Last month, the USC School of Cinematic Arts fired internship coordinator, Joe Brukner, a paid worker and student helper.
In response to the student reaction, the SCA released a statement on April 1st, confirming Brukner’s firing, and the reasons for this unexpected change.
“Joe Brukner’s position was established on a one year-fixed term basis to serve as a point person for students to assist with the process of finding and securing internships during the pandemic as students navigated the unfamiliar world of remote internships.’’
Brukner’s sudden departure has upset many students of the program, who feel they are losing a valuable career building source. As a result, SCA students, Cami Smith-Dahl, Gabrielle Diaz, and Heidi Atlas, started a Change.org petition to protest this administrative decision. The petition, which has now garnered 730 signatures, has circulated across social media and student connection databases.
“This means that Joe Brukner, the main force behind the internship office will no longer be at the school starting April 1st, as the position is being eliminated entirely”, the petition states at its opening.
The petition also lists the several responsibilities Brukner was responsible for. His duties include communicating regularly with studios and agencies, updating and maintaining the “Internship Opportunities” document, and planning/ executing speaker events and tutorials, which will now fall onto remaining student workers.
These responsibilities would transfer over to sophomore production student, Smith-Dahl, who worries about the added pressure: “I don’t think that I would be able to handle everything that Joe does…it would be way, way above my paygrade.”
“We urge the SCA administration to reconsider their decision and renew Joe Brukner’s contract as soon as possible.”, Diaz, Smith-Dahl, and Atlas write as the goal of their petition.
For many students, the loss of this professional resource is worrisome, especially considering the competitive nature of the job market in entertainment.
“He has contacts with studios that a lot of people don’t have,” Isabelle Leonard, a sophomore in film and television production, notes. In the film industry, having access to connections like these is crucial.
For Smith-Dahl, this service was especially helpful for historically disadvantaged students like her, so the blow is worse. “These internship opportunities are crucial for black people, POC, for anyone who doesn’t fit into that mold. For them to take away this crucial part of this process for us…they are taking away one of our biggest avenues for us to get into this industry,” she said.
Besides the loss of a valuable resource, students are frustrated at the administration’s lack of communication with SCA students about the firing of Brukner.
According to Smith-Dahl, “The school actually didn’t inform me at all, which is worrying since I’m a student worker and I work right under him. He had to be the one to reach out to me and tell me what’s happening.”
Similarly, Leonard claims she learned of Brukner’s departure through an online site. “A parent in the SCA group sent a message like ‘my daughter just told me that the internship coordinator was being removed–is this true’...someone whose mom wrote this sent it to our 2024 SCA group chat.”
“Anyone who wants and needs advice and assistance with internship applications can receive it through our office,” assistant Dean, Bonni Chi, assured students.
Regardless, the future of the internship coordinator position remains unclear, and the School of Cinematic Arts has not addressed the reasons for the removal of Brukner’s contract after his renewal since his position began in 2020.