Collegian Staff Photo

The arts have a pretty long history of getting gypped.

For those of us who major in something artsy, it’s difficult to convince either our parents or those who are a part of our parents’ generation that majoring in art/music/theater/dance (take your pick) is a good idea.

Budget cuts in our public education system have primarily affected the kids who either play instruments, paint or do something that isn’t exactly covered in your typical standardized test. Even for me, a journalism major, trying to win over my parent’s friends who raise their eyebrows after I say, “Oh, yeah, I want to be a writer,” is a Herculean feat.

But here at Fresno State, thankfully, we like our artsy people.

Our new $1 million donation to the College of Arts and Humanities has proven that, contrary to popular opinion, the arts can triumph over the skeptical masses who think that an engineering degree is the only way you can make it in this world (no hard feelings, engineering friends).

When President Welty announced the endowment last week, ideas abounded for what the new Center for Creativity and the Arts (CCA) could accomplish.

This year’s focus is labor, immigration and migration, which lends itself to several ideas: Original music compositions honoring the culture of those who have immigrated here; lectures which inform the public of issues interconnected by the arts; and…well, whatever else you can think of. After all, creativity is in the center’s title: Use Your Imagination.

The new Creative Center, made possible by this grant, is an institution that will help our student artists establish themselves in their field and continues this university’s vision of becoming a 21st century university.

The days of the baby-boomer generation’s image of the poor, incompetent art major are over. It’s time that the idea of the “starving artist” comes to an end because, frankly, it’s old. And new centers, like the CCA, prove that there is a place for the arts””on and off campus.