Granada High School is an athletics-focused school. The sports program gets more funding than the art program and because of this Granada students have a brand new sports facility (including a new pool), they get good equipment, and there’s even been the introduction of a new sport called girl’s flag football. These are all positive changes and while most students at this school play sports, there’s also an entire arts program with many students that feel like they’re being left behind. To deal with underfunding, art classes are being combined or cut altogether and the arts facilities are not in the best condition. Students focused on the arts are frustrated with how much sports are prioritized over arts programs.
“The art program at Granada has struggled quite a bit in the past few years,” says Sara Willey, a junior who takes art and is part of the music program. “Most art teachers have to ask students to pay a donation or pay with their own money out of pocket to keep their programs, such as music, theatre, and art classes alive. I definitely don’t think it’s fair for sports programs to be funded more because arts are just as important as athletics…I believe many have failed to see this and think that Granada students are only interested in athletics.”
The music program has also been struggling to make ends meet. Sophie Yuan (11), captain of the drumline in the band feels that some of the spending on sports equipment is just unnecessary, especially when compared to the condition of the instruments in band. “P.E. gets compound bows for archery, sports are able to provide new shirts and merchandise to their athletes, and new equipment for them seems to be flowing in every year. We have an impressive range of sports that students can participate in, especially in track and field,” she explains, “However, how much money is required for the upkeep of these sports? Is it truly worth it considering the number of students who participate in them? How does this compare to the hundreds of students who take class in the arts program?”
There is an argument to be made that there are just more Granada students participating in sports than in art, but there are actually many students who have a passion for art who don’t participate in the art program at Granada.
Theatre student April Clark (12) says, “While we can argue that our theatre and arts department are less of an interest to students than sports, this is only a result of underfunding. Those who have options outside of school take them over a theatre that has an outdated light and sound system that don’t even work half the time.”
Students would much rather spend their time in outside art programs that have better opportunities and better facilities. An increase in funding would improve the quality of the art program and encourage students to participate in it, improving the experience at Granada.
The arts, music, and theatre programs have had to deal with being second to athletics for the longest time. Art is equally as important as sports and there are hundreds of students who deserve a better art program than what they have right now. The only reason why it’s “less popular” is because the program isn’t funded enough to make it a good quality program that students will want to join. Kids who like art but don’t think the art program is good go to better quality art programs outside of school and the art program at Granada loses out on students. The solution to this is to figure out how to get more money in the art program and if that means taking away some of the funding for athletics, then so be it.
Art plays an important role in society in allowing people to express how it feels to live in society. It’s a way to preserve life for historians to look back on and study and it can be used to create social change. It’s time that art be given the recognition it deserves.
