Budget cuts, budget cuts, budget cuts. We’ve about heard enough of it all, right? Well, does everyone know what’s it like to be in one of those departments that was about to be cut? Here’s Catherine Angel to help explain better the impact that budget would have had on one department, the photography department.
She explains to us that each college had to figure out where to cut, whether it made sense to us or not, depending on numbers. Unfortunately, the department had little to no control to deciding if UNLV’s photography program, along with a bunch of others, was going to be completely cut. With any vertical cut entire programs would be cut, whereas a horizontal cut would water down every department. Although more fair, it wasn’t as affective.
Photography is it’s own established art but it is always a bridge to the areas of study in the art department. There’s the fine art side, which is painting, drawing, and print making. Then there’s the more modern style that more people are attached to which would be the graphic design side. Photography is the connection between the two. It allows us to get the image in an immediate result and graphics can enhance or modify the image. To cut that vital part of the department would alter the future outcome of those studying it.
With hopes of no farther budget cuts, the art department has cut the visiting artist position, which means one less class. Two professors have also retired leaving two open positions that aren’t going to be filled, as long with a professor finding a job else where. If there were to be budget cuts that would greatly affect the university this should help their department in not being affect as drastically.
Regardless where the budget cuts affect