Failure in Communication... again!

For the third time in a row, Watkins College of Art and Design is considering dropping a well qualified teacher because "it isn't in the budget" to keep said teacher. However, this latest managerial mistake overshadows the previous in many ways.

Currently, Watkins is trying to become a SAC accredited college. This means the school has to jump through several hoops, most of which require having a teacher with a certain level of education in eachdepartment . The Graphic Design department's chair lacked the qualifications, but gained the needed degree recently. This would normally mean that she is more qualified, and as such is worth more to the school. And because she got the degree needed to keep the school in the running for SACs, a raise would be the best thing to give her. After all, you don't pay your most qualified worker the same salary as the janitors. That's just bad business sense, as it makes your employees unhappy. Especially when there are other places that they could go to that would offer more money for their work.

Well, apparently, that is what is happening now. The school is claiming that there is nothing in the budget to keep this teacher around. They want to keep her, but they will end up paying her less than what she makes already. I repeat, paying her less than what she makes already after getting the needed degree to help Watkins get SAC accredited. A teacher that is responsible for putting the Graphic Design department on the map as the most successful undergrad program in the nation according to the
National Addy Awards.

This is only one side of the story. This has been the case we always seem to get. We only hear it from the one side that tells us anything: the teacher. The administration, once again, is not communicating with the student body as to why this is happening. Noexplanation is being offered short of "it's not in the budget." Well, what is in the budget? I don't know. The person that told me the above doesn't know. The only ones that do know are in administration, but they are not telling us just how much of our tuition is going towards what in the school.

We are not stupid. We know that you have to pay employees, surprise maintenance repairs, water and electric bills, and even things like food for openings and important meetings. How much is being spent and how much is being put away as profit is not being told outside of the few that know.

To further add salt to the wounds, whenever someone asks a question that involves information that the students generally don't already know, be it about the budget or something else, they are never given a straight answer about it!

I don't know how other colleges work, but I would assume there is some form of student-administration communication if not a kind of notice as to why certain executive decisions are made. Why wouldn't there be?

Because they want to control us. If they can control us, it makes them look good. We make them look good, they get the benefits in life we only dream about. It may sound like a conspiracy theory, but in a college where the students have little to no say in these kind of matters? Well, let's just say democracy doesn't exist here. At least not any more.

Snowy Days

For the past three or four days now, there has been snow on the ground. This is odd given the fact that in most recent memory, snow has never lasted this long before. But Mother Nature loves to surprise us, and just when I think the snow will disappear, something happens over night to keep it around.

But all this snow and cold weather is making me forget where I am and what I am doing. It is more than just ice on the ground or that white rain that collects in piles. For me, it has made me forget all my worries every time I look at it. The way it falls is dream like, and the way it patches on the ground as it melts is just beautiful to me.

Looking outside, I forget what I am suppose to be doing. I forget that I have five projects I need to do all at the same time. I forget that I live in a place and in a situation that isn't very beneficial for me. But most importantly, I forget my problems with life when I look at the snow.

Snow has always been the one thing that has been magical to me since I was very little. I hope it never loses that quality as I get older.

The Jury Finds the Piece...

I just got back from the opening reception of the Student Show at Watkins. And right now, I feel so strangely happy it borders on the insane.

First off, this is the first time I entered a show of this kind and actually got in. My previous attempts were all met with rejection in one respect or another. To be in a juried show is a big deal in the art community because it is basically how we compete to get exposure without having to go through most of the red tape involved for putting on our own show. We don't have to worry about the when, the where, and the what to do for the event unless we are part of the committee throwing it together. On top of that, to be in a juried show that features students is an honor in itself. You and your piece end up representing the school for the short time that it is up, which may help the school get more students if not more money. Or, as was the case several years ago, more attention than you may want.

To get into the juried show was enough for me. But apparently, just the fact that I finally get to show my stuff to the school without resorting to class-based guerrilla installation wasn't enough for the powers that be.

Part of the incentive to get students to enter in the show is prize money. Half of pot goes towards what is known as the Purchase Award. The piece that wins that award ends up becoming part of the school's collection, which means that piece becomes a part of the school's history. There are other prizes such as Honorable Mention, Faculty Award, and Best of Show. Generally speaking, each level is like winning first, second, third, and runner up.

I was not expecting to win anything, but I attended the Awards Reception anyway to pay honor to those who won. The usual people I knew and were familiar with their works won, and they all were well deserved awards. We went in reverse order, starting with Honorable Mention. Then Faculty Award. Then Best of Show.

My name was one of the winners for Best of Show.

