Dear Editor:
Surprise, surprise, another predictable endorsement of top-downbusiness-as-usual from Trevor Lautens. This time approving the cutting of "lesser, artsy programs" at Capilano University.
Allow me, a resident of North Vancouver - who happens to be a drawing and painting instructor in the soon to be erased Studio Art Department at Capilano University - to make a recommendation to the good citizens of Squamish, Sechelt, West and North Vancouver: Tune in to a Ted Talk video on creativity by Sir Ken Robinson ted. com/talks/ken_robinson_says_ schools_kill_creativity.
Robinson's observations ring true to what I've seen in the Studio Art Department over the years: students (many attending from business specialty programs) delighted by process and method discovered in a drawing class. Likewise, visual art students inspired and motivated by humanities and science courses.
I fear that the stated excuse of "transition(ing) from being a great community college to being a great university" is spin for Cap becoming a specialized branded institution capable of charging international world-class tuition fees. One thing is for sure: Capilano University is forsaking creative education in several departments and crossdisciplinary courses. It is becoming - to use Lautens' term - "lesser" for having amputated interactive design, studio arts, computer sciences, textile arts, adult basic education et al.
Where is innovative education going?
Marcus Bowcott
North Vancouver
