Let me begin with a brief introduction of myself. My name is Sammie Finch. I am a senior media communications arts and journalism major; I am also a photography minor. Additionally, I am the arts and entertainment editor of this paper, one of the photography editors of The Ledged Yearbook, and the Chief Designer of VOX literary magazine.
That being said, my time at Pace has been filled with many memorable experiences. From being on the executive board, to University Panhellenic Council for two terms, to the wonderful experience of being a sister and eventual sisterhood development chair of Phi Sigma Sigma, to taking the travel course to Greece, I have aimed to make the most of my four years at this institution.
If you know me, then you know there are two things I am never without: a cup of coffee and a camera. I am constantly glued to my view finder, and when I don’t have it? I’m wishing in my mind I had a camera to capture something beautiful that caught my eye. I walk around this earth as a physical camera
I have been taking film photography courses since my junior year of high school and I feel as though in only six years I was able to find a medium I was truly inspired by, and more importantly, something that I was able to grow and learn from. My experience in photography, primarily film, has been one that not only altered my college experience, but it altered my soul and the way in which I view the world.
This past week I learned that one of the aspects that I love the most about this campus is days away from being taken away from me.
It has been told to me by several reliable sources that Pace will no longer be offering students any art minors or major. To make manners worst, the photography darkroom lab on this campus will no longer exist for they are gutting out Paton Hall (the main art building on campus) and simply not rebuilding a darkroom.
Now, remember how I said I am photography minor? There are many reasons why this news bothers me.
On a personal level, as a student some of my favorite learning experiences were accomplished in that darkroom and to see it go is heartbreaking simply because all the time and memories I have invested in it.
Another reason I am unhappy about this decision of the university and the Media Communications Arts and Visual Art Department is because I know many people who were interested in the intro course but now can’t do it.
Additionally, though my minor is technically complete as of this semester (you need 15 credits worth of photography for the minor) I was planning a huge exhibit for another art class that would revolve around film. Now, I am taking a class that I am not excited for because I will not be doing the initial project I envisioned.
Financially, I am also impacted by this change. For the past two years I worked as the photography lab assistant and held open lab hours in the darkroom where I helped students with their photography questions. With no darkroom it means I don’t have a job. This is a major issue because I need the money to help pay for my education here at Pace.
Overall, the saddest thing has nothing to do with me at all but in fact only has to do with the future if this campus. Not only will the current students , including two other photography minors and three other students I know who wanted to take a photo class, not be able to enjoy the wonders of a darkroom, neither will the future students of this campus.
Although I know that technology is constantly advancing and digital has replaced film in many aspects it is still a cultural and popular method in history and should still be something students can explore. It is an art form; though not a quick “snap and upload” process, it is still art and that is something important to emphasis on campus.
Academically and personally, I can truthfully say that no professor, no class, no project fulfilled me as much as the courses that built up my minor. Not only did I make great friends who loved film as much as I do and work with an amazing professor named Robert Kozma, I grew as a person, I became a better person. My images from my first class to my latest are completely unique, my technique, my style, my vision, all grew from the Pace art department. The loss of the art department is a travesty on the part of the school.
Pace is not only taking away a selection of courses, a major, a darkroom, they are taking away a piece of the cultural history of this campus.