THE SUN-HERALD, Sunday 15 October 2007, p37
Online version read it here
This article, which was published today, reports on the impact felt on universities by federal funding cuts. UWS is the focus of the article, with the School of Economics and Finance, highlighted as one of the schools affected by the situation.
This situation is obviously widespread, because the School of Communication Arts is in the same boat as funding issues are the driving force behind the cuts to the arts programs.
We agree with Associate Professor Steve Keen, who is quoted in this article as saying: If the vice-chancellor [Professor Janice Reid] were to take up the cudgel against Canberra and their funding cuts she would have the backing of the entire UWS staff". And we reckon the students might be happy too.
TVS IS ALSO IN THE NEWS
The community TV station hosted by The School of Communication Arts is in crisis.
Harriet Alexander reports:
THE future of Sydney's only community television station is in doubt after a dramatic fallout between its partners, a nearly $900,000 deficit and millions of dollars sunk by the University of Western Sydney.
The university has spent about $1.5 million on TVS and guaranteed a $2 million loan from the National Australia Bank, but the money will run out within months unless TVS generates more revenue or the university agrees to more funding.
The UWS board of trustees will discuss its future relationship with TVS when it meets today.
Last month the university decided to indefinitely suspend three arts and performance courses because they were running at a $1 million loss.
Read the entire article here
PS. Don't forget to sign the petition to ensure the proposed Bachelor of Contemporary Arts sees the light of day:
http://www.petitiononline.com/uws6Arts/petition.html
Online version read it here
This article, which was published today, reports on the impact felt on universities by federal funding cuts. UWS is the focus of the article, with the School of Economics and Finance, highlighted as one of the schools affected by the situation.
This situation is obviously widespread, because the School of Communication Arts is in the same boat as funding issues are the driving force behind the cuts to the arts programs.
We agree with Associate Professor Steve Keen, who is quoted in this article as saying: If the vice-chancellor [Professor Janice Reid] were to take up the cudgel against Canberra and their funding cuts she would have the backing of the entire UWS staff". And we reckon the students might be happy too.
TVS IS ALSO IN THE NEWS
The community TV station hosted by The School of Communication Arts is in crisis.
Harriet Alexander reports:
THE future of Sydney's only community television station is in doubt after a dramatic fallout between its partners, a nearly $900,000 deficit and millions of dollars sunk by the University of Western Sydney.
The university has spent about $1.5 million on TVS and guaranteed a $2 million loan from the National Australia Bank, but the money will run out within months unless TVS generates more revenue or the university agrees to more funding.
The UWS board of trustees will discuss its future relationship with TVS when it meets today.
Last month the university decided to indefinitely suspend three arts and performance courses because they were running at a $1 million loss.
Read the entire article here
PS. Don't forget to sign the petition to ensure the proposed Bachelor of Contemporary Arts sees the light of day:
http://www.petitiononline.com/uws6Arts/petition.html
posted by UWS Arts at 8:41 PM
6 Comments:
TVS is an outrage, everyone predicted that this would be a disaster and real courses have been starved of money because of this misadventure - get a petition going to protest this one and tell them to invest the money in education instead - not another lame ass TV station as if we need more banal television...they sold the future Artists of Australia up a river on this one
Good work on the part of the SMH reportor in outing the problems with TVS. People around the place knew this was going to happen. The mish mash of players with competeing agendas. And yet courses are being killed off while they are spending money on a white elephant.This is adventurism at its worst. What about the responsibility to the civilising aspect of the arts by supporting the depth of serious degrees. This is a pwerful medium, now watch them try to discredit the courses. Thing is look at the history of the practices of the staff and students...it speaks volumes.
Regarding the VC standing up to Canberra, Reid didn't even attempt to stand up to that former 'celebrity skater' and Federal member for Lindsay [the electorate that UWS falls within], Jackie Kelly, after Kelly made the astonishing claim of two years ago that: "No one in my electorate goes to uni." and that when asked if anyone in her electorate aspires to, she answered no.
I'm aware that these comments are two years old and may seem irrelevant but thought a refreshing of memory in regards to the lack of support coming from even the local level was in order. This is the environment that UWS has had to endure for far too long.
And you can rest assured that the UWS SoCA being, like many if not every other art school, a fertile ground for Governmental criticism and political dissidence will continue to suffer under this regime.
Add to this the sedition laws...
Yippee-Ki-Ay!
Jackie Kelly Herald Article
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/20/1087669845712.html
UWS in Question Time
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA20030916021
Sedition Laws
http://www.visualarts.net.au/campaigns/current/freedomofexpressionsedition
http://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiries/title/alrc104/index.html
76,000 per month...thats criminal and they are gonna shut down three degrees to pay for that ! Someone needs to get the poli's onto this
TVS is fucked.
Note to UWS:
ABORT ALREADY!
I am a first year student in performance and the one thing that has shit me lately is the lack of clear information that Contemporary Arts is getting. We have already lost dance and 4 contact hours in the last six months. Our theory has been streamlined. God knows where it will go in the next year.
This Monday, our performance group faced Sally Macarther our lecturer in the hope of getting some clearer answers. As things stand though, we were not told anything new and anything that would be helpful to our direction in the next few months. We as performers, and I am assuming this applies to all Contemporary Art Students, need to know about where this course heading to, so that we can make decisions as to where we are going to be in 6 months and in a year or two. It is now too late to apply to most other universities and it is a difficult time of the year anyway to put the time to applications. This is a very unfair position to be in, and it has not helped the morale of first years, especially since we are the ones starting out on what should be a quality program! We have spent too much time worrying about our program and not enough time focusing our learning.
We have asked Sally Macarther to speak to the Dean about out grief and she will be having a meeting (supposedly) next week the dean and Lynette Sheriden Burns.
We need to develop a network of people who are prepared to stand up in protest against this issue. And this blogsite is a good first step
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