Sculpture Courses to Be Discontinued

University administrators announced yesterday that the sculpture program, a division of the art department, will be eliminated. "The main reason is a lack of student interest," reported one administrator. "Although the number of art students has increased, fewer and fewer art majors are taking sculpture classes." Furthermore, the department's only sculpture professor is retiring this year. "Given the art department's limited budget," the administrator explained, "it just doesn't make sense to hire a new full-time professor to teach sculpture for only a handful of students."

Now listen to two students discussing the article.

-Everything all right?
-Yeah, I’m just upset about that article I showed you this morning.
-Why? What's the big deal?
-Well, as an art major, I think it's a big loss for the department. The university’s got it all wrong.
-What do you mean?
-Well, the low enrollment isn't because art majors don't want to take these classes. Problem is who has time to take them when there are so many other requirements.
-I don't understand.
-See, the classes they are eliminating are all optional. The required courses are mostly painting and drawing and they take up all our time. What we really need are different requirements. Then art majors could take a better variety of classes, all the things we are interested in.
-That makes sense. But the thing about the professor…
-Well, that's true. But still, they are being drastic. If money is the problem, they could hire a part-time professor, or most of the professors in the department have secondary fields.
-Really?
-Yeah, at least a few painting teachers are also great sculptors. I’m sure one of them could teach a class.