By Brigette Carreiro

The digital photography class, currently the only photography course held at the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University, has been canceled indefinitely as of this coming spring semester, according to Professor Ken Martin. This cancellation of the class follows the recent discontinuation of the illustration major at NESAD.

According to Martin, photojournalism courses from the communication and journalism department in the College of Arts and Sciences will still be held next semester, as they are completely separate from NESAD, and a different course from digital photography.

Martin, who has been teaching the canceled NESAD class as well as the CJN courses, said that the canceled course had been an all-year class until two years ago, when it was just offered for the spring semester. Martin has recently been informed by NESAD’s program director, Laura Golly, that the class will not be available for registration this upcoming spring.

“This year I started hearing from students that they couldn’t sign up for the class, and that was a shock,” he said. “I started writing to NESAD and got a letter back saying that the class was canceled.”

Suffolk Spokesman Greg Gatlin said, “Cancelling individual courses based on student curricular needs and demand happens every semester of every year, and that has always been true.  However, no majors other than illustration have been recently closed.”

While current students can complete their major, the administration said they have canceled it for future students because of current and projected low enrollment.

In a recent interview with the Journal, President Smith said programs with low enrollment are being looked at critically, and more programs will be cut from the university.

Some students and professors are taken aback with the digital photography class cancellation and said they believe it is ultimately a hindrance to students. Though she does not major in any NESAD programs, junior Jacey Bullems has taken electives from NESAD and thinks that the cancellation of their photography class “stops anyone from exploring what they actually want to do with their life.”

Bullems is currently taking photojournalism in the CJN department and said that she would have liked to pursue photography more with the NESAD class.

“I would have taken the class earlier had I known it was going to be canceled,” she said.

Martin feels that students greatly benefit from taking courses in photography.

“I’m just feeling bad that this opportunity to learn professional photography is not there this year,” he said. “It means students won’t get the skills they need, at least for a photography aspect of art and design.”

Martin said the photography class presented a way for students to get out into the field.

“Students get to learn from people who aren’t only academics. We’re all active in our fields,” he said. “We can be very helpful to students, especially in finding jobs and making connections.”

Bullems described how she thinks NESAD will falter without photography.

“Without photography, the program is not well-rounded whatsoever,” she said. “How are you going to describe and define art without photography?”

NESAD has been going through major changes recently with the discontinuation of the illustration program. Junior Nika Patterson, an illustration major, explained her concern about the cuts.

“It kind of feels like going back to public school, where it’s always the art programs being cut first,” she said. “I don’t agree with it because I don’t think a lot of people realize how important art is.”

Representing NESAD throughout the entirety of Suffolk University is an issue that some students said could be improved.

“A lot of students on campus don’t know about us,” said Patterson. “They don’t know we have an art program at all, which is concerning.”

Bullems said that because of the CJN photojournalism courses, photography was a way to link NESAD with the rest of the university.

“Photography is one of the niches that brings the schools together, and now they’re getting rid of it,” she said.

Patterson feels that a lot more could be done to represent NESAD among the rest of the university, and believes more effort is needed.

“You can say all day that you want NESAD to be integrated, but unless you take steps, that won’t happen,” she said.

Some ideas Patterson suggested to increase the awareness of NESAD among Suffolk students included displaying more student artwork throughout CAS and Sawyer Business School buildings and planning more events at NESAD.

“Hosting some kind of event at NESAD would be really cool,” she said.

Patterson believes that photography could be combined with other NESAD programs and expressed students’ desires to keep it around. “A lot of other students have wanted a photography program. It’d be awesome if we had one,” she said.