COLUMN: U. must cultivate creativity

From Karen Pasternack's, "Effective Immediately," Fall '98 From Karen Pasternack's, "Effective Immediately," Fall '98In room seven at Edgewood School in Scarsdale, N.Y., my mother teaches an e-mailing, Elmo-loving generation of kids to develop their artistic abilities. The art room buzzes with the energy of two dozen 7-year-olds working attentively on self portraits. And as a 21-year-old in my second semester senior year of college, I am strangely in awe of these little creatures, scurrying about the room covered in paint and glitter and glue. Before college, art was an integral part of my education. After the weekly regiment of art ended in elementary school, middle school introduced shop, home economics and jewelry-making. Even my competitive public high school required us to take two fine arts classes. But once I entered the world of the University of Pennsylvania, creativity and academia found their way onto opposite sides of the fence. It seems that Penn's reputation as an academic institution is based on lengthy papers and science labs. Some would argue that I should have chosen a different school if I wanted a more creative class environment. But I'm fed up with this patronizing attitude toward creative media such as creative writing, art, theater and dance. Artistic expression is not something that should be left behind in childhood with one's Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe figures. It should be a necessary part of a person's development and growth. And the fact that it is so completely absent from the requirements of a well-rounded Ivy League education seems absurd. A friend of mine recently theorized that the University has to downplay the creative arts for its own survival. According to her logic, if Penn produces too many starving artists then nobody will make enough money to support the school. She also reasoned that parents consider artistic classes a waste of their tuition dollars. Somehow we've become captive to this black-and-white mentality that perpetuates a frivolous attitude toward creativity when it actually has an important place in the professional world. How many business propositions are acquired through a little creative thinking? Even major vaccines have been discovered because of creative hunches. And the ever-expanding World Wide Web would not be a success without the ingenuity of people who make it more than just assembled computer language. But how can we, as Penn students, forge our way into the millennium with the rest of the world when our curriculum doesn't challenge us to develop our creative sides? The University does have a strong graduate program in fine arts. But for undergraduates, the majority of course offerings are geared for people who are serious artists, not amateurs looking to experiment. For example, the introductory pottery course requires a 12-hour-per-week time commitment. And the small number of less intensive courses, such as Introduction to Art and Photography, all have waiting lists that make the line to get into Smoke's on Homecoming weekend look short. Yet no changes have been instituted to respond to the obvious demand for lower-level artistic classes. It's not as if there aren't any creatively inclined people at this school. Just look around at the amount of performing arts groups and student-run journals. The last few times I attended events at the Kelly Writers House, I've been struck by how many people eagerly respond to the artistic outlet, dropping by to read their poetry or listen to jazz. If there are so many creative souls roaming campus, why does the University not sanction a more creatively inclined courseload? The message seems to be: Artistic mediums are fine, but on your own time; class time is academic time which translates into pre-professional time. But we should be able to find a way of merging the two so they can influence each other. The University has left a major hole in its interdisciplinary Agenda for Excellence. And as the 21st century nears, we have some serious revamping to do. It's simply not acceptable for the University to ignore the creative sector. The boundaries of academia must be expanded to include a creative requirement. After all, this is supposedly a University of trend setters. How about it Judy -- a business suit with ballet slippers?