Recently there was a reading and reception from the Student Literary Arts Magazine, or SLAM. This year it was completely funded by student life from both Pierce College campuses. This shows an apparent appreciation for the arts and artists by the heads of these groups, but the same is not said for elementary schools all the way through high schools. Budget cuts are a constant source of debate amongst taxpayers and parents. Art, however, has been proven to be therapeutic .

Artistic expression has long been revered as almost necessary to life and to living fully, schools like SOTA of School of the Arts in Tacoma are focused on refining the artistic talents of their students and to be more well-rounded individuals. True artistry comes from being given the ability to express one’s self as freely as they need, this cannot be done if the programs needed are simply not there.

In children there is an inherent need to express what they see in any form they can but to squander their creativity is

Rather than debating what should be cut, the debate seems to be focused on what should not be cut. Even band classes help students perform better academically because learning music is like learning another language. The overall benefits of art classes far outweigh the cost.