MU Center for Arts and Humanities

I was excited to come across this story while reading the paper this morning. I was also a little dismayed, because I had not heard of this center before. I am very interested in the arts and humanities, though, so the article caught my eye. Before I knew quite what I was doing, I found myself on their website. It's a little meager right now, but according to the Missourian's article that's because the Center is only now becoming centralized. I was able to find out that the CAH isn't doing much. Last year, they sponsored only two activities. In 2003, they sponsored four. I don't know what these numbers really mean. Are the low numbers a reflection of a lack of money? Time? Interest? With Elaine Lawless as the new director, I hope that they become more prominent on campus and in the community. Arts and humanities are every bit as important as the sciences. Expression is our basic right as Americans, and an instinct as humans. Looking at the grants that the CAH gave out gave me more confidence in the Center. They brought some worthy speakers to campus, such as bell hooks and a Rwandan genocide survivor. They have also permitted professors to present papers and be visiting scholars in foreign countries. I hope that in the next year the CAH makes a name for itself and gets some of the publicity it surely deserves.