SCENE THE
Spring Issue 2
Archers Madness see page 3
March 24, 2017
www.thescenefp.com
Milo goes too far See page 7
authors among us See page 8
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
College to eliminate P.E. requirement Change won’t affect current students By Jeffrey Wallace Richman The Scene staff Most future students at St. Louis Community College won’t have to take the two credits of physical education that are required of current students. The STLCC Board of Trustees recently voted 4-3 to make the change, based on a proposal from the College Academic Council and a task force that included Langrehr faculty members. Officials argued that the P.E. requirement kept some students from graduating and hurt the college financially. The state of Missouri provides state funding based on performance, including graduation rates. “I think it puts us in line with where the national trend is,” said Andrew Langrehr, the college’s vice chancellor for academic affairs. In 2011, nearly 50 percent of STLCC students who were close to graduating and who transferred to other institutions hadn’t completed the two P.E. credits of P.E., according to district records. The council also found that more than 85 percent of transfer students who start at STLCC end up graduated from a fouryear institution that doesn’t have a P.E. or wellness requirement. “None of the Top 5 schools that take St. Louis Community College graduates have the requirement,” Lengrehr said. The change isn’t good news for P.E. programs on STLCC campuses, which may eventually may decrease the number and variety of classes. Mark Applegate, P.E. department chair and assistant professor at Forest Park, notes that physical education helps students stay healthy and reduce stress. A vocal opponent of the change was STLCC retiree Bob Nelson, 78, of Kirkwood, a longtime basketball coach and P.E. teacher and later a Board of Trustees member. “When Nelson heard the board was planning to cut the P.E. graduation requirement, he went to Facebook and fired up his Rolodex and started an email campaign to stop the change in its tracks,” a St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist reported.
See P.E. page 2
Photo by Serenity Ghidoni
Student Adrian Bell Jr., 19, works on his abdominal muscles during a physical education class in the Forest Park fitness center.
Graphic communications returning to Forest Park By Nana Ramsey The Scene Staff
Students and faculty are thrilled that the full graphic communications program is returning to Forest Park after a four-year hiatus. Many students have been forced to travel to the Meramec and Florissant Valley campuses of St. Louis Community College to take advanced classes since Forest Park phased out the program in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013. “I enjoy working at Forest Park,” said Kalia White, 23, a graphics major and member of The Scene staff, who lives in downtown St. Louis. “And if I have a project due, it’d be nice to go there instead of Meramec.” It takes White an hour and a half to get to Kirkwood on public transportation. She gets up at 5 a.m. and doesn’t make it back home until 9 p.m. on some days. Last month, Jamie Kreher, chair of fine and performing arts at Forest Park, announced that the graphics program would return in the fall of 2017. She hopes it will solve the problem of students not finishing their associate’s degrees in graphic communications because they can’t get to Meramec or
Florissant Valley; and help Forest Park increase enrollment. “Not all at once, but this should bring more students back,” said Kreher, 42, an assistant professor of photography. Forest Park offered the graphics program until 2012, when the number of class offerings were cut in half, eliminating all 200-level classes, as a budget-cutting measure. Bruenger Only students close to graduating could finish the program at Forest Park. Others had to transfer to Meramec or Florissant Valley or travel back and forth. That didn’t sit well with Forest Park faculty or students. “Students should have the ability to go to any campus for their degree,” said Bruenger, 44, graphics coordinator. Kreher and Bruenger went to Larry Johnson Jr., who became Forest Park provost last summer, and asked him to consider bringing back the graphics program.
See Graphic page 2
Faculty exhibit runs through March 30
By Shileha Churchill The Scene staff “Decompositional Maelstrom # 27” is one of the most striking pieces of artwork in the annual Forest Park Faculty Exhibition. The sculpture is a three-dimensional collage of ceramic pieces, everything from a salt shaker to a light bulb, a coffee mug to
tiny human figures. Artist Troy Aiken made them from molds collected on his travels, most dating to the ’70s and ’80s. “I want to know what happens to our trash in the future and our ceramics in the future … what it will be like if we became dystopian society,” said Akin, a former California resident who began teaching art at Forest Park last year. “Decompositional Maelstrom # 27” is
Photo by Serenity Ghidoni
Fine arts chair Jamie Kreher poses in front of “American Mythologies,” a photo series she submitted for the Forest Park Faculty Exhibition.
one of 21 pieces in the exhibition, which will run through March 30 in the Gallery of Contemporary Art on campus. That also includes paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, graphic pieces and a video installation. Art professor Yingxue Zuo submitted a giant mural called “Carnival.” At first glance, it’s vibrant and colorful. A closer look reveals protesters carrying signs and other images that allude to political unrest. “I wanted to show how it may look like the world is having fun, but we still have lots of problems,” said Zuo, “For example, our issues with immigration.” “Carnival” is part of a series of three murals. The second is called “Money,” and the third is “In the Name of the People.” Susan Dawson, who teaches art history at Forest Park, was one of about 30 people who attended the exhibition’s opening reception. “Carnival” was her favorite piece. “It is very current, important and powerful,” she said. Many of the artists presented themes focusing on American society, culture and politics. Michael Paradise created a booklet called “Self-Satisfied” in honor of his art students at Roosevelt High School. He also teaches drawing part time at Forest Park.
See Exhibit page 2