Here is a statement by the Save UTAS Arts campaign:
“We are the Save UTAS Arts campaign.
We’re a group of students who came together in response to UTAS’s proposed cuts to the creative arts, humanities, and the jobs of thirteen valued staff members. These cuts aren’t just numbers on a page. They represent a deep loss to student experience and to Tasmania’s creative future.
When we began talking to fellow students, many hadn’t even heard the cuts were happening. Those who had were shocked, saddened, and ready to act, but felt they had no clear pathway to speak up. With the semester ending, we realised many students might leave campus without ever finding out. By the time they returned for semester two, it could already be too late.
That’s why we created @save_utas_arts: to spread the word and create a platform where student voices could be heard. In less than a week, we’ve gained over 500 followers and built a space for students across disciplines to share what UTAS arts means to them.
Individual stories matter. It’s easy to overlook numbers on a spreadsheet, but behind every data point is a real person, with a future, a voice, and something they care about. We wanted to give those voices space to be heard.
Across every submission, the message is the same: students want UTAS to invest in the arts, not cut them. We believe in the future of UTAS. That’s why we’re speaking out.
You can share your story with us @save_utas_arts.”
Please support the campaign if in any way you can. You can start by going to @save_utas_arts.
A copy of the Save UTAS Arts campaign’s statement can also be found in a special edition of Togatus released on 28 May.
UTAS claims its foreshadowed staff cuts are about financial sustainability. I will have a lot more to say about this soon. UTAS can and should base it financial sustainability around its unique Sandy Bay location and high quality course offerings and research.
Background
In my previous blog post, I released a copy of UTAS’ ‘Change Proposal’, which – in a typical UTAS word salad – foreshadowed a reduction of 13 staff, within Humanities and Social Sciences.
Since then, there has been some important commentary on/coverage of this issue, including:
A Talking Point by Emeritus Distinguished Professor Jeffrey Malpas, published in The Mercury on 23 May:
And this article in The Mercury on 25 May:
