by Paul Shoebridge and Jeff Griffiths | suppose the role of an editor is one that carries with it many experiences that can’t be had elsewhere. For instance, where else can you receive letters that accuse your morals of failing human- ity? Who, other than an editor must repeatedly accuse their friends of sexist, immoral thoughts? Where else must one be obligated to don the hat of moral guardian? Where else, indeed, but within the conscience of a newspaper. a ee pe ee, DATE: November 27, 1991 TO: Paul Shoebridge Editor, Planet of the Arts FROM: Ken Hughes, Associate Dean of Design | RE: Planet of the Arts oo eee Our first letter to the editor came after the November issue. Ken Hughes, Associate Dean of Design, was writing in response to Irwin Oostindie’s Guest-Editorial, which he felt was anti-graphic design. My first reaction was one of defiance, that the Planet could no wrong, and was, indeed, a bastion of superior ideals. Our friendly neighborhood faculty advisor quickly changed my tune by wagging his knowledgeable finger at our ignorance. My stubborn pride faded into a jaded innocence. After | sorted through my feelings, re-read all the correspond- ence, matched it to the Guest Editorial, | felt a little better. | decided several things: i> i F )_ 8-3-2 Editorial on Editorials AO? Za = NWVO6 @N AWN pour — iN + 1. Inwin’s opinions obviously hit asore spot. In fact, there is a larger issue that this dialogue has barely yet touched upon, the so-called “Design vs. Fine Arts” polarization of the school’s community. The shadowed past of the Planet reveals a very telling incident that contributed to this attitude; at one point, several members of the design department volunteered to work on the paper, yet were turned away because they were not “real artists”. 2. As it stands, the college does not function as a real community, but more as several independent feifdoms, with little dialogue between these. There are several possible reasons for this, the ' most obvious being the fact that the Painting and Design depart- | ments are separate both from each other, and the main campus. | |finditvery ironic that this latest standoff has arisen from the plans to ‘reunify’ the college. Also, there is the introduction and growth in recent years of an Electronic Industrial Design program. Now, beyond the fact that such a program adds to the diversity of programs available at Emily Carr, and the diversity of students attending the college, many saw it as the beginning of a process through which the school would become more “design-oriented”, as opposed to being a strictly fine-arts school. Many also saw such a school to be a ‘bad thing’. 3, People come here to paint, learn design techniques, learn print- making skills, or sculpt, or learn to make films, or take photo- graphs, all the way down to that nook by the top of the stairs where "guest" map of the month Editor Paul Shoebridge Art Director Mohammad H. Salemy Editorial Assistant Jeff Griffiths Poetry Editor Andrew Robulack Proofreading Jeff Griffiths Typesetting Catherine Silva Paste-Up and Layout Catherine Silva, Alison Abell Photographer John Lam by Jeff Griffiths o.. La —- © . hae - Cy ed aes 1@ comets & they make cartoons by hand. If Blind Lady Justice were to weigh “fine arts” against the Design department, she'd tip over from the weight of all those installations and paintings, and the rest of it. Yet the design department is the focus of blame because it, above all other departments in the school, is growing. Can the rest of the school scorn and alienate these programs merely because they are popular? Quite the opposite, we should encourage any growth to ourcollege community. Ifthe Provincial Gov't offers funding for Electronic Industrial Design, then wouldn't we rather the Emily Carr College of Art and Design have it, rather than anyone else? However, | do feel that different departments within the school should be treated equally, fairly, and according to their needs in respect to funding. One of the special things about this school is the diversity of programs offered. We, as a community should encourage this diversity. An editor's responsibility lies beneath a banner of equality. A newspaper's purpose is to provide a forum for the views of the community it serves. Neither of these can take sides when there is conflict between the members of the community. | believe now that we did this in printing Irwin's opinions as a Guest Editorial, as opposed to an Opinion. In this issue we will be printing Irwin's response as an opinion. The newspaper welcomes Mr. Hughes to air his views re: Irwin's response. Our dedication is towards dialogue, not antagonism. We hope that everyone can consider these points over Christmas and begin the New Year with a fresh start.* Listings compiled by Leah F. Georgia Contributors M.H. Salemy, Andrew Robulack, Spiritual Bunnies, Jeff Griffiths, Irwin Oostindie Cover Design courtesy of: Jeff Griffiths, armed with scissors, gluc liquid paper, and morality. Faculty Advisor John Wertschek Special thanks to: Facilities, for putting up with our numerous requests for keys and our too-loud music. Corrections, Apologies- The name John Wertschek was accidentally inserted where we should have used JCW. The Planet of the Arts is a student run publication from the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, funded by the Student Union. We welcome unsolicited contributions, provided they include the contributor's real name. Articles must be typewritten and double spaced. We reserve the right to edit submissions to increase clarity and to eliminate racism, sexism and homophobia. Photos and drawings should be black and white. Submissions can be dropped off at our office (room 242), or in our mailbox at the front desk. Planet of the Arts C/O ECCAD 1399 Johnston Street Vancouver, B.C V6H 3R9 844-3861 by Pal Shebridge and Jet Grits | suppose the role of an editor is one that caries with it many ‘experiences thatcantbe had elsewhere Forinstance, where else ‘can ou recive eters that accuse your moral of fang human iy? Who, othertan anesitormustrepeatedyaceusetheirfiends of ses immoral thoughts? Where else must one be obligated to don the hatof mora guardian? Where else, ndeed but within the conscience ofa newspaper. | 7 Bator, Planet of the arts |, ron fan men, naosiate teen of unton |} mes muanet of sne-arte ( AW ‘Ourfist eter tothe edtorcame ater the November sve. Ken Hughes, Associate Dean of Design, was writing in response to Inwin Oostingie's Guest Eitral, which he felt was ant-graphic