Letter to the Editor: Alumni Respond to Performing Arts Cuts

To the Editor:

Re: “Theatre, Film and Dance Department Hit With Cuts” News, Feb. 2.

It has come to our attention that Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences has mandated a massive budget cut to the Theatre, Film, and Dance Department. The $1-2 million proposed cut would cripple the Department and the Schwartz Center, eliminating numerous faculty and staff members who are essential to the department’s work and drastically reducing the quality and quantity of Schwartz Center productions.

This will affect not only the T.F.D. Department, but the whole Cornell community and the scores of Ithaca citizens who attend Schwartz Center events. We implore the University to reevaluate its plans and reduce the scope of the proposed cuts. It is up to institutions like Cornell to demonstrate that the performing arts are not an expendable commodity — they are a vital part of human life. Ithaca has a vibrant arts community of which the Schwartz Center is an integral member, and numerous graduates of the T.F.D. Department — including many of us — have embarked on careers in the performing arts. Future students and community members must not be deprived of the extraordinary opportunities that we were afforded at Cornell.

Ashley Adams ’08, Charles Travis Atkinson ’05, Christine Bullen ’08, Anya Degenshein ’07, Jeffrey de Picciotto ’05, Neal Freeman ’97, Mary Gilliam ’09, Lance Brett Hall ’06, Alexander Herrald ’07, Kirsten Kollender ’07, Barrie Kreinik ’07, Justin Nisly ’06, Ryan Oliveira ’08, Gretchen Poulos ’03, Emily Ranii ’07,Reed Van Dyk ’07, Benjamin Williams ’04, Rebecca Wolozin ’08, Harlan Work ’07