Why Fine and Performing Arts Matter
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Recently it was announced that The Trump Administration had finalized of The Department of Education earnings-accountability rule, which restricts federal student loans and Pell Grant eligibility because they “don’t pay off”: Cosmetology and Personal Grooming, Massage Therapy and Bodywork, Culinary Arts, Medical and Dental Assisting, Religious Studies, Social Work and Mental Health Counseling, Fine and Studio Arts, Music, Graphic Design, English Literature, and Early Childhood Development.
I’m going to be focusing on Music and Fine and Studio Arts. Students in the Hamilton School District are prompted with the decision between Choir and Concert Band once entering the intermediate school in 5th grade, then again in 6th grade. Most students in those two years find where they are most comfortable—where they have a voice. I joined the band class in 5th grade playing trumpet. That year I fell in love with the class and the instrument. Not only did I love the environment, but I absolutely adored the music. Being able to play an instrument is another way of expressing yourself to the world. I used to sit here and look at music with 8th notes and C’s and think to myself, “I can’t play this! Are they insane?!” Now that I look back on that, being in band taught me that even if I think I can’t do it, a little practice everyday goes a long way. Playing my trumpet in front of families of other students and holding pride in what I've learned is a feeling I can only describe as surreal.
As the years pass, I’ve suddenly found myself surrounded by so many great people who have all taught me lessons I’ll forever keep close. In Marching Band, I learned that there is a time and place for horsing around and having fun. In Jazz Band, I learned that solos are completely improvised and it doesn’t have to be perfect to sound nice as long as it goes with the flow. And in Concert Band, my Band Director taught me that we all have this hula-hoop around us, and what’s inside that hoop is what we can control and what effects us, and what's outside of the hoop is what we can’t control; we shouldn’t let what’s outside of the hoop effect what's inside the hoop and ourselves. Those lessons will forever stick with me. Band helped me find myself and who I am. Choir may have done the same to anyone else.
Fine and Studio Arts consists of drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, digital imaging, textiles, and installation art. All of these are just a few of the many things that people do and are able to express themselves in. It’s like a silent writing of who you are, or music that shows your growth into the person you are.
Starting in 2027, President Donald J. Trump is going to make it so students cannot receive loans for said courses. This takes away opportunities from the people who find genuine happiness and life in the things they do because simply they are denied the money and access. I feel anger, hurt, and sadness when I think about this, knowing that one day the dream I’ve had since I was a little girl is being taken away from me. I’m first chair trumpet in the lower band at Hamilton High School and I feel all students are interested in Fine and Performing Arts, from Photography to Theater, Theater to Synergy, Synergy to Concert Band,Concert Band to Choir—we all deserve a chance just like everyone else.