When I heard this, my heart stopped beating and my head lowered out of humility. I felt like this was a dream, I was going to wake up and find myself on the cafe couch. But it wasn't. I made my way pass the rows of people in front of me. In the clearing, I had flashbacks of high school graduation. My mind kept saying over and over "Don't trip! Whatever you do, don't trip!"

Congratulations were given by everyone as the reception went on, but I left after having my ego inflated beyond what I expected. It wasn't until later that I realized that the award was sweeter than I originally thought.

The piece that won was the same piece that was misplaced during the show I was in with Jason. The piece that almost ended up in the trash.

I don't remember feeling this happy before. I don't remember feeling this high and optimistic ever in my life. I don't remember being able to enjoy the moment for what it is.

I like this feeling.

If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up. I want to live in this feeling.

What is missing from advertisements these days?

The other day, I was feeling so crappy I was able to bother a fellow pessimist. That alone should have told me something. But I went about my day as I usually would once I was on this downward spiral. Then something happened that made me cry, but in a good way.

While on one of the many Disney Fan Forums I frequent, someone linked those who were curious and involved in the topic to an advertisement for Tokyo DisneySea. It featured an elderly couple off to enjoy the day at Tokyo DisneySea (TDS) with their family. After the younger generations leave them to have their own day date, the two take in the immediate sights and beauty that is TDS. And let me tell you, if you ever see the ad, every shot of the park is beautiful.

But this is where the ad takes a turn. You would think that being a Disney Ad, they would focus on the product and show you what these Japanese senior citizens can do at TDS. Instead, the writers and producers of the commercial went down a different avenue and focused on the people rather than the place. And in doing so, they made the park seem more spectacular than anything they photographed. Also, they included a story into the advertisement, something not seen since the days of the Folgers Coffee Family franchise. I'm assuming this commercial is designed with Valentines Day in mind, as the theme of romance is just oozing in nearly every frame after this twist.

The story told (without any dialogue) is that after taking in the view of TDS, the grandmother notices a lot of young couples around the park, all of which holding hands. Taking a glance at her husband's wedding band, she shyly reaches for it. As she touches his hand, both she and her husband are magically turned back to when they were in their 20s! He looks at her wondering what she is trying to do, and she shyly retracts her action. From here on, they go about the park enjoying the various scenic offerings. Each time she has a moment, the woman makes an ill attempt at trying to hold his hand, but he always seems to find this attempt strange. The woman continues to get swept up in the romantic atmosphere of the park right down to the evening fireworks show. As they watch, the gentleman looks at her and reaches for her hand. When he finally holds her hand, they both turn back into their old selves, literally. Both visibly in love with each other for a second time.

Just writing that makes me choke up.

Most of the ads in American try to be memorable in one fashion that makes people not only remember the ad, but the product as well. And if there is one thing that my Fine Arts education has taught me well enough to apply to memory, it is this: If people can remember you or your product long after they have seen it, then that is the sign of a successful piece of work.

However, this commercial, which clocks in at ten times longer than your average 30-second TV spot, has something that no commercial I have seen has. Heart. Like I stated before, Disney could have gone down the same route it has been doing here in the states and just advertise the blazes out of TDS. Instead, the Japanese branch focuses on the people. It is no longer about the place. They just so happen to be at TDS with their family, and in the process fell in love with each other all over again thanks to the atmosphere and ambiance. Technically, they are selling the product indirectly while directly telling a story that everyone can relate to. Granted it is a bit sugar coated compared to their Sea of Dream short films which includes more adult elements such as contemplating leaving a marriage and a child running away because their parents are paying too much attention to their sibling and not said child. (Something also not seen in the states, especially with the Disney name attached to it!) But when all is said and done, it is about the people and not about the product.

This is the kind of commercial that you would expect to see during the Super Bowl, but will likely not end up seeing at all. In this capitalistic society, advertisers don't care about the people so much as they care about pushing the product. If they tried hard enough, even MacDonald's could produce an ad that talks about the people rather than how much a Big Mac Combo is, which would be interesting. But there are some products you can't really use this format with, I guess.

That being said, Disney doesn't even do this format with their current marketing campaign. There's no heart in seeing a bunch of kids jumping on their beds only to fly off to Neverland or a little girl coming home from school only to open her bedroom door to a princess procession. Hell, the marketing campaign they did for Disneyland's 50th was more about nostalgia and history than it was about heart and the magic of the theme park. It's no wonder I don't remember in detail any of their commercials since the days when they would have a little kid tell a short story about how they ran to China after hanging out with celebrities or how one girl in the airport was talking to a total stranger about how her little brother was their souvenir from her family's cruise ship vacation.