By Lexey Burns

Admissions to Laurentian’s Theatre and Motion Picture Arts (MPArts) have been suspended by Thorneloe University as of April 2020. After assessing enrolment statistics, Thorneloe determined that not enough students expressed interest to continue running both programs.

In September of 2019, the ACAPlan (Academic Planning Committee of Senate) revised the Motion Picture Arts program with the decision to continue the program, and allow it to be revised again in 2026.

But when COVID-19 became an obstacle in the completion of the 2019/2020 school year, Thorneloe University suspended all Theatre and Motion Picture Arts activities, let go faculty members, and stopped the programs altogether.

At the Laurentian Senate meeting on May 19th, 2020, Alexandre Fishbein-Ouimette, a third-year student in Motion Picture Arts said he felt under-informed after hearing about the decision to cut the programs.

“We were just numb,” Fishbein-Ouimette said. “Even to this day, no one in administration at Laurentian has informed us of our rights as students. None of this seems right or fair.”

Laurentian University’s Faculty Association (LUFA) said that both programs are offered as a Laurentian University degree, but the courses needed to earn the degree are offered by Thorneloe, which is its own federated university.

“We cannot just shut down a university program. We cannot just send the students and [faculty] home,” Jean-Charles Cachon, Secretary-Treasurer of LUFA, said.

Laurentian said they plan to continue the program, yet Thorneloe, acting under their collective agreement, can refuse to teach the courses needed to complete the degree.

Students have already started a petition, with over 1000 signatures, including faculty and community members.

Opening the door to future cuts, instructor says

According to Matthew Heiti, professor at Laurentian University, cancelling these programs will affect the arts and culture of Sudbury, as well as the artists who live in Sudbury.

“The arts community of a city is only as healthy as both the professional training and opportunities it is able to offer to its artists,” Heiti said. “Sudbury has a historic problem with seeing its best artists leave [to go] elsewhere, such as Toronto where [training and opportunities] are offered in abundance.”

“To have these programs cancelled so suddenly will mean the next generations of artists will not be living and creating in Sudbury,” Heiti said.

“Arts are always the first programs to be affected by cuts, but opening the door to cutting these programs leaves the landscape of the humanities wide open for cuts in the future,” he added.

Thorneloe’s president, Reverend John Gibault, said both programs will shut down June 30, despite Laurentian’s Senate decision to continue the programs.

Patricia Tedford, the chair of Thorneloe’s Theatre department, said she is nervous to see the repercussions of this decision.

“We [Sudbury] might not see it right away,” Tedford said. “The university will see it right away because they won’t have any Theatre or Motion Picture Arts around. So we won’t have that energy and we won’t have the shows.”

“For some students the first time they see a play is when they go to a university play. I think that’s what universities are supposed to do. They’re supposed to provide new experiences,” she said.

“You will not have those voices. Those voices are good as gone.”