Students and faculty at HACC, Harrisburg Area Community College, recently received word that the college will be cutting art programs from the curriculum. This includes glass blowing, ceramics, screen printing and print-making.
These arts programs are a treasured and crucial component of the learning experience for us, students, and our larger community. The future of our communities and jobs live within the hearts and minds of people who are culturally literate, who can synthesize information, are curious, able to apply learning in different ways, are flexible, and entrepreneurial. The arts create the fertile soil for it all.
Cancelling these programs is an impossible reality to accept, and we won't! By cutting these programs:
Students who would not be able to afford high-quality college-level art education now get that opportunity at HACC. If that changes, low income students will no longer have access to learning the techniques and practice of these arts. The college is essentially revoking access to an entire demographic in our community. We believe lower income persons deserve access to affordable arts education.
Many students in our community are also people of color. By canceling these courses the voices of our future artists may never have the opportunity to be developed or heard. Diverse voices in the arts are vital to our local culture. We believe people of color deserve access to affordable arts education.
Many students develop portfolios in glass, screen printing and ceramics at HACC. This enables them to gain acceptance into accredited, well-known universities that they otherwise would not be prepared for. By cutting these programs, we would be limiting entire careers. We believe students should have access to art education that prepares them for their future.
STEAM implementation has proven that the arts are an invaluable part of education. Communities with access to art programs are more vibrant and healthy, and community colleges, like HACC, have an enormous impact on the lives of people across our community and region to access this education. Numerous graduates have found success through the HACC Arts programs, and have moved on to meaningful careers that contribute to their families and the world around them.
We hope the administration will hear us and rise to support their community by bringing these classes back into the curriculum. There must be creative solutions that will continue to allow affordable, college level art classes in our community. We want to help in whatever ways we can to create these solutions in partnership with the college.
Please sign and share this petition. Tell us why you believe it is important to keep affordable college art classes in our community. We encourage you to share your experiences via social media and tag #SaveHACCArts
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