How University of the Arts kids find their home in Temple
The arts community has suffered a major loss in the educational field with the closure of University of the Arts on May 31, 2024. Due to this, current and prospective students have been displaced.
Fletcher Rabin, a junior theater, film & media arts major, reflects on the day they got the news of the sudden closure–they had just been given production assignments for their next show. This news first brought great joy to Rabin because he would be able to be a stage manager for the next show that UArts was going to put on in the fall semester. Rabin was filled with excitement for the start of something new in the next chapter of their college life. However, this excitement was short-lived as their friends told them about the reports of UArts closing.
“It was a shock because I heard the news from friends, not from staff,” Rabin said. “The deans had literally been told 10 minutes before the email was sent out.”
This dramatically changed the trajectory of what Rabin was expecting for their future. They then thought, like many other students, that they would need to take a gap year due to different schools already having closed applications for the following year. Jillian Sander, a senior theater and film and media arts major, had this same experience with the loss of her home of three years.
“It’s very hard to find the motivation not being at UArts with my professors and classmates,” Sander said.
The closure had a big mental impact on Sander due to the close bonds that she was able to build at UArts. However, Temple was able to allow 350+ students, including Rabin and Sander, to be able to continue their education.
Sander is sorrowful about the process, still mourning the loss of her school and finding it hard to connect with the community due to the sadness that she carries. She remarked that it is difficult to push herself due to the sudden change and having little time to join the community. Sander still fears that she will fall behind because of the mental barrier from the sudden change she has experienced.
On the other hand, Rabin has been able to adapt to Temple easier. They are very grateful for the support from the film & media arts department that is allowing them and others to reach their academic goals and graduate on time–this is a big fear due to transferring credits to what Temple has in their course requirements. Even with many barriers, he is hopeful for the future while staying on track to graduate.
“Temple understands that we had goals that we wanted to accomplish while at UArts, and there are many professors who want us to complete our dreams,” Rabin said.
Both of these students have been greatly impacted by the closure of UArts. Even though they have faced hardships while finding their place in the college routine at Temple, there is great hope for the future for these students through the different resources that Temple can offer such as clubs, shows, and much more. Hopefully, all of these displaced students will continue to thrive and use the opportunities that Temple Owls access throughout the rest of their academic career.
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