New art class offered abroad Opportunity for students to experience Italy

Stacey Arevalo Roundup Reporter

A new Art 102 class has been scheduled to take place this summer in a program called “Study in Italy” located in Genoa, Italy. This class will last from June 20 through July 19.

The course will be taught four days a week for approximately five hours each day. The curriculum will focus on Western art as well as art from the late Gothic period through modern times.

Rodrigo Gutierrez, a 21-yearold business administration major at Pierce said he has seen flyers posted all around campus regarding the trip.

“It’s great to have a class where anybody can study halfway around the world, meet new people, possibly fall in love, go sightseeing and have the most exciting adventurous time with other classmates,” Gutierrez said.

To attend, each student is responsible for paying $3,800 which includes a stay in a shared apartment, located near the school in a safe area. The organizer of the program is art professor Constance

Moffat.

In addition to the stay, the fee also includes a three-day trip to Florence, a day trip to Milan, local excursions and a 12-hour crash course in Italian.

The $3,800 fee does not include airfare, transportation, food or the student fees that Pierce charges per unit taken.

As of now, Moffatt doesn’t have any plans to offer any group discounts or organize a group flight. She does encourage students to apply for scholarships or grants in order to save up money to use toward their expenses.

There are no prerequisites to take Art 102 and it is available to anyone who wishes to sign up, even if they are not Pierce students, said Mary Anne Gavarra-Oh, dean of academic affairs at Pierce.

To be able to add the class, however, each student must receive an add slip from Moffatt herself in order to avoid any misunderstandings from students that are not aware the class is overseas. Similar opportunities might become available in upcoming semesters that might cost less, according to Gavarra-Oh.

“We’re trying to make it more affordable and maybe setup a foundation account in the future where parents can contribute and help students,” Gavarra-Oh said.

The deadline to pay the full amount has been scheduled for April 30, according to Moffatt. However, if payment plans are needed, she encourages students to contact her right away to be sure to have everything completed by then.

Allison Hodgson, a former Pierce student who attended the class the last time it was offered in Italy in 2007, said her trip influenced her decision to study art history after graduating.

“It was a priceless experience and anyone would be so lucky. I mean, who doesn’t want to spend a month in Italy?” Hodgson said. Hodgson also said that having the opportunity to have a visual of what she was studying impacted her learning.

“When you see Cimabue and Giotto paintings in person, and the statue of David is three feet away, you are able to experience a whole new level of the art you’ve studied,” Hodgson said. “You notice texture and depth. Seeing these beautiful works in person is life-altering.”

Participating Departments

- Agriculture

- Art/Architecture

- Anthropology/ Geography

- Child Development/ Education

- English

- History/Humanities

- Modern Languages

- Philosophy/Sociology

- Physical Education

- Political Sciences/Econ/ Criminal Justice

Students enrolled in the program will take four classes along the same path at Pierce. For example, if a student enrolls in the global studies path, they would take four classes related to global studies.

The exception is the sustainability path. Students will be required to take three courses at CSUN rather than two.

“This is because it is a different minor at CSUN, specifically in sustainability. The other four lead to a minor in civic engagement,” Bruzzese said.

Regardless of the path they take to get to CSUN, the GE Paths program guarantees students a seat in the class once they get there, according to Barbara Anderson, the

- Communication Studies dean and administration lead of the project.

Right now, the program is exclusive to students at Pierce who intend to transfer to CSUN.

Students will not be able to take other courses at other junior colleges to fulfill the requirements, according to Lim.

Students who do not intend to go to CSUN can still enroll in a path, but will not receive the minor.

There is no reason why a student should not enroll in the GE Paths program, according to Wood.

- Psychology/Statistics

More paths and more classes will be added to the program, according to Lim. The faculty is working on adding more classes in the immediate future, though he did not specify which classes will be added.

“It is up to the departments to decide which classes they want to add to the program,” Anderson said. The next public meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 21 in the Great Hall. All students and faculty who are interested are invited to attend.

A new flat screen was installed in the Business Education Building Tuesday, March 4, and awaits programming to display new and dynamic information to students.

The screen is not yet operational but once it is up and running it will be another way for faculty and students to communicate with one another.

“What’s cool about it is that it’s dynamic and instantly changeable,” said Joe Perret, professor of computer applications and office technologies.

“We kind of strategically located it at a crossroads,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is get students attention.”

The screen will run information such as open classes, advertisements, and certificates, as well as highlighting students by displaying their work and interviews. As part of a class project, the Computer Applications Department intends to run videos created by students themselves.

Audio will only be available between classes so as to not disrupt any classes in session. “We’re excited about it. It’s the first one on the campus,” Perret said. “This is a pioneering effort and it’ll be fun to watch.”

Though this screen was funded internally by the campus, there is also the possibility of adding others already bought and sitting unused.

The program is run by tjgdigitalsigns.com to control displays, timing and screen proportions.

“We got the digital sign originally with the idea of an electronic bulletin board,” said Perret in an email. “A place where we could showcase what we have to offer to our student in our department and our student’s accomplishments.”