In a World Focused on Science and Sports
From the title of this editorial, you can probably guess what this is going to be about. If you guessed science and sports, you are partially correct. The past few days I have stared at my computer screen, trying to find something to write about for my editorial. I even started one that was talking about the early 2000’s show “Chuck” with Zachary Levi. But then I went to watch an Orchesis practice on Monday and got to thinking about how important the arts are and how art keeps getting pushed to the back burner of a lot of people’s minds. Do not get me wrong. Science is important for society because all of us most likely would not be here if it was not for modern medicine. Sports are a great way of exercising and just vegging out or just focusing on something simple for a while. But what is the first thing that loses funding in schools? Not the sciences. Lord forbid the sports lose funding here or there. It is the arts like music, dance, writing, graphic design and photography that lose funding.
This whole thing could come off as extremely biased since I am a writing and journalism major, I am a huge music fan, and I am the graphic designer for The Billboard, but I appreciate the amount of work science takes, and I enjoy watching a sporting event here and there. I am a huge ice hockey fan, so I tend to watch a lot of hockey throughout the fall and winter. But do many scientists or athletes ever sit back and look at how the arts impact the world around them? I know science majors who love to draw, but they never have the time to sit down and draw because of the amount of work they do. Athletes are either in class, doing homework, or at practices or games, and if they have jobs, they are at work as well. They are lucky to get any kind of break.
I guess what I am trying to say is, no one really sits back and realizes just how the arts effect their everyday lives. Those posters on your wall? A photographer and graphic designer took hours, probably days, making sure it was just right. That logo on your favorite clothing brands? A graphic designer took days and countless rough sketches till the companies were pleased. Your favorite books? Your favorite author went through many, many editing and revising stages and probably got denied a few times before they got where they wanted to be. All your favorite musicians and artists? They spend hours in the recording studio making sure everything is perfect. They complete full albums just to change their minds about it and start all over.
Art is all around you whether you realize it or not. Science may be important for modern medicine, and progressing in life, and sports might play a huge role in many people’s lives, but the arts are just as important.