Issue 9 - North Canton City Schools - sparcc

Rep. Oeslager visits art council
Kaley Smitley
Staff Writer
Hoover High School has been chosen
as one of 10 schools in Ohio to participate
in Youth Arts Day March 29. Due to this
distinction, State Legislature Representative
Scott Oelslager visited Hoover on March 6.
Oelslager gave a speech about his affiliation
JACOB BROWN
with the arts in Ohio, viewed a PowerPoint
presentation compiled by Hoover artists
and participated in a question-and-answer
session.
The missions of Arts Day and the
accompanying Governor’s Awards for the
Arts are to create appreciation of the arts in
Ohio and to support greater funding for the
arts in Ohio. Rep. Oelsager’s visit provided
an opportunity for the Hoover Youth Arts
Council to lobby for this financial support
on a grassroots level.
Many Hoover artists are worried about the
lack of support for the fine arts curriculum.
“There’s always the threat that art
classes might just disappear,” senior AP art
student Nick Jensen said. “Like last year,
for instance, we were supposed to have an
art technology class and the funding just fell
by the wayside.”
Jensen currently spends about four
periods a day in the art room. He hopes
to become a professional animator after
nOhio State Legislature Representative
Scott Oelslager speak to the Hoover Youth
Arts Council on March 9.
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attending Columbus College of Art and
Design.
Fellow AP art student Ashley Waldorff
concurs. Waldorff, a recent Gold Key
winner for her artwork, feels that the
lack of funding for art classes is already
apparent.
“Already we share classes – we don’t
even have our own room,” Waldorff said.
Both feel that fine arts are an essential for
a high school curriculum.
“It’s necessary in developing as a wellrounded
person. The way you apply your
visual arts skills is invaluable,” Jensen
said.
Senior AP artist Mary Benedetto feels
that many undermine art as a mere hobby.
“It’s a living. People have a living through
art. Just because people are interested in
science, math, and English doesn’t mean
someone won’t be interested in art,”
Benedetto said.
Rep. Oelslager has a long history of
art involvement himself. Growing up in
Warner, Pa., his father managed a school
auditorium that often featured traveling
Broadway shows. He began to appreciate
art early.
“The arts literally surround us every day
of our lives,” Oelslager said.
While a staunch promoter of the arts,
Oelslager failed to have the answer to any
of the burning questions issued by the Arts
Council.
Jensen thought Oelslager was “vague and
unresponsive.”
“I don’t think he even thought about it
before he was asked the questions…He
talked mostly on the importance of math and
science in an event specifically designed for
art,” Jensen said.
Governor Taft has recently proposed a
new bill requiring Ohio high school students
to take four years of math and science as part
of his plan to enrich those subject areas. This
would arguably limit the amount of fine arts
courses a student would be able to fit into
their schedule.
“Ohio historically has been one of the
best states in funding for the arts,” Oelslager
said in his speech.
Currently, less than one twentieth of
one percent of Ohio’s state budget is for
the arts. •v
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