West Liberty University College Hall & Ceramics

I have many great memories in the Annex Building, aka the Ceramics building. You need a place like this to do an art like this at any time because it is a time sensitive art. Not only that, but it was a fun and relaxed part of my day. I had a Ceramics class every semester of my college career and I wish future students would know what it was like! Furthermore, the professor taught me more than how to form pots but interesting ways to look at life and other arts! C'mon, West Lib. Get with it.

Students need these resources available. If changes like these are to be made, a greater attempt to involve the students in the making of these decisions should be necessary. It is largely our money that the school uses for its resources - do not take these resources away from us. Keep both buildings, do not undercut the arts department, and do not get rid of majors and their accreditations when so many students study under them.

Of all the things West Liberty has done in recent years to make or save a buck, this is, by far, the most shameful. You cannot justify erecting a brand new science building to accomodate its respective majors, then turn around and axe indespensible resources for other majors.  The art and music majors pay just as much individual tuition as everyone else and deserve to have adequate facilities available to them.  If this is how West Liberty treats its paying, hard-working students, I can only say that I am glad to have already graduated and am ashamed to call myself an alumnus.

Cuts are necessary in times of economic duress. However, as an alumnus of WLU, I find it entirely fatuous and disgraceful that I am casually asked--unsolicited, mind you--for donations on top of the debts I already owe; this, of course, also being in light of increasing tuition costs, failure to substantially increase the pay wages and benefits of both professorial staff and students, and so forth. Perhaps most alarming is that these "necessary" cuts are announced with little warning or notice to whom are affected the greatest by this: the student body. If WLU is having difficulty with solvency, then mayhap they would do well to not hire disgraced former employees and reward them with six-figure salaries and a $1000 per month parking allotment. It certainly has not yet been tried.

     The ceramics studio inside of the Annex building is a vital part of the ceramics classes. The location and flexible hours make it crucial to the art building process. Clay is a very difficult medium to work with because it has small time-windows in which it has to be worked with. The process takes hours and has many different stages. It cannot be contained within a building that has hours of operation. I can’t tell you how many nights between 1 AM and 5 AM that I was in the Annex building doing pottery. This studio would be impossible to relocate on campus.

     With that being said, if the plan is to get rid of the ceramics classes altogether, that would be a terrible mistake. These classes are so much more than just art classes. Within a single semester I learned history, cultural diversity, chemistry, math, environmental earth science, and pottery all in one class. We didn’t just go over information and then forget about it either. We were able to apply the information and therefor I will always remember the concepts we learned. That class was one of the most engaging and difficult classes I have ever take at West Liberty. We took notes, had quizzes, had tests, and wrote essays. It was extremely hard work, but it was also extremely fun and relaxing. Who would have thought that learning history, cultural diversity, chemistry, math, and environmental earth science could be so much fun? Please do not do away with the ceramics studio and classes. That is an experience every single student at West Liberty University should have the opportunity to take advantage of.

How can you take places that are considered home to the arts at WLU? It is recognized as a liberal arts school, but doing things like this will cause enrollment to go down, loss of accreditation for programs and take away history of the school. Taking away these buildings is like shutting down the heart of the school. The school already has bad PR from the mistakes of those "in charge", why create even more by shutting these building down. You will not only see a decrease in enrollment but also alum respect and support 

I am signing this petition as a WLU Senior about to graduate. I chose West Liberty for its outstanding art program and mastery level art professors, but I also chose this school and the art department here because I saw potential for growth and diversity in the future to accommodate future art majors. It is a shame to see other majors getting brand-new and updated facilities while the art department is continuously struggling. As a student,  I paid for all of my own art supplies, printing and paper, an extra fee to utilize resources, etc. that has added up to thousands of dollars out of my own pocket. I am sad to see West Liberty administration making poor choices and limiting the necessary spaces for art majors who contribute so much to this university.