By Meredith Howard | Staff Writer
Students in the College of Arts and Sciences will now be required to attend 12 Cultural Event Experiences (CEEs) in categories like theater and art in order to graduate as part of a change in the core curriculum.
The goal of these events is to “expose students to a wide variety of fine arts and cultural events on the Baylor campus and with Baylor-sponsored programs,” according to Baylor’s 2019 Arts and Sciences core curriculum.
This initiative is part of an entirely restructured core for Arts and Sciences students. They are still required to take at least one fine arts course, but the core load is meant to be lighter. The new curriculum will be applied to freshmen and transfer students entering Baylor in the fall of 2019 and later.
According to Carrolle Kamperman, associate dean for undergraduate studies, students can receive credit for four events per year. Kamperman said transfer students with 30 credits will have to attend 10 events and students with 60 hours will attend six events.
Students must go to two events in the areas of art, music, theater, film and literature/world cultures. The remaining two events can be in any category.
Kamperman said that this requirement will be valuable for the personal development of Arts and Sciences students.
“Artistic expression in any form communicates something about the human experience—when we experience art, we make a connection with other humans based on this shared experience. It is through this kind of emotional connection that we learn empathy for others,” Kamperman said.
Steven Pounders, a chair for the committee that is implementing the CEE program, said that through the requirement, “students will encounter a wide variety of fine arts events sponsored by Baylor, grow and mature in the reception, interpretation and appreciation of the arts throughout multiple semesters at Baylor and develop cultural literacy, critical thinking, social skills, human empathy and patronage of the arts.”
The first Cultural Event Experience is an instrumental concert that will include viola, percussion and piano. This event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at Jones Concert Hall.
Other upcoming credited events include art displays at Martin Museum of Art and various showings of the musical “Matilda” at Jones Theatre.
Some events have a limited number of spots available for students, and some theatrical performances require students to purchase tickets in advance.
A full schedule of events can be found on the Baylor website.
