Entire USC First-Year MFA Class is Dropping Out
"We are a group of seven artists who made the decision to attend USC Roski School of Art and Design’s MFA program based on the faculty, curriculum, program structure, and funding packages. We are a group of seven artists who have been forced by the school’s dismantling of each of these elements to dissolve our MFA candidacies. In short, due to the university’s unethical treatment of its students, we, the entire incoming class of 2014, are dropping out of school and dropping back into our expanded communities at large."
Read more here:
http://www.artandeducation.net/school_watch/entire-usc-mfa-1st-year-class-is-dropping-out/
Website:
http://mfanomfa.tumblr.com/
This letter from one of the students was forwarded to me by a friend.
ReplyDeleteA few people have pointed out how important it is they are dropping out together- and they have plans to continue working together and supporting each other.
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sarah
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Dear friends,
I, and my entire incoming class of 2014, have been forced to drop out the MFA program at USC Roski School of Art and Design due to the University's refusal to honor its funding and curricular promises to us. What we experienced is the true "disruption" of the corporatization of higher education. A collective statement was published on artandeducation.net yesterday, and is included in full below.
In the past 24 hours since our statement was published, it has been "Shared" over 26,000 times, and we've received over 150 emails, nearly all letters of support- and sharing their own stories of institutional dysfunction. After having these discussions in private for so long, it is validating and energizing to realize how much our public statement resonates with people.
While we are sad over the loss of what might have been, we are incredibly hopeful and excited for the future, and will be hosting a number of events at multiple sites over the coming year that will culminate in seven weeks of "thesis" shows starting in April 2016. We are also so inspired by all the people reaching out with their own stories, and MFAnoMFA will be formulating ways to mobilize those energies to effect change together.
In the mean time, we'd love your support. We are still looking for a pro-bono lawyer to represent the seven of us (we were already rejected by two lawyers whose firms did not want to be "adverse" to USC; USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles),and would appreciate any leads.
Additionally, some of us will be looking for places to live or studios to work in. And we will all soon need employment of various kinds; again, any leads are greatly appreciated!
Please feel free to forward this email.
And keep in touch!
Thank you.
To a weird and bright future,
Lee
Artandeducation.net
Hyperallergic
E-flux
ArtForum
Art F City
MFAnoMFA
mfanomfa@gmail.com