Students Need Chairs
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Furniture is so scarce in the Fine Arts building that the different departments are actually fighting over it, said Nick West, HASS senator, during a tour of the areas of campus the ASUSU senators feel need improvement on Monday.
West said students are either sitting on couches and chairs that show heavy wear or they are just plain sitting on the floor because there is no other place for them to be.
"I kid you not, some of the couches are lined with duct tape," West said. "There is a war on furniture. The art kids take it from the theater kids, and then the theater kids take it from the music kids. They are hiding furniture and then bringing it out when they have to work in the hall."
West said he feels nice furniture is especially important in the Fine Arts building because students, especially the theater students, have to utilize the halls to practice in.
"All the furniture was being thrown away without being replaced," West said. "When you come here during the day, all you see is people sitting on the floor."
Bonnie Slade, director of USU's Women's Choir, said in the 25 years she has been at USU, there has never been attractive or comfortable furniture in the building.
"We have put up with broken-down hand-me-downs long enough," Slade said. "Now that we are The Caine School of Fine Arts with such an impressive name, we need a better look."
Maryann Broberg, graduate in theater studies, said the problem in the building has gotten so bad that students are trying to fix the problems themselves.
"Some of the couches you can see were bought by students at the DI," Broberg said. "Nothing was there, and so the students bought them."
One of the biggest problems with the lack of furniture is the lack of a professional atmosphere, West said.
"This building is one of the most recognized by the community because people from the community come up here to things put on by the university, and this is what they see."
Slade said she thinks the condition of the furniture is reflecting badly on the school and the students and that making changes to the building would help students reach new heights.
"We receive world renown guest artists and visitors into this building," Slade said. "The shabby makeshift furniture does not reflect the caliber of faculty and students at USU. An updated, fresh look will also boost self-esteem and spur the students on to even greater accomplishments."
West said with the Fine Arts building being a building that is not just used by USU students, but by everyone in the community, something has to be done.
"This is a community building, and getting students off of the floor will make it have a more professional atmosphere," West said. "Anytime a student has to wait for a professor, they have to sit on the floor."
West said the problem has gotten so bad the students are not only buying furniture from the DI, but they are actually using art projects as furniture.
"There are banana chairs made out of cardboard," West said. "They are utilizing their assets, and they are making their own furniture."
West said the problem of no furniture is starting to affect the performances of the students and how well the students are doing overall.
"I had one student tell me that it was one of the biggest performances of her life and she had to sit on the floor to relax," West said. "When she went in to give this performance, she was covered in dust."
While looking at what to spend the ASUSU classroom improvement fund on, Jacob Wilkey, education senator, said he feels something has to be done about the current situation.
"Something desperately needs to be taken care of," Wilkey said. "In my opinion, this is priority number one,"
ASUSU is still deliberating where the money from the classroom improvement fund will be applied.
Media Credit: Debra Hawkins. Departments in the Fine Arts Building are fighting over furniture. The few chairs there are showing heavy wear. ASUSU took a tour of areas on campus they felt needed improvement.
Media Credit: Debra Hawkins. Students have to sit on the floor because there is so little furniture in the Fine Arts Building (Chase Fine Arts Center).
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