As students wrap up their semesters online, some USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) students are already worried about the possibility of continuing remotely next fall.
Students at SCA created a petition asking for the school to consider placing a hold on the physical production track for film and television production majors until classes can resume in person. Since its creation om April 21, the petition has gathered over 600 signatures.
Many students are worried about the possibility of continuing their education online. For production majors, this would mean that they wouldn’t get to access SCA’s equipment.
“It is a disservice to our family of student filmmakers to charge them tuition and other added fees when so much of the education based in SCA is hands-on,” the petition writes.
Some students are not going to allow the school to make a change without a fight.
“We want them specifically to know that we are students and we have needs, too,” said Reanna Cruz, a junior cinematic arts and film and TV production major. “A lot of us aren’t going to take it lying down if we’re expected to resume all as normal without consideration of who we are as students and the education that we’re trying to pursue.”
For many students in the film and television production program, attending classes remotely has already been a challenge. Julia Navarez, also a freshman film and TV production major, said in one of her classes, they watch films produces by other students during the lecture, but now the students do it online.
“It’s definitely not the same when you don’t have the audience with you, so you don’t get that same satisfaction of what the reaction of what they’re watching in real time,” she said.
Narvaez has been creating films on her own at home for her classes. She added that while she has been working on projects by herself so far, the curriculum relies heavily on collaboration between students, especially later on in the program.
Narvaez explained that while freshmen don’t get access to SCA’s equipment, she is looking forward to learning how to use it next semester.
“That’s why a lot of us want to pause physical production,” said Narvaez. “We’re going to miss a lot of what we are essentially paying for and getting hands-on learning from our professors because none of us know how to use it. It’s hard to teach something that has a lot of physical aspects to it.”
The petition also suggests that if the physical production track is not temporarily suspended, students should consider taking a leave of absence, which Navarez has already considered.
“I’m already trying to get as much financial aid as possible, and it would be a waste of scholarship money that I’ve worked for,” she said.
SCA Dean Elizabeth Daley does not believe that working online is as difficult as students make it out to be, noting how modern workflows have become more virtual.
“One of my rather famous alumnus pointed out that we have been mixing all of our films remotely for years,” said Daley. “This is how it works, this is what [we] do.”
Daley said she has already made her mind about next semester. She believes that the student’s best bet is to stay on track.
“We have absolutely no intention in the world of putting the production program on hold,” Daley said.
Daley said the school is going to take good care of the students regardless of the circumstances. She also thinks it’s the wrong choice to take a leave of absence.
The creator of the petition, Gerardo Garcia, said it is “unfair” of SCA not to even consider halting classes.
According to Garcia, in a response to the petition on Facebook, someone who Garcia believes to be a professor at SCA, commented “before you sign this I want you to think about all the professors and teachers [whose] jobs are being put at risk by taking a leave of absence.”
Garcia was not a big fan of what he said was an attempt to guilt-trip students. He said it should be the administration’s responsibility to support student’s choices and support professors in the outcomes of those decisions.
When questioned if Daley believed that it is the student’s responsibility to take into account how their actions affect professors, she had a different response.
“I don't know, let me ask you, ‘do you think as a community we are responsible for thinking about each other?’” she said.
She went on to reference what President Carol Folt and the senior administration’s plan is. Daley said they are not furloughing or letting any professors go if the school doesn’t have to.
Garcia said he would not attend classes in the fall if courses are online.
“I am not going to have my family and I spend money on tuition for an education I don’t see fit for the money I’m spending,” said Garcia.
Daley said she is focusing on students who are choosing to stay, but did say what would happen to those who took a leave of absence.
While Garcia said he and many other students don’t feel supported by SCA, Daley insisted that Garcia’s view is not the only side of the argument.
Daley said she has had many students ask not to put the program on hold. She said the students’ reasoning was the inability to afford a semester off, work plans and not wanting to put their lives on hold.
As of now, the university has not announced whether classes will be held online or not for the fall semester.
Clarification made April 23, 2020 9:34pm: A previous version of this story stated that in Julia Navarez’s class, students watch movies during lecture. The wording has been updated to reflect that these are student films.