The Art School Weapon Policy ~ Safety Third

I once saw an episode of Dirty Jobs (one of my favorite TV programs :D ) that explained how many of the jobs they did required them to not put safety first. If they did, they would never do the job in the first place. So they adopted the policy of "Safety Third." In my opinion, this may apply to art school as well. Many of the tasks we deem as dangerous, we still end up doing anyway, knowing full well that we could lose a finger, an eye, or cut our hands open and bleed everywhere in a matter or seconds. And yet, I have only ever come across one person here who is really very worried about it. Meet Jackie, or at least, that's what I'm going to call her. She's afraid of everything... germs, sand paper, machinery in the shop, chemicals, carpal tunnel, and even detached retinas from staring at the computer screen too long. She wants to be an animator.

I'll wait until this sinks in....

But really, even around cold season, she wears masks just like they do in China and Japan. But before you start to pick on her like we do, you should know that she likely had a very traumatic experience when she was younger which makes up for a good portion of why she fears so much. And a lot of things (whether they exceed the boundaries of common sense or not) are actually very real dangers. But what I never quite understood was, if she was so afraid, why go to art school? In an ordinary school, there are tens of majors that are perfectly safe to chose from. And yet, with all her fears, I once saw her take sculpture (only a semi-dangerous class) and metals (an extremely dangerous class) at the same time. And while I saw her carving away at a piece of foam with a 6" razor, I began to think... Forget about all the in class dangers. Did we even have a weapons policy at our school?

In light of Virgina Tech, Columbine, and the other places where insane people with guns have seen fit to go on a rampage, I am almost completely certain that most every normal college has instated a "no weapons policy."

So I looked through our handbook (given I probably didn't read it word for word, but who would?), and though it mentioned drug policies, emergency tornado drills, and even prohibited items in the dorms, nowhere did it mention a weapons policy. The only thing prohibited in the dorms were: waterbeds, weight lifting equipment, pets, heavy objects that can damage the already decrepit floor, candles, alcohol, and other fire hazards. So then I got to thinking...

Was it even possible to institute a "weapons policy" in our school? Uh... not really. In fact, make that a, "Hell No!" Why? At any given time, any or all students in the school may have anything from a 1" x-acto knife to a box cutter in their daily classroom supplies. I once even had two 6" razors in my backpack for an entire semester, along with a 1" x-acto. And you're probably going, "Well, holy shit!" But the reason we have them is because classes require them. In my case, it was a sculpture class (the same one as Jackie). I had to carve foam for half the semester, hence the razors. But even Freshman are required to carry x-acto blades, and many people carry box cutters for their own personal convenience. And yet, even with all the insane people in my school, no one has thought to use them for anything other than their academic purpose. And that also includes the film department which have been known to use "fake" guns as props for movies.

My theory is that we are constantly faced with the fear of losing a finger or a hand by means of our own stupidity or sleep deprivation (as even my roommate accidently cut off the tip of a finger one weekend working on an illustration project). Even chemical burns and extreme allergic reactions are a total possibility. We know the dangers, so we live in reality every day, and we know not to go looking for extra trouble (although, now that I've said that, just watch, next semester someone's going to go ballistic). But really, I do think so. And if we truly need an outlet, we can paint, animate, draw, sculpt, etc. God knows, there is plenty that can go wrong in this school without adding malicious intent to the mix.

~C.Mitchell

Art School

I've been a student in an art college for about three years, so you can say that there isn't much that can really surprise me about people in that kind of setting anymore. I suppose the first thing I should say is that there are a lot of common misconceptions about art college. I know the first thing people say when I tell them, "I go to art school," is "oh." As if that just covers everything. A lot of people think that art students are lazy, pot-smoking hippies who haven't made it out of the 70s. Which for about 50% of the school is probably absolutely true. Are they lazy? Yes, probably. Are they pot smokers? I don't doubt it. Even some of the older teachers join in on this kind of action, trust me.

But then there are the other 50%. The second 50% are the ones who sit there and work their asses off day and night and probably haven't even had the time to attend a party, not to mention become a full-time pot smoker. I'm a digital media major. I fall in that category... the category that often ends up saying, "I wish I had gone to a normal school so I would actually have a manageable work load." If you think I'm kidding, you should've seen the way I had to handle my classes about two semesters back. It's hard to say we have it easy when you have people skipping class so they can finish work for a different class.

What you learn really quickly about art school is that it's not really all about the art. In fact, art school is about 75% bullshitting and learning how to convinced people you actually meant for something to be that way (even if you're making shit up on the spot), 15% learning technique, and 10% creativity. It's all about the "concept" here. There is no definite grading system. You just do the best you can, hope you're motivated when the time comes, and then move on to the next project. Art school doesn't really recognize midterms. There are no big tests or crazy extras, unless you have the misfortune of having a professor that likes to tack on extras on top of your workload. Every class is a constant array of projects on top of projects. And these aren't things you can usually get done in just a one to two hour study session. Many of the projects I've dealt with have been as many as 10-20+ hours each. No kidding. And yet, somehow it miraculously all gets done.

Though I was a little shocked the first time I took an art history class and viewed slide after slide of nude male sculptures and paintings, after about a week or two, the excitement was gone. By now I'm completely desensitized to it. But beyond the projects, the nude sculptures, random paintings of sexual organs and the rest of the crazy stuff that goes on in this school, by far the most shocking things are the students. I have seen the students in my school do, say, and wear things that I would have never believed before I came here. And yet, by now I am so accustomed to it, that it takes me a minute to realize that it's strange. Though I am constantly tested, I love this school. Having to take a foreign language class in a normal state college over the summer for a graduation requirement has made me realize just how much I actually love the weirdness of this school. Truly, there is nothing else like it...

~C.Mitchell