By Sydney Matthews | Staff Writer
Students who are still looking to complete their Creative Arts Experience credits have this last week to complete events for the semester.
“CAE credits is a graduation requirement within the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Music that seeks to engage students in the vibrant fine arts community here at Baylor, fostering artistic literacy and human empathy,” Kaity Briscoe, director of the creative arts experience, said via email.
She said for students to complete the academic core curriculum requirement for the College of Arts and Sciences, students must attend 12 events with at least two events from each category of art, film, music, theatre, literature and world cultures.
Briscoe said the AAPI Heritage Month events will celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander creators and stories. She said she hopes a lot of students take advantage of the “meaningful” opportunity.
Students who participate in CAE credits will encounter a variety of fine arts events. This will contribute to growth and maturity in the interpretation and appreciation of the arts, while also teaching students critical thinking skills and empathy.
“One of the goals of the CAE is to allow for maturation and growth in a student’s appreciation of creative arts events through immersion over an extended period of time,” Briscoe said. “Based on that goal, we are hopeful that students attend a few events each semester they are at Baylor. … We have offered more than 400 events this year alone, so we strive to provide ample opportunities to meet students’ needs.”
Atlanta sophomore Sacha Sims said she appreciates the College of Arts and Sciences provides opportunities to students complete CAE credits. She said she enjoys being able to choose to attend the events that sound the most interesting to her.
“Although CAE credits are not the first thing I think about while I’m in school, I do like being able to go out of my comfort zone and experience new things and meet new people through it,” Sims said.
Sims said she enjoys going to CAE events with friends. When she makes a plan to go with other people, she said it makes the required activities it a lot more fun. She also said she likes attending online events and completing those along with a group of friends as well.
“The arts are a part of one of the four pillars of Baylor’s strategic plan Illuminate Forward, Dean Gary Mortenson said it best: ‘We’re much richer as human beings if we can understand cultures through their arts — because what you value most, you lift up through your art,'” Briscoe said. “Music doesn’t keep us materially alive. Music helps keep us spiritually alive.”
Briscoe said there are no plans to change anything structurally to the CAE requirements for next year. The Creative Arts Experience staff is excited to host another year of meaningful artistic events for the students at Baylor to enjoy, she said.
The last opportunity available from Tuesday to Thursday is the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month activity, which will be hosted online each day this week.
