University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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:ademics ' According to many sources, the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College (SMBHC) is taking huge strides towards becoming one of the best programs of its kind in the nation. The SMBHC just reached its goal of i ,000 students in the fall of 10 1 2. We ' ve reached our maximum growth |jotential...so, from here on out, the quality of students will only improve, says sophomore honors senator Zack Newton. In 20 11 , the Reader ' s Digest ranked the SMBHC within the top three honors colleges in the nation. Another review ranked the Honors College at the No. 9 public program in the country and first in the impact the Honors College has on the culture of its associated university. 1 am honored and flabbergasted that we ' re top three in the nation • and also filled with a sense of urgency to honor that spot, says sophomore Honors College senator Sierra Mannie. We look al Ihc triumph of our students as our awards. QUOTE DOUGLASS SULLIVAN-GONZALEZ Dean Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez, lovingly referred to by honors students as DSG , says that the mission of the Honors College is to create a living, working environment where our students shoot to become citizen scholars, where they are fired by the life of the mind, that they have a real solid commitment to the public good, and a drive to find solutions. At the end of the day, DSG and the rest of the SMBHC staff don ' t worry too much about the numbers that Reader ' s Digest spits out each year. They care about the quality of education provided and the impact that education has on their students. We have an incredibly gifted faculty with the time and resources to help assist us with our goals. Mannie agrees. We look at the triumph of our students as our awards, says DSG. If a student gets into Harvard or MIT or Berkeley... .or they get into the med school of their choice.. .or they get the job they ' re competing for as engineers - that ' s basically how we pin awards on our chest. Not only does the SMBHC recognize accomplishments after graduation, but they support higher learning experiences throughout the student ' s tenure with trips and projects including freshman ventures, sophomore service, junior quest and the senior thesis project, along with opportunities for funds for more exploratory research and study abroad. One of the Honors College ' s biggest accomplishments in the last calendar year was implementing the World Cup Goal, which, Gonzalez says, has an aim of transforming ordinary courses into lived honors experiences looking towards the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. We ' ve got students involved in courses already that are examining the Cup from various angles - sociology, economics, history, anthropology, says Dean Gonzalez. annmo an Looking to the future, the Honors College is pi; expansion of their current building, Now that we have a great student base, giving us a facility to thrive in will be really exciting, says Newton. PHOTOS TAYLOR DAVENPORT STORY BRADLEY BOLEWARE 22

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Lx)ok past the white coats, briefcases, scrubs, three-piece suits and stern looks. A lawyer or doctor may not know the outcome of the case, but the protocol is still the same, Art is different. One may wake up with a concept, and completely change it mid-execution. To some this may seem like fun and games, but to a student working to- wards .1 Biichclor nf Fine Arts degree, it is more than thai. It is their golden ticket to their artistic future. Why do some choose to major in art? The easiest answer is that they are passionate about art, and nothing else. The BFA degree is different than a standard art degree. Senior painter Kate Freeman says, I can use this degree with many other jobs other than just an art teacher. Many retail jobs such as a visual manager require the employee to have a BFA degree. Unfortunately, it is not as cookie cutter as that. The art majors have to be skilled and come with a breath of fresh air. In other degrees, each student does the same thing: Study, study, study. An art degree is completely hands on and challenges for originality. Art is not just painting and drawing. Some BFA students pursue careers in other mediums. One medium, very different from the expectation, is imaging arts. This title includes forms such as photography and digital video. When I became very interested in the camera and im- ages in general. I decided to pursue a career in it. said imaging arts major Reeves Smith. It is incredibly time consuming. The finished product can take anywhere from a few days, to a few weeks and sometimes even months. Art takes time. Anyone can throw paint on a canvas, but to tell a story with it takes a little longer than that. It in- volves both undeniable passion and an incredible amount of dedication. Painting students spend a minimum of six hours painting every week. Needless to say. the classes needed to graduate with a BFA degree are not for stu- dents looking for an easy A. How does one get into the BFA program? The first step is to develop the passion and drive to pursue an art degree. Next you participate in a review where several art faculty members ask simple questions, and then one hard ques- tion in defense of your art. Freeman says, Tliey do this so artists don ' t stand up there and say ' Well, I mean I just like the color green ' or I mean I just think it ' s pretty ' . Lastly, you let out the breath you have been holding since the beginning and celebrate with wine, fhe hardest part is finally over. Then the hopefuls await the decision. If accepted into the program, the student takes a ton of art classes, plus the core classes. In the semester before students graduate, they go through pre-thesis, which can be quite nerve-wracking. You have to put up a collection of work in the Meek art gallery and stand before a group of faculty members and basically tell them how you are ready for thesis. They hound you with hard questions and you usually cry after it, Freeman says. Finally, students have viewing shows and eventually a thesis. They arc given two chances to pass. 1 hose who do not make it through pre-review have to stay an adtlitional semester. For most, the BFA program takes about five years to complete. Some students find themselves entering the program earlier and appreciating the benefits. The program is fun because it allows you to further develop your art. But also difficult at times because good art takes time to create and simply can not be rushed, Smith says. The program may be demanding, but ihe end rcult more than makes up for it. Ujmn graduation the students are able to call themselves artists, rather than just hoping to be one some day. Many of the students have even sold some of their art. The major is different than most others, however; it is not one that students choose just to make money after college. Those who choose this major are incredibly passionate and disciplined in their particular artistic interest, but they have fun loo. The reasons why I chose to go for the BFA in printmak- ingarc numerous but tosimjilify it: the way that the ink feels, the processes were fun, and worked well for my personal ex|)ressinn in my work. said senior Amy Piaskowski, So, if you are more interested in art than your current de- gree program, definitely consider switching to the BFA. The course load may be similar or more dilficull, depend- ing on your current major. But. as Freeman says, when you are an art student you get to sec heaps of naked boy models that you gel to draw. I mean, that ' s always fun. right? Freeman and Beeves seem to enjoy the program, maybe you will too! Who knows, in a few years, your art could be sitting right next to the Mona Lisa or perhaps your photography next to an Ansel Adams. PHOTOS ALEX EDWARDS STORY STEFF THOMAS 211

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