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Show Wednesday, June 2. 1993 The Daily Utah Chronicle - Page Seven Vote for the arts preserves free programs which benefit the poor A recent editorial ("Vote down sales tax increase which would help the wealthy by hurting the poor," May 24), as well as a campu- s-wide campaign mounted by the Libertarians, has caused me great concern. Enough that I finally had to leave my cocoon-lik- e apathetic silence and explain a few ignored truths in order to pre- receive some funding from state and federal grants, which are dwindling. Twelve vears of Reaganomics did not help the arts community and the NEA's funding was sharply diminished, as were federal and state programs. Where then, does the rest of their Each of these campaigns Denise P. Spurrier Guest Columnist tive in its views. The thrust of these arguments is that the sales tax referendum will take the money from the poor to give it to the rich in the form of arts. This also supposes that the arts are simply for the enjoyment of the rich. I believe that their arguments d are at best and at short-sighte- worst seriously ignorant of a tremendous influence in each of our lives. Throughout recorded history, the arts have mirrored society and in doing so have served to teach us (and I do mean all of us, not just the rich). It is through the arts that changes have been made, understanding formed and a broader appreciation of our brothers' and sisters' trials and joys has been attained. Whenever society was denied the privilege of the arts, a pall fell upon those pages in history. Shortly before the fall of the Roman Empire, the Christian church outlawed all forms of art, contributing to the decline of civilization in the Western world that we now call the Dark Ages. In fact, the main impetus for Europe's emergence from these dark times was the slow rise of drama and music as means to teach the populace. To apply this more specifically to the tax referendum which is before us on June 8 it is necessary to enlighten you as to the state of the arts in Salt Lake City. Utah has one professional symphony, one professional theatre company, one professional opera company, one professional ballet company, (as far as I know) one zoo and too few museums all located in Salt Lake City. These organizations do African-American- 's ence in America of the 1950s. That's what hundreds of young people from Salt Lake valley found when they were invited to see August Wilson's Pulitzer g Prize- - and Tony that with Fences. Compare play. the experience of an underpaid teacher trying to instill some sense of understanding in the classroom, with a blackboard for a teaching award-winnin- over-worke- vent a tragedy from occurring. mounted against the sales tax referendum on June 8 has been nega- sitting in a dark theatre, immersed in an experi- funding come from? Private corporations (such as U.S. West, the Eccles Foundation, Chevron, and Mountain Fuel) subsidize part of the performances through donations, and the rest comes from donations solicited from private citizens. These arts organizations canvass their subscriber lists and hold annual phonations to solicit donations. (By the way, no one is getting rich working for the arts in Utah. A large part of their help comes from volunteers, and those e who do hold down paying, are jobs being paid barely enough to get by on.) Even with all this support from full-tim- people who can afford to give more than the price.they pay for their tickets, it is not enough. And o it is not simply these are who benefiting from patrons the arts here in Salt Lake. Aside well-to-d- from the 5,500 free Arts Festival tickets given to the handicapped the Pioneer and Theatre Company has free student preview of each show (that's the entire theatre, not just a small section in the "nosebleed" seats), very cheap student rush tickets to any show, and greatly discounted tickets. The student advance-sal- e PTC also allows tours for school children and schedules special weekday matinees for school groups at reduced rates. Hundreds of junior high school and high school age students were exposed to Shakespeare, Noel Coward, August Wilson and others this year alone. Try to imagine the experience of cross-cultur- d, al tool. If PTC couldn't afford to offer these special matinees, what a crime it would be; what a loss to the education of our children! The other arts companies employ simi- lar programs and have similar benefits on the general, non-ric- h populace. The indirect benefits of a community rich in the arts are incalculable. There are currently plays being developed that explore sexuality, Hispanic issues. AIDS, methods of communication, African American experiences, women's issues and any non-verb- Experience Virtual Reality fill Now Pods New Experience Utah's Only Virtual Reality Simulation Center (111 165 S. West Temple Private parties and conventions available Hours flM - 11PM Thursday - Saturday 11 flM - 2 flM Sunday 11 flM - 8 PM Monday-Wednesda- 11 y For more information call 328-CYB- R al number of current topics that affect us, rich and poor alike. Where would these projects be without the strong supporting network of the arts that we have here in the valley? Your life has been affected by all of these, either directly or indirectly, and a little recognition of their effect on your life would stand you in good stead, no matter what your choice of career and lifestyle may be. As for the question of the rich benefiting at the expense of the poor, the rich are already giving far more than their fair share; eventually even they reach the bottom of their possibilities, and the financial impact on the lower income families is negligible compared to the horrendous effect that a lack of the arts would have on their lives, and even more importantly, the lives of their children. I urge you to your position, go to the polls on June 8 and vote yes on the referendum before we lose something which we can ill afford to lose. fln interactive technology that immerses you into a computer generated world. You attach a display equipped with a video screen over each eye, then a tracking system reads and tracks your body movements, and translates them directly into the computer universe. 3-- D head-mount- ed re-thi- East of the Salt Palace at 165 S. West Temple Apply 240 Union for Columnist Position ASUU Thanks You For Your Support. We at ASUU would like to thank those of you in the student body who participated in our survey at Mayfest. From your responses, we will be better able to inform you of upcoming events and currently existing programs. We now have the list of winners of $10 gift certificates to the Olive Garden. Those winners are Sam Tolson, Kamini Kapile, Asha Jensen, Weston Nanini, Aaron Sanders, Molly Malouf, Diana Condie, Dane Christensen, Pete Moore, and James Haggerty. The ASUU "Outreach Booth" will appear on campus at various locations throughout the summer. We will be serving refreshments, answering questions about ASUU ... . 11 1 mm mmmm ! sponsored activities, taking suggestions, anu nanumg out information. Watch tor us: juiy otn ac the President's Circle from 1:00 to 3:00, 1:00 to July 14 at the Medical Center from 3:00. and Tulv 15th at the Behavioral 8SUU Science Building from 1:00 to 3:00. m mm 4o o mm 4 asuu |