Following a request from Theatre Arts for a “crucial” $65,920, the S&A committee offered the program a proposed budget of $0. Following the news, many members of both the theatre and film programs spoke out in public comment at the April 15 S&A meeting and on social media about how this total defunding would affect their programs.
The defunding would primarily affect jobs in both the Theatre’s costuming and props departments as well as the Film’s equipment center. Students and staff in both programs have spoken out about how crucial these job opportunities are to them, and how important they are for their professional growth.
One film major, Nic Palaia, talked about how this proposed defunding would silence creative voices at CWU. “Personally, defunding it upsets me very much, especially as a person who decided to come from out of state,” Palaia said. “By getting rid of this, you’re not only silencing that creative voice, you’re also taking away the one semblance of hope that these people have to achieve what they want.”
Lirit Olyan Pendall, a faculty member in the Theatre department, discussed how the funds distributed by the S&A committee were not evenly distributed to all programs, favoring some programs over others. “If we’re going to look at fully funding some things and completely cutting other things, why are we not just saying everybody take a percentage,” Pendall asked? “What I’m seeing is a bunch of full funding and then a bunch of zeros, and I don’t quite understand how that choice tracks in terms of university values.”
A massive number of Theatre and Film students and staff, all of whom shared a similar sentiment about how this defunding could dismantle the stability of their respective programs, joined the nearly 100 students in protest at the April 15 S&A meeting.
One theatre design and production student, Alana Nelson, talked about the skills they gained working in the now-cut jobs within the Theatre department. “When I came [to CWU] I was not a leader and I was not a teacher and I was not a carpenter. Now I am all of those things,” Nelson said. “By defunding us, you are taking away that opportunity. You are taking away a method with which we can gain this experience. Our funding was not just reduced, it was cut. I have nothing without that job. Without everything that I have done here, I would not be able to pursue my path in this industry, everyone else that you see, they may not be able to get that opportunity that I have because our funding was cut. We need this.”
Another theater design and production student, Sophia Engstrom, talked about the exclusive opportunity that employment in the theatre department at CWU provided for its students. “Employment at our theater department is uniquely positioned to support the students, as we are the only organization within 35 miles of Ellensburg to offer theater based entertainment work,” Engstrom said.
“Without funding, many of our students will have to make the difficult choice of choosing an in town survival job outside of our field of study, or commuting long distances for jobs that don’t work with our academic schedules, negatively impacting our schoolwork. The ability to build these skills at Central is so vital, especially in the theatrical field, where experience is equally important to education.”
