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Art Department:
picture of despair
Photo By Melvin Jackson
This is what art students must deal with everyday
Kimathi Lewis
Staff Writer
Every now and then, Nicole Slaughter
would stop to swat at the mosquitos coming
through the busted windows, as she finished
her assignment for art class.
It was after 5 p.m., one of the few times
she could use the room as a lab because it
was used as a classroom during the day.
She was using the printing press set up on
one of the tables, which was covered with
ink, to finish her project.
Slaughter, like most of the other students
in the Clark Atlanta University Art
department, had to turn the classroom into
a lab because there is no other space
available.
The department Chairperson Christopher
Hicky said the students often complain
about the lack of space.
“Students have aright to be angry because
of all the money they are paying,” he said.
When fire destroyed the Tanner-Turner
building in 1985, the school moved the art
department to the basement of a female
dormitory, with the understanding the move
would be temporary.
Now 10 years later, the department is
still stuck in the basement of Holmes Hall.
“The department is crammed into one
little place and we’re in a little room. We
need labs, “ said Slaughter, a junior and art
major.
Dr. Larry Earvin, dean of the School of
Arts and Sciences, said there is a major
space problem all over the university’s
campus.
However, Earvin said, “We’re looking
for better space, more appropriate space
for the art department.”
Meanwhile, the department continues to
grow and the space problem becomes even
more obvious.
According to Hicky, the department
majors increased from 12 in 1986 to 86 in
1995 and faculty grew from three full time
instructors and no part time to four full
time and two part time.
“Art ended up with a quarter of [original]
space and it’s now six times as big. It’s
ridiculous, it’s unbelievable,” said Hicky,
who has been with the department since
1979 and was named the Chair in 1986.
The Tanner-Turner building was 9,000
square feet of space as opposed to the
department’s present location, which is
less than half that measurement.
The art department uses 3,473 square
feet of space of the 4,750 square feet of
usable space not dedicated to the boiler
room, restrooms or laundry area.
The department also shares the ground
floor with the Co-op department, which
utilizes 1,277 square feet of one end of the
ground floor.
In this small space, there are two
classrooms for all the classes held in the
department. Nine classes are held in one
classroom alone.
Slaughter said the classes are always
overcrowded and in G-107 it’s messy.
“One table is filled with ink and it’s also
space for students to work, it’s ridiculous.
This is what I pay for.”
Her outspread hands took in the
shabbiness of the classroom. On one side
there was a stand with various chemicals
such as gum turpentine and thinners lining
the shelves. There \vere four tables, two on
each side of the room with stools that have
no cushions. And at one side of the room,
there was a door leading to a small cubicle
with a sink for the students to clean up after
they work.
There is also another cubicle that
functions as a lab for fashion students.
“The students are practically on top of
each other to get stuff done [in the fashion
lab],” said Sheriee Davis, apolitical science
student who has been a secretary in the
department for three years.
Davis also pointed out a computer room
with three computers that have yet to be
updated and a storage area that contains
World War II rations.
In addition, for the students concentrating
in photography, there is a photo lab that
Slaughter described as a “walk-in closet.”
Dean Earvin said the school is looking
into the possibility of relocating the
department within a year to 18 months.
POOR MAINTENANCE
But lack of space is just one of the
problems plaguing the Art department.
They are also experiencing problems with
poor maintenance and lack of adequate
facilities.
Since their move they have reported
problems with asbestos, constantly
dripping waterpipes, floods, leaky boilers,
poor ventilation and other aesthetic and
mechanical deficiencies, according to the
December 1993 Department of Art:
Departmental Self-Study report.
Hicky said he complains to Earvin’s
office in every annual budget. “It’s a matter
of records. He has been supportive, but we
haven’t gotten enough.”
He added, "If you're not up there beating
doors down, you get forgotten.”
The report also stated there is no fire
extinguisher or any acid-washing station
in G-107, the printmaking/photo studio.
“We’re a fire hazard to Holmes Hall,”
Slaughter said.
Also, Associate Professor Belinda Peters
said that when it rains heavily, water comes
in on the ground level and floods her
office. This leaves muck on the ground
when the water dries.
But Earvin said the school is doing as
Continued on P3
AUC student leaders to help reshape Freaknik
By Sherri Day
Contributing Writer
Atlanta University Center Student
Government Association Presidents in a
Jan. 29 meeting agreed with Atlanta Mayor
Bill Campbell to assist with the planning
of “Freaknik 1996.”
MayorCampbell characterized Freaknik
’95 as a media frenzy and said, “I have
been mayor for two of these events, and
neither of them worked.”
For that reason, Campbell and other city
officials solicited the help of the AUC
SGA presidents in planning Freaknik, an
annual gathering of young African
Americans. The mayor said he hopes this
year’s gathering will be a more “college-
oriented event.”
According to Mayor Campbell, the
majority of those who were jailed during
the event last year were not even college
students, but minors and adults over 25.
Neither Campbell nor the City of Atlanta
will be directly involved in the funding,
planning and promotion of Freaknik.
However, he said he does plan to a appoint
an organizing committee composed of
students, community and religious leaders
to organize events for that weekend, which
is less than 90 days away. The committee
will be similar to the Blue Ribbon Task
Force, he said, which was also appointed
by the mayor to address problems
concerning the event.
Campbell and the student leaders agreed
that organization was the key factor in the
spring event’s success.
“It’s in the details,” Campbell said. “ Y ou
all have got to be a part of it. If you decide
not to be a part of it, you will lose an
excellent opportunity for leadership.”
The student leaders all agreed to be
active participants, saying their main
concern was that the AUC is seen in a
positive light.
Morris Brown College SGA President
Matu Taylor said all the AUC schools
should stick together.
Meanwhile, Clark Atlanta University
SGA president Samuel Bell Jr. said, “1
don’t want anyone to say that the AUC had
any events that degraded women or showed
African Americans in a negative light. We
must be responsible for what happens in
the AUC.”
The student leaders also agreed to change
the name of Freaknik to something that
positively reflects African American
college students.