Community tells LTCC board theater is a must
Nearly 70 people listen Nov. 29 to why Lake Tahoe Community College may disband the theater arts program. Photo/LTN
By Kathryn Reed
The drama that was staged before the Lake Tahoe Community College trustees Tuesday night was complex, passionate, sorrowful and heartfelt.
It’s like today is intermission and the audience is left not knowing how many acts there will be in the future. That’s because the script is not finished.
This production of sorts was actually the college administration’s opportunity to present to the board and public why the theater department may be disbanded following this academic year. It was also the public’s first chance to speak directly to the board.
“This program does great work. That has never been the question for us. We know the productions are of high quality,” Michelle Risdon, interim vice president of Academic Affairs, said. “We are looking for change in this program. Whether the program is discontinued or not it has to change.”
Most people were unaware until last month that the college was even considering doing away with theater arts as a credit program. Not enough people are taking the classes to make it a viable program, according college officials. They stressed how few people actually get a degree.
Many of those who spoke Tuesday during the 2½ hour special board meeting pointed out that getting a degree is not satisfactory criteria. Many shared their experience of taking courses that have benefitted them despite having no desire to act. Actors spoke of how they have been able to hone their craft.
Susan Boulanger, head of the department, was repeatedly praised for her teaching acumen. She sat in the audience, near the back. While she showed emotion as various people spoke, she remained silent, unable to direct this spectacle.
All of the 21 people who gave testimony Nov. 29 want theater in some form to exist at LTCC. Administrators also want the college to have theater, but as a true community theater model and not an academic model.
Stephanie Arrigoth, professor at Western Nevada College and producer-director of the Western Nevada Musical Theatre Company, suggested LTCC’s program would be viable with fewer productions, developing online courses and having fewer sections of classes so enrollment would increase. She also suggested the possibility of renting the theater out to other groups in a hybrid model.
What the board wants is still unknown.
A task force of community members will be assembled to hash out options. Enrollment numbers from winter and spring quarters will be evaluated. The president – who will be new and has yet to be hired – will make a recommendation to the board, then the board will make the ultimate decision.
In a time of limited resources this is a tough decision for the trustees. The theater arts program at the college has greatly enriched our community and I hope it can stay in as strong a version as possible.
Thank you, Kae, for covering this. Many of us were surprised to learn that this 2 year process of evaluating, and possibly (probably) ending the Theater/Drama Department, started over 1.5 years ago. The community has very little time to impact the outcome.
While offering degrees and paths toward degrees is an important task for any community college, offering desirable and needed courses to students with no plans to seek a degree is what provides and constitutes its primary service to the citizens of its community.
I believe a number of years ago the legislature mandated the primary role of the community college is to offer degrees and pathways to advanced degrees. The resources are no longer there for people to just take a class with no plans to graduate.
This is a tough decision that probably needs to happen.
According to the California Education Code:
California Community Colleges
(1) The California Community Colleges shall, as a primary mission, offer academic and vocational instruction at the lower division level for both younger and older students, including those persons returning to school. Public community colleges shall offer instruction through but not beyond the second year of college. These institutions may grant the associate in arts and the associate in science degree.
(2) In addition to the primary mission of academic and vocational instruction, the community colleges shall offer instruction and courses to achieve all of the following:
(A) The provision of remedial instruction for those in need of it and, in conjunction with the school districts, instruction in English as a second language, adult noncredit instruction, and support services which help students succeed at the postsecondary level are reaffirmed and supported as essential and important functions of the community colleges.
(B) The provision of adult noncredit education curricula in areas defined as being in the state’s interest is an essential and important function of the community colleges.
(C) The provision of community services courses and programs is an authorized function of the community colleges so long as their provision is compatible with an institution’s ability to meet its obligations in its primary missions.
(3) A primary mission of the California Community Colleges is to advance California’s economic growth and global competitiveness through education, training, and services that contribute to continuous work force improvement.
(4) The community colleges may conduct to the extent that state funding is provided, institutional research concerning student learning and retention as is needed to facilitate their educational missions.
[from California Education Code Section 66010.4 (a) , as of 10/19/99]