Editor:
As a freshman journalism major, I cannot even begin to express my disbelief and disgust with Provost Sypherd's recommendation to close the journalism department.
The journalism program at the UA is one of only 96 accredited such programs in the country. It is ranked in the top 15 departments in the country. About 78 percent of its graduates find jobs after graduation. And for the past two years, at least, freshmen enrollment in the department has gone up each year.
So a committee decides to cut the journalism department. Why? Simply put, the department does not contribute enough to the university as a whole. That is an inaccurate statement. Look at the program's strengths in comparison with others on campus. I feel that the department's statistics speak for themselves. How many other departments on campus were recently re-accredited with high praise?
I am from California, and a major part of my decision to attend the University of Arizona was the fact that the journalism program was ranked so highly. I am sure that this was a factor for other students as well.
Graduation in the journalism department has been guaranteed for those students now in their sophomore year. I was admitted to the UA with a declared major long before this recommendation was ever made by the committee, and I feel that I and other first-year students should also be guaranteed the right to graduate from the university of our choice. We should not be forced to transfer, or to rush and fill all the journalism requirements before classes are cut.
The administration members involved in this decision have not taken a clear and defined look at the journalism department, and I, for one, feel cheated. I want to graduate with a diploma saying "journalism," and I want everybody to know what an integral part journalism plays in both society and the university.
I urge all involved in finalizing this recommendation to reconsider the impact the cut will have.
Michelle Julia Jones
Journalism Freshman