Meet Dahlia, a Junior advocating for photography at Emory. Check out below to hear more about her passion for photography and how you can help the Visual Arts department at Emory!
Name: Dahlia Dreszer
Year: Junior
Hometown: Panama City, Panama
Major: Media Studies with a concentration in Film and Media Management
Tameka: What sparked your interest in photography? How has it influenced you?
Dahlia: Growing up I was always surrounded by cameras given that my two grandmothers are photographers. I began taking pictures from a young age and as I got older started pursuing photography at a professional level. I have done photography work for Cartoon Network as well as several freelance commissions and am currently selling my art on dahliadreszer.com.
T: Can you tell us a bit about your petition?
D: In 2014, the Emory College administration eliminated its Visual Arts department as part of a broader set of cuts to liberal arts departments and programs. The curriculum in photography was one of the casualties of the cuts. Before the cuts, photography was the largest area of the Visual Arts Department. For many years, that department offered 9-10 courses per year in the practice and study of photography, bringing students from beginning through advanced levels, including many senior theses. Currently, there are four courses per year offered through the Film and Media Studies department. The photography facility has fallen into disrepair, and no classroom exists at Emory in which students can learn photography using digital technology. Still, the remaining courses are in heavy demand, with long waiting lists every semester.
The petition’s purpose is to collect student signatures to present to the administration demonstrating students interest in order to bring back a curriculum in photography. Here is a link to the petition: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bring-back-photography-to-emory
T: What else can students to do get involved with the cause?
D: Besides signing the petition students can also leave comments explaining the value of photography to their education or directly sending a letter to Photography Professor, Jason Francisco at jlfrancisco@earthlink.net
Please consider signing the petition to help students at Emory achieve their goals and have access to more opportunities within the Art community at Emory!