The Department of Theatre Arts has suspended admissions due to budget cuts. In the future, the department will only teach lower division, general education requirements. This means that no new or undeclared student can declare a theatre arts major or minor. This also means that many beloved faculty members may lose their jobs.

Located in the Staller Center for The Arts, the Department of Theatre Arts is a pillar of the campus community. They offer various courses in theatre history, acting, costume design, etc. Stony Brook is an amazing and innovative university that has incredible faculty and students in a variety of departments. As of the Fall of 2016, Stony Brook University serves the needs of 17,026 undergraduate students and 8,708 graduate students as indicated on the following website: https://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/fastfacts/ Stony Brook University prides itself as being one of the best schools in the SUNY system, and a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). As a prestigious state university that serves over 25,000 students, it is unacceptable to cut an entire arts department.

Theatre is one of the oldest fine arts in the world. It is innate in human culture. The various art departments at Stony Brook continue this long, cultural tradition. In these departments (Studio Art, Art History, Theatre, Digital Arts), students dedicate themselves each semester to their incredibly challenging coursework. These students are intelligent, passionate, and diligent. They produce extensive research papers, independent study projects, portfolios, and exhibitions. Without them, Stony Brook would not be the university that it is today.

Losing this department is tragic for Stony Brook University. A university of this caliber must offer theatre arts as a major/minor. Theatre is one of the oldest disciplines, and it must be saved. We as a campus community demand that the university reverses their decision.