Comm 101T-Media Activism (Spring 2018) Main Menu Introduction Sample Page by Professor P This is the template each student should use to create their page. Mental Health at UCSD by Alex Students discuss the problem with mental health at UCSD UCSD Students Against Muslim Ban Amiya Sun Mental Health at UCSD with Anne Kuiper-Thacker Lonely and Isolated on UCSD Campus Dalai Lama Controversy at UCSD 2017 UCSD Housing for International Exchange Students Bona Kim Vetoed How underfunded mental health services dampen the college experience University Art Gallery, A Terrible Name in Terms of Understanding What It Is A documentary on how and why a student activism against closure of University Art Gallery happened in 2016. By Cassie Cai Cory Har FOODDOC. Overpriced FOOD We're Not Your Tuition ATM by Dongwhee (Daniel) Kim UC Board's another unanimous vote on nonresident tuition hike made international students pay the price. UCSD Art Mural Support A student's insight on UCSD's art culture Smoking problems on campus A documentary revealing secret smoking behavior on campus by Doris Zhang Unlearning How To Walk - By Douglas Jung A documentary on issues of discrimination and prejudice. Euna Choi Lack of Parking Space It Shouldn't Be This Easy Hannah Kim & Justin Sullivan Transportation and Safety in UCSD UCSD transportation and safety is important to everyone! How We Brought Dance Back - by Juri Ito A documentary in honor of the students that fought and demanded their dance classes back. Asian Americans by Kyoka Matsunaga A look at Asian American culture at UCSD and in the media Art n Humanity in UCSD - Mira Han A documentary dedicated to tell the stories from Art and Humanity students Do (UC) Us Now? An inter-generational look at the Compton Cookout and its effect on the anti-Black campus climate at UC San Diego. The Literature Building Cancer Cluster Over 10 women have been diagnosed with breast cancer, all of which have spent long periods of time in the literature building of UCSD. Read below for more details. Mental Health Crisis - Monologue from international student Shiyu Wang COMM101T Final Porject

"Art is like Dessert" by Evan Kwong

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Finding new ways to support the arts and humanities has been at the crux of my undergraduate experience, and I wanted to explore themes of financial strife, competition, and the pursuit of optimism with the UC San Diego (UCSD) Theatre and Dance Department. In 2016, that UCSD and the La Jolla Playhouse (LJP) ended their joint-staff agreement, thereby laying off the entire production staff. As a costume designer and student under the video's subject, Lissa Skiles, exploring what had happened and why it happened is a personal topic. Lissa taught me to sew, and it is partially through her support at the beginning of my designing career that I have continued to pursue the craft.

Originally, I had been cynical about the topic, believing UCSD and LJP to be entirely in the wrong for foregoing the arts and their employees who had been working upwards of 20 years. And in many ways, UCSD does, in fact, forget the healing, enriching, and stabilizing benefits one can receive from participating in and/or digesting the arts. However, what was most surprising in my interview with Lissa was the hope she had for the future. Yes, the university's actions hurt, but they are a product of a dozen other economic and financial factors. Like other forms, theatre is a luxury, and it will return to the front lines of the UCSD campus when the economy eventually stabilizes and people remember the emotional wealth it brings to the table.

Activism for the arts, specifically within the realm of theatre, was represented in a single interview with Lissa, cut between the imagery of production put on by the UCSD Theatre & Dance Department and titles of news articles regarding UCSD's prominence in the entertainment industry. Not only did my personal connection to Lissa compel me to ask her for this interview, but her generosity in removing herself from the workplace makes her a compelling person. Despite her love for working for UCSD and LJP, she had opted to retire because not everyone who was terminated was able to. The entire video's dialogue is shown in her answers, as it was the most efficient way to provide the most amount of information.

B-roll consists of production photos (taken by Manuel Rotenberg or myself) of UCSD's shows, and other news articles detailing UCSD's standing in the entertainment industry or the end of the joint-staff agreement. The purpose of the production photos was to provide tangible evidence of the work of the costume shop, where Lissa had previously worked- whereas the news articles are to provide credibility to the narrative Lissa creates. Overall, the piece travels in a circular motion, first comparing art to a non-essential meal like dessert, but by the end hoping people will yearn to have dessert once again when they are able. In between this parallel is Lissa's introduction, discussion of the joint-staff agreement's end, UCSD's previous support for the Theatre Department, and finally the general importance of art. The narrative is structured this way in order to hone in on this issue as a UCSD problem but expanding to apply its themes to society as a whole. In addition, Lissa's concluding statements draw back to the beginning of the video as a way of reflecting on her optimism, and my unexpected admiration for it.

The trigger image for the piece is the sign outside the Mandell Weiss Theatre at LJP. This specific theatre was selected because it is directly attached to the costume shop, where Lissa had previously worked. While the image could have easily been inside the actual costume shop or theater, it is important to note that the costume shop is extremely hard to find if one is unfamiliar with the layout of LJP.


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