An Aesthetic Masterpiece In The Making
Photo by Ruben Rivera
(2001 and 2003 respectively). As time went by, costs of building materials increased considerably and the school needed to prioritize student’s needs. Finding funding for the media arts center was a challenge. With the economy going through a recession and all of the budget cuts, some felt the new Media Arts building may never get off the ground. “We were all ready to go into the construction phase for the Media Arts Center when the project dropped in priority and our funding was cut,” said Dennis Reed, the dean of fine, performing, and media arts. Luckily for Valley students, the Media Arts Building will now be funded by Proposition J, which was passed in the November 2008 election. At the time of publication, there is no set budget, but based on the size of the building and constant changes with technology, the cost is bound to fluctuate. The project is now in the process of getting final approvals. In addition, the BUG will meet again during the summer, and will hire a construction company by the end of this year. “There may be minor changes in regards to where the labs and classrooms will be located, but other than that, not much will change from the original plan,” said Eric Swelstad, department chair of media arts. The BUG now has several difficult decisions to make concerning the best in current technology and computers, wanting flexibility to adapt to new technology over the years. “We are not planning this building for 2009 or 2010, we are planning it for 2020 and beyond,” said Lyons. SPRING 2009 theCROWNmag
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