Students on campus have different views on the statewide mandated furlough days — some may view them as an extra day off to hit the beach, but Maximillian Piras, junior art major, sees them as the beast that sleeps in every crack of the university and that with each subtraction of a day of instruction, furloughs slowly suffocate the campus.
In his poem, “To the Governor and his Follies,” Maximillian Piras writes, “Sitting here in crumbling classrooms with professors in peril. Lecturers bleeding insanity and yelling out with irking madness.” He expresses a personal anger toward the destruction of his education and the mismanagement of state funds through his writing.
Piras is one of the Cal State Long Beach students taking part in the “Furlough Show” exhibit that debuted in the Werby Gallery on campus Sunday evening. There was a slight buzz around the doors of the gallery as viewers of “Furlough Show” discussed the content of the artwork on the walls to the artwork that spills onto the floor.
CSULB students are using art to loudly express their feelings of frustration with the California State University system and the mandated furlough days that have been causing uproar statewide.
The voice of CSULB can literally be heard upon walking into the gallery. A television in the corner of the room plays looped footage from a protest that took place earlier in the semester, showing CSULB students bearing signs, chanting and marching through campus.
The show itself is a living protest that successfully depicts the sense of anger and resentment toward the government budget cuts that have drastically affected the educational system in California. Specifically, it focuses on the furlough days leaving students with less education for increased fees.
The students in the exhibit display a variety of mediums with varying tones; from satire, anger, protest to desperation — all successfully adding to the cohesive message of disappointment and disapproval of the deterioration of the CSU system. The show includes photography, paintings, sculpture, multimedia and poetry.
“Furlough Show” opened its doors on Sunday night and already has multiple pages of petition forms filled with student signatures regarding the budget cuts. The art show is calling students to act and to help shine a light of resistance to the changes that are taking place in the CSU system.
The exhibits will run through Thursday at 5 p.m., with the exception of Wednesday when the galleries will be closed for the campuswide furlough day.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for comments made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for comments made on this Web site. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech.
