The University’s

current financial difficulties are no secret. From the “Reimagining Cornell”

series to the very visible budget cuts in departments such as Swedish and

Dutch, the University has been working on functioning in a new era. The most

recent large-scale cuts took place as the beginning of last month in the form

of 1/3 overall budget scale back to the Departments of Theater, Film and Dance.

The Departments’ budget will suffer a $1-2 million cut going into effect for

the 2011-2012 academic year.

The budget cuts

set off a wave of outrage throughout the performing arts community. Both

faculty members and students alike rallied against the cuts and their potential

effects, with meetings at the Schwartz Center between the groups that sparked

public protests and columns in the Sun. Throughout all the protests though,

there was a common theme: No one was sure how the budget cuts would ultimately

effect the departments. While the cutting of fund was sure to have significant

effects, neither University officials or performing arts department members

could comment on the specifics.

It now seems

that there has been more planning on how to keep the strength of the

departments amidst severe budget cuts. While nothing has been firmed yet, there

has been increased speculation on where the cuts will hurt the most. Most

faculty members believe that non-tenured lectured will be the first to

experience the cuts first hands. If this is true, there is a fear that the

dance department will be hit the hardest, as it has the most lecturers. Additionally,

there is now a fear that the departments will be forced to cut part of either

the theoretical or applied parts of their majors. By doing, students are afraid

that their education will be slanted and they will not receive all the benefits

of the previous duality.