A dwindling major and minor problem explained
Photo courtesy of Mutant669/Wikimedia Commons
Remember that one of the best ways to affect change is to speak up when you see injustice or corruption! Join the many voices condemning current abuses of power.
In the minds of many students, SUNY Geneseo is in the midst of a crisis that is affecting the institution and its curriculum across departments. In conversation, many students will mention the now-defunct majors and minors, such as visual arts programs, alongside recent consolidations made across departments—Music and Theatre have become the Department of Performing Arts, and Art History has been absorbed into the History department— raising concerns about their respective majors and minor, and feeling the potential for cuts to come to their program.
Concerns have been raised about the meaning of a degree from an institution making such wide-reaching cuts and consolidations. One student observed it is, “making my hard-earned degree feel like just a paperweight.” Another elaborated that “By not prioritizing the education of its students, Geneseo is allowing students to graduate and enter their respective fields without a proper education.”
With those concerns in mind, The Lamron sat down with some humanities department chairs to gather their perspective on this issue, address some queries brought to our attention, and reassure some worried students while also debunking some fearmongering.
Dr. Beverly Evans, Chair of the Department of Global Languages and Cultures and long-time staple of the SUNY Geneseo community, spoke to us about this issue. During this conversation, she repeatedly emphasized that students should not be concerned by SUNY Geneseo’s initiative to get departments to reassess their curriculums, as this aspect of the university is based on enrollment. She adds that, “Departments are asked to re-approve their existence” on such standards. With this in mind, a student's degree will always be considered a valid degree, regardless of any changes made after they have departed from the college.
When discussing her experience with this issue, Dr. Evans mentioned how the idea of majors and minors being added and removed is part of the ever-changing landscape of college, citing foreign languages that were once offered, such as Italian, that are no longer available. Following up on student concerns, we mentioned the fear that “as professors' contracts expire, they are not replaced within the department and thus have limited the teaching opportunities due to additional responsibilities.” Dr. Evans, while sharing in students’ concerns, reiterated that this number is representative of the needs and demands of the college based on enrollment. While she will always hope for a larger roster of colleagues, this ultimately depends on the students enrolled and their individual needs and preferences. Demonstrate your wants and get people involved.
Dr. Evans made clear to students that Geneseo has a long history of successful careers and opportunities stemming from foreign language, and encourages all to attempt to become part of that legacy through the study abroad opportunities of the Fulbright program. This conversation made it evident that, for students to find solutions to their issues, the best approach is to first speak with their advisor—the earlier the better—or one of their colleagues to generate earnest support for additional teaching possibilities and foster enthusiasm in students about language learning.
Dr. Alice Rutkowski, Chair of the Department of English and Creative Writing, also sat down with us to provide further perspective on this topic from a department in a similar situation. We opened by asking her the same questions as Dr. Evans. In her response, she shared that departments will “proactively look at [subjects/classes with low enrollment] and make decisions preemptively ahead of time…and if [departments] work together, we have more choice in what happens.”
During this conversation, we discussed the flexibility of the English major and the changes made to it since 2014, which have enabled sustained enrollment while maintaining a diverse range of classes and professors teaching these courses, citing a few hard goodbyes in the process. When discussing this, she made it clear that these changes are made, again, based on the college's enrollment. While also sympathizing with students who see their possibilities of higher-level classes dwindling, she remained adamant that the selection itself is still varied and allows for possibilities—but, of course, this isn’t a one-size-fits-all.
The Film Studies minor was another topic of discussion during this interview, where we discussed an email sent out over the spring semester, which advised students to take “FMST 101: Introduction to Film Studies” immediately, as this major will be metamorphisizing in due time—the specifics of which are yet to be determined. When discussing departments and classes in a comparable situation, the conversation shifted to the one adjunct manning this department and its primary classes, alongside their other jobs at separate colleges: “We’re beyond grateful to him. We’d have no [film] program without him…[but still] adjuncts are poorly compensated, and not always treated well.” Rutkowski commented on how, since 2020, the film department has been without a full-time tenured staff, and how individuals from other departments also run classes under this prefix to allow the minor to continue while offering an array of courses.
Throughout these conversations, one sentiment rang true: in the ever-changing landscape of Geneseo, departments and the courses they offer are indeed changing—this is the ebb and flow of enrollment. Even so, both individuals have made it clear that, as students, if you have issues or concerns about your major(s), minors(s), or anything in between, make your voice heard. Do not be afraid to drum up noise in forums like College Council, Student Senate, and Student Association meetings.
Student voices can make a difference in these changes; utilize yours, and be sure to involve others as well—you never know what positive effects these conversations may have.