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Show OPINIONS www.uvureview.corn MARCH 14, 2011 VOL L ISSUE 27 The death of liberal arts education The field of liberal arts education is constantly being threatened by budget cuts and a general lack of support. It should, however, be a priority rather than a go-to for program cuts. By Megan Flox-Lambert Opinions Writer People once valued a wellrounded education. Humanities, philosophy, fine arts and social sciences were the keys to understanding one another and the means by which more technical disciplines were able to be nurtured, developed and furthered. But in recent times, there has been a dramatic shift in the valuation of the liberal arts education. The more fiscally obsessed American society becomes, the more higher education is merely valued in terms of what it is worth, how much money can be earned by attaining it and how soon it can be obtained. Utah's own Senator Howard Stephenson (R-Draper) believes that degrees in the realm of liberal arts "lead to nowhere." Such a dangerous attitude is not only sad, it is tragic. This does not mean that technical degrees and vocational training are not vitally important. It means that as a society and as a progressing culture, there is an obligation to make available to everyone an education that provides practical skill in conjunction with an elemental understanding of the human condition. The world would be barren if the social sciences, humanities, philosophy and art were no longer a part of the educational dialogue. How much could medical professionals accomplish if they did not understand the emotional components of the human existence? How ineffective would economists be if they did not understand the fundamentals of human behavior? How impactful would the construction trades be if there were no visionary fine arts-trained architects drawing up the plans? Studies show a consistent pattern that students trained in a wider spectrum of disciplines function better in their chosen careers and perform better academically than those who have a narrower focus. For example, one undergraduate program in particular consistently enables students to score highest on intensely logical law school entrance exams: students who major in Philosophy. The analytical, critical and logical training involved in attaining undergraduate degrees in liberal arts subjects provide a unique kind of skill development that enables deep, powerful understanding of many of the most vital societal structures: medicine, law, teaching and more. There is a dire problem with those, like Senator Stephenson, who wish to siphon funding away from four-year institutions in favor of more "bankable" technical schools. The very things that define being human are embracing curiosity, having the ability to be emotional while seeking the meaning of those emotions and perpetu- What do you think of the recently signed amendment to Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act? I do not like it. I don't see where they can do that constitutionally. Collin Hamilton English Education, freshman The government works for the public, so we should still be able to access the accounts up to a point. There still has to be some limitations, though. Tyler Finn Emergency Services, freshman Illustration by Bryan Gomm/UVU Review ally working to obtain wisdom. If budget waiting to be slashed. these kinds of opportunities are reMake no mistake, if citizens moved from higher education, all and students let legislators deterthe traits that make people able to mine what should be learned based be dynamic culturally and as a spe- only on what can be gained moncies are fundamentally violated. etarily, it will not only mean the Education has inherent, innate death of the liberal arts education, value and assigning it mere mon- but it will mean the death of evetary value is insulting. Educa- erything that has made the United tion's efficacy cannot, and should States innovative, collaborative not, be measured in pie-charts and and revolutionarily different. diagrams or viewed as items on a Failure to create an academic community I I I Students here are academic zombies, going through the motions of attending class and completing assignments before drifting away from campus to socially feed elsewhere. • ■ I i■ Kira Terry/UVU Review A MAWL member attends a game while empty seats show students' lack of involvement at the school. Low student involvement in campus events and functions hampers the academic mission of the school and damages the university environment. By Mike Sanborn Asst. Opinions Editor A quick glance of the campus gives the appearance of a vibrant university. Enrollment continues to increase so that classrooms are bursting at the seams and students constantly complain of a lack of sufficient parking space and class sections. State legislators deemed the growth sufficient to authorize the construction of a multi-million dollar expansion to the science building amid the worst economic crisis in decades. Despite this apparent clean bill of health, a serious problem plagues this school: that of students' apathy towards involvement in the university. A student population numbering 32,670 could only muster one qualified team of candidates to apply for a spot in last month's student elections. More applicants should be expected with such a large pool of people from which to draw. The time commitment and responsibility reauired to represent this student body may deter some would-be leaders, but not enough to offset the experience and credentials a student gains that can springboard them into life beyond school. More alarming than the student body's lack of ambition is their utter uninterest to involve themselves in the decision making process. In the student government election itself, 703 students logged onto UVLink to vote. Two percent of the student body decided who would represent them and their 32 ,000 classmates. Even athletics suffers from this student apathy. Men's basketball could be termed the premier sports team on campus, playing in the 8,500 capacity UCCU Center. This season, the team took first place in the conference, defeated a PAC-10 team on that team's own court, captured back-to-back conference player of the week awards and possessed the conference player and coach of the year. Yet this team has seen one home game where the UCCU Center approached capacity, thanks in part to fans brought by Utah State when they played UVU in December. The average home attendance during the 2011 season was 2,013 and many of those fans were faculty or community members, not students. Granted, the Wolverines lack a superstar on a first name basis with the nation like a certain school up the road that is able to excite a large fan base and sell out a 22,700 seat arena. But a team that goes 11-1 in conference with the honors this team earned does not deserve to play in an arena that averages less than a quarter of its capacity. They are too damn good for that. The majority of students here are academic zombies, going through the motions of attending class and completing assignments before drifting away from campus to socially feed elsewhere. While the practice of stocking a school with physical bodies that refuse to integrate themselves into a university environment works on a community college level of involvement, a true university cannot thrive or progress in this condition. This is not high school where wonder if they are hiding anything. It's sort of a privacy issue. Mysha Hatch Nursing, junior About HB477 Government Records Access and Management Act •Intended to allow citizens to access certain government records •Provides transparency in government dealings HB477 I .wawam I think to a certain degree, people don't need to see text messages and emails, but it makes you attendance equates to an education. This is an academic community where people must earn knowledge through discourse and an exchange of ideals. How can one expect this communal system to function when an event that directly addresses student representation on campus garners a handful of attendees while droves of students will watch a doctor make a complete jackass of himself on stage? What sort of community are we trying to create? A university education demands more than mere attendance, it requires involvement and participation outside of the classroom. If the students at this school cannot recognize this necessity, then they will negate all of the apparent success that this university has seen. The academic mission of the institution will languish and wither like a parasite-infested tree. A student is nothing more than dead weight crippling the university's success without participation extending beyond the classroom walls. •Amends GRAMA. •According to the Utah Legislature Web page, the bill redefines the definition of government "records" to exclude most electronic cornmunications ("voice mails, instant messages, video chats and text messages"). •Changes the fee assessment for requests to include any and all labor costs, such as an attorney's hourly wage for a legal review. •Broadens the definition of "protected record" to include more previously unprotected records. Places the burden of proof that "public interest favoring access to the record outweighs the interest favoring restriction of access to the record" squarely on the individual making the request. •Takes effect July 1, giving the legislature time to revise. For more information, visit http://Le.Utah.gov/ Letter to the Editor Requirements uvu.review.opinions@gmail.com • Letters must be turned in on Wednesday by noon in order to be printed in the next issue. • We make no guarantee that letters will be printed. • Letters 300 words or less have a greater chance of being published - anything longer will be edited for content. • All letters become the property of UVU Review as soon as they are submitted. • Anonymous letters are only publishable when the safety or professional status of the author is in jeopardy. |