Florida State University - Renegade / Tally Ho Yearbook (Tallahassee, FL)

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a YOU GOTTA HAVE ART A STRUGGLE TO BRING ART TO TALLAHASSEE The stars, a blazing yellow, the sky, a thick midnight blue, the city below surrounded by dark evergreens and a black night. This painting, A Stary Night, by Vincent VanGogh is an example of what many students thought of when they thought of art. Or maybe they thought of the University ' s fine arts center and its plays and musicals presented by students, or even the small student art gallery at the center, but many were shocked to hear of a new fine arts and cultural center to be built in Tallahassee. While many considered the new s positive, others viewed the center a waste of good time and money. The proposed arts and cultural center was the idea of concerned citizens interested in bringing the arts and art education to the community. The proposed center would be located in downtown Tallahassee near the Leon County Civic Center and would include three galleries lor art exhibition including spaces for touring shows, galleries with educational exhibitions and a sculpture court. There would be an interactive media gallery with the latest in computer and laser technology so students would have hands-on experiences w ith art education. Proponents such as Susan Saldino, Director of the Museum of Art Tallahassee, cited improvements in cultural development, economic growth, social interaction and an improved image of the city of Tallahassee as reasons for the center ' s development. The most important thing the Museum of Art Tallahassee has tried to bring to our city is an exhibit of fine art never before seen here and an innovative art education program for children and adults Baldino said. The You Gotta Have Art campaign by the cultural center was used to help raise awareness of the facilities and to get people to vote on the referendum for the project. The H.E.A.R.T. campaign cited three benefits that the center ' s existence would bring about. Elducation was a prime objective of the facilities along with the economic benefits for the city and it ' s residents. The referendum was voted on Feb. 23 to decide whether the museum and fine arts center would receive city funds to help finance the project. It was estimated that 35 percent of the funding for the museum and 50 percent of the funding for the fine arts center w ould come from the city. While Tallahassee was asked to give financial aid, other revenue sources provided more than half of the money needed. Sources such as state and federal grants and corporate and private donations were a part ot the contributions. The referendum was voted down by citizens. Some cited the supposed effect on their utility bills as a reason for the failure. They felt that their bills would be increased in order to finance the center, while, in truth, the money for the museum and cultural center would have come from the city ' s General Fund, hence, the facility ' s funding w ould come from money given to the city by citizens for different projects, which, included the fine arts complex. Voting for the museum would not have increased the customers bill, nor would it decrease the bill if the customer voted against the museum. Proponents cite this misunderstanding as one of the major reasons for the failure of the referendum. It is frustrating to see all of the hard work that goes into bringing the museum to life torn apart by a misunderstanding Heather Schroeder, a volunteer student, said. Although there vas oppostion towards the center ' s development, many citizens felt strongly about continuing the push for the building of the facilities. The search for funding continued and it was proposed by the mayor, Dorothy Inman-Crews, that a referendum for the center be put on the ballot in February of 1994. She plans to start a petition drive which would show public interest in the project. The cultural center faced opposition, yet continued w ith the support of many in the community, to bring arts and art education to Tallahassee. A ,f -% BY KRISTIN HUCKABAY 26 Student Life

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S TRESSIN G kJ the point V« 7:49 A.M. You rolled over and glared at your alarm clock. You had an 8 a.m. class in the Diffenbaugh Building which was 20 minutes away. You grabbed a hat, brushed your teeth and rushed away on your bike only to find yourself locked out of the classroom becauseyou were late. You had to meet with your professor but he did not return any of your 12 messages. Your advisor did call, however, something about a grad check. You hadn ' t bought groceries in four days, unlessyou counted spaghetti noodles and Froot Loops, and your electricity would have been turned off Wednesday ifyou had not rolled change to pay the bill. To top it off, you had three finals Friday and you worked until closing every night this week. And this was just Monday. Many students were excited to finally be on their own, oblivious to all of the responsibilities that came along with being a college student. Finally, their own apartment, their own life, their own set of rules. Class? What? Only 12 hours aAveek? I went to high school seven hours a day, five days a week. This should be a breeze, right? Wrong. Nationwide, campus psychologists said they were seeing a generation sick with anxiety. Dr. Robert Gallagher of the University of Pittsburgh ran an annual survey of college counseling service directors. He reported that the number of students who were coming into counseling centers with severe psychological problems increased by 31 percent since 1988. Students are coming in more stressed, with more serious concerns, Gallagher said. Students often found themselves overwhelmed with the responsibilities that accompanied adulthood. That growing up equals stress was soon found to be as universally understood as one plus one equals two. How ever, it was up to the individual student to find creative ways to deal with this stress and alleviate the problem as much as possible. I like to w atch football because I can yell and scream and get out all of my frustrations, Kerry Gordon, a junior in international affairs, said. I like to mdulge myself A ' hen I ' m stressed. It ' s nice to plop in front of the television with some homemade cookies or go buy myself a new outfit, junior Melanie Leaman said. Although being involved in the many campus organizations often proved to be more stressful than stress relieving, there were certain exceptions to this rule. When I feel like I ' m starting to stress, I find that doing banners with Garnet and Gold Girls on Wednesday nights helps. It relaxes my mind and it ' s so nice to not have to do anything right or give the right answers. It ' s okay ifyou go out of the lines, chemical engineering major Stephanie Pullmgs said. Many students lound themselves depending on personal employment in order to make ends meet each month. This, coupled with the usual stress of school, could truly weigh a person down. According to Elizabeth Nuss, executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, public university students across the country were working more, having a harder time getting into classes, taking longer to graduate and, in some cases, leaving school. Being a senior, I have all of this added pressure to decide what I ' m going to do with the rest of my life. My job, telemarketing, tends to put a strain on my time more than anything else. It not only limits me in the time that I have to study but also in the time I have for myself, speech pathology major Gina Drago said. When stressed, one should always keep things in perspective and not overreact to the situation, junior Will Lesnick said. After all, 10 years from now, will it really matter that you bombed your first calculus test or that your VISA bill was occasionally late? Probably not. BY NANCY FLOYD Stress 25

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9t 1 Leon County Cwic Center 2 VuHia Artj Center (Miuieuni) 3 Fine Art.i Center (Theatre) 4 F oruh State Conference Center R lans for the Museum and fine arts center show where the complex w ould be in relation to the Leon County Civic Center. The arts center would include three galleries for art exhibition including spaces for touring shows, galleries with educational exhibitions, a sculpture court and the fine arts theatre. Plan i courte ty of the A iuienm of Art TallahuMee. Museum 27