Costuming and Props were scheduled to be fixed, in most areas to be fixed the day we were ordered out. It's a mess because the school forced the faculty out of their offices and classrooms and the space was in the long process of moving in.
Re: welding. That's metal storage, primarily, with what little welding equipment we have stored there. The fire marshal only objected to welding being stored there if that was or was near a hot work area. There are no hot work areas in that shop.
Re: construction not being up to engineering standards. I don't know where this is coming from, to be honest. The Fire Marshal just didn't know what the live load for that set was. The Technical Director who built it does, and that set conforms to USITT construction standards.
Re: the black box. Nothing was ever offered. The only response to the rumor that we might have gotten a new space was "if it's going to be worse than what we have now, why would we move in?" There was no conversation, no meetings, no proposal. Norman Hall was not built because the program turned down the new building, Norman Hall was built because the former Art department building was filled with the sewage and mold that lead to it being condemned.
The threats of program reevaluation and state review of the department are being held over the heads of all faculty involved in this. The administration of this school operates under an atmosphere of fear and it will not tolerate anyone speaking out about conditions that students and faculty alike have been forced to live under. I'm frankly amazed that Dr Brown would so belligerently blame the victims of circumstances which are under his own control.
Nimnod:
Imagine if you would if when your parents told you to clean your room waited 3 months then locked everyone out of the house. Instead of removing the welding tools that was scaring the hell out of them they lock the entire building, and allow another section of the building to stay in operational. I do believe if allowed in the building they would attempt to deal with it.
Well, I have to say that to call the Music Department the President's "pet" is absolutely incorrect. Remind yourselves what Witherspoon auditorium and facilities look like, they are the WORST in the state, and I may I mention it flooded this summer during a week of band camp. Every time it rains, we have "Lake Witherspoon", meaning our auditorium floods with usually a foot of standing water, and we have an enormous, world-class organ in our auditorium that is just sitting there rotting away and going to pot. Do not, ever, lump us into the pool of "Brown's pets", the only pets he has are in football uniforms. Further more, he and almost none of the administration, are ever present at a band or choir concert, unless it is on a football field or graduation. Also, the only show that has been closed down on this campus was a MUSICAL, Assassins, not to mention their production in motion, Candide, was almost shut down when they closed Techionary four days before rehearsals were to start. Because of this, they are a week behind schedule, without the vast majority of necessary tools and items, and are practicing like nomads going anywhere they can. There are equal parts of music majors, theater majors, and lovers of performing arts involved in this show.
I understand that people may not feel this is important, but it is. I have absolutely nothing against sports, truly, they are fun to watch, be a part of, and an important part to a university. But, they should not be the focus.
Lastly, the whole "there's only 30 theater majors", those "theater majors" go onto to be world class opera singers at the Metropolitan Opera, higher ups in both Universal Studios and Wal-Mart, professors and admins at University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, etc., and make up the vast majority of the TV, news, and magazines you invest time in. They also neglect to mention the more than 100 theatre minors, majoring in Music, Hospitality, Creative Writing, English, International Studies, Speech and Theater. (Plus the droves of students who take theater courses just because.) They teach you not only to recite a beautiful line of Shakespeare that speaks to your soul, but they teach you how to build a door frame, weld a pipe, speak in public, deal with crazy people, proper time management skills, delegation skills, and how to use education and creativity at its finest and highest level.
RECAP:
First, the ATU musicians are not "pets", we are asked to play at your graduations, basketball games, football games, and private University functions (which we do gladly) and everybody just assumes we're self-absorbed and un-supportive...absolutely not true. We work harder than most people on this campus, yet are given the most embarrassing facilities in the state. There are high schools, Alma, Bentonville, Har-Ber, and soon to be Russellville to name a few, who have much finer facilities than we; and it goes without saying every college in the state, including two-year institutions, have better facilities than us. We are possibly one of the best music departments in the state and yet we are the laughing stock because of our facilities and I know that theater has felt this sting as well. We have (music and theater) lost students, not because of our very fine faculty, but because of our facilities.
Secondly, shame on any of you who feel that we, artists, are "whining" about how hard life is. Life is hard, nobody knows that better than performing artists, our job never ends, we live, breathe, and work our art. While many of you are worrying about your next test, we are practicing an hour a day, going to our two-three ensembles, which we also have to practice for, spending copious hours in a shop building sets, sewing costumes until our fingers bleed, doing competitions (and winning might I add), working two-three jobs because we are just that insane we feel we need to supply our necessary food habit (most of our days start at nine and go until nine or ten at night in which time we maybe eat once), and on top of all that, we also go to support our fellow students at Tech Idol, football games, baseball, tennis, volleyball, basketball, SGA, we're your RAs, your eccentric but supportive friends, and might I add we usually have some of the highest GPA's despite all of this stuff.
So, please give us respect, support us, we are performing artists and we aim to entertain and give to our audience a part of us that is personal and true. Whether it's in the form of an aria, monologue, Bach chorale, Oscar Wilde banter-like conversation, band piece, beautiful costume or set, or a trombone solo. Shame on you again, it breaks my heart to know you aren't supporting us.
How many houses is Tech providing Dr. Brown and does his elderly parents live in one of them?
We're seeing a trend here as Arkansas college after Arkansas college turns up rancid upon close inspection. Shouldn't be a big surprise, all of America sucks from the neck up. We've lost our way, we've let the bad guys slip in from dogcatcher all the way up.
We've emptied our bank accounts enriching the top 1% and now that we're busted, after THEY screwed up, the 1% makes us out to be lazy whiners, Bolshevik looking losers, not smart like them, not deserving like them.
These same kind of people would be small enough to bully a little theater department at Arkansas Tech, implying the theater students are lazy, messy, unappreciative of the little broom closets they're given. Here.....let me take some of my valuable time and take pictures of their mess! See the bad students! See what I have to put up with!
I know I sound like a broken record, but maybe it's time for a little Occupy Russellville? The mean people living like kings have got to go.
In my comments, if I say "we" I am referring almost always to both music and theater. Although theater feels the heat more, we are not separate entities. We should be bound together in support of each other and respect for each other because our lives and arts are almost always entwined.
to "wonderboy" - you certainly do not do Tech "proud"- you show your complete ignorance of the situation and also your ability to use gutter language- please don't tell anyone you graduated from here. you are embarrassing not only yourself, but your parents, and Arkansas Tech
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