Room size frustrates faculty
By Dave Stephens
Assistant
Campus Editor
When Dan Engelke, a professor of art and design,
learned that his department would be getting a new building, he was
excited. When Engelke learned that his new classroom would be the same
size as his already overcrowded room, he was disappointed.
"I've been frustrated with the idea of the new
building," said Engelke. "It will have a lot of new equipment, but basically
it leaves us in our current situation of not having enough space to
work in."
The new visual and performing arts center, which
will be located at the corner of Marstellar and Wood streets, will house
the four divisions of visual and performing arts: dance, art and design,
theater and music. Those divisions are now housed in several different
areas of campus: art and design in the Creative Arts buildings, dance
in Lambert Fieldhouse and music in Matthews Hall.
Even though the new classrooms will not be larger
than the current classrooms, some professors do not think that bigger
classrooms are the answer.
"There's only so many students you can teach at
a time, so larger classes wouldn't help," said Lisa Peterson, a professor
of art and design. "It would require more studios and more faculty."
More studios and faculty aren't likely to happen,
according to
Dave Sigman, head of the visual and performing
arts department.
"The state funded this as a replacement project,
not an expansion project," said Sigman.
Adding to Engelke's frustration, by continuing
to have small classes, students who are not art and design majors will
have difficulty getting into the class.
"It's going to be harder for (non-major) students
to get in," said Engelke. "I know the waiting list is usually pretty
large."
Students who are not art and design majors can
still sign up for the class, but classes will be assigned to students
based on graduation priority, allowing seniors to take the classes before
freshmen.
"Our intro level ceramics course is a 200 level;
that's a sophomore level course and it's full of seniors," said Engelke.
But Sigman said that younger, non-major students
are not enrolled in classes such as ceramics and textiles because many
of them can't sign up for the class.
"Most students cannot take ceramics as a sophomore
because their schedule doesn't allow them to take an elective like that
until their senior year," Sigman said.
Although a new building will help attract students
to the curriculum, Engleke said that ceramic programs at other universities
will still have an advantage.
"If you compare the facilities here to what they
are at other comparable Midwest universities, we don't stack up," said
Engleke. "We don't have the luxury of space. We have people working
in closets; I had a grad student working in a closet last year."
Even with the possibility of the new classrooms
being smaller, Peterson believes that the new building will be appreciated.
"I do wish it was larger," said Peterson, "but
there are all these other things about the building that are so nice."
Engelke said that he, too, will enjoy the new building,
but that Purdue's perspective will have to change before things get
better.
"The idea that artists should work in some dark,
overcrowded pit is a notion I want to dismiss," said Engelke. "It doesn’t
have to be that way."
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