A proud holder of a useless degree responds to Top Ten list

This archived article was written by: Dr. Corey A. Ewan

Dear editor,
Thank you for the oversimplification of what I and many of my colleagues do. If I had spoken to you before working on my useless degree I could have worked anywhere else and been rolling in the dough, as a teacher though I haven’t really seen the dough rolling anywhere. I am assured by Fox News that I live a lavish lifestyle as a teacher, but teaching the arts in Utah is like backing a democrat for governor of Utah. It may be noble expression of a two-party system, but in the end why bother. You and Senator Howard Stephenson should become Facebook pals, your views are right on the money. There’s that word! As to the ease of acting, try it! Let’s see how easy it really is for you. You talk about, “MMA fighters and professional athletes” and commenting that they are “pretty good.” I would argue that it has less to do with their acting “talent” and more to do with a brilliant film editor. But, perhaps I am oversimplifying. The work I have seen my students go through is anything but easy. The work of my friends who are professionals in the industry is not easy. It is work by any definition.
I will agree that in a world obsessed with making money, or “rolling in the dough” that a theatre degree would seem silly. Many of us didn’t go into theatre to get rich though; we did it for the love of beauty and the ability to teach ideas and feelings through a different medium. Theatre can uplift, like an athletic event, can excite, like an athletic event, is dramatic, like an athletic event and can have as much beauty and artistry as a well-executed play on the field or the court. Athletes are more like artists than many would think. But we don’t see articles clamoring to eliminate athletic degrees.
Your article may have been written for humor’s sake and I have just ranted like a theatre major causing you to laugh and pat yourself on the back for getting such a funny response. The reality here is that in this current economic climate we are on the economic chopping block and the Arts are always the first in line for the slaughterhouse. Your words may prove more prophetic in the coming months than you may not now guess. Off-hand comments made for the sake of entertainment as yours were may fuel the fire economic cleansing or restructuring. Who knows where journalism may be July 1st, 2012 and then what will you do with your journalism degree.
Yours very sincerely, Dr. Corey A. Ewan proud holder of a useless degree since 1999