I.
Definition and Rationale
Winthrop University recognizes that the act of being a college student
reshapes and deepens the student’s
cultural development. The Cultural Events requirement is set forth
in an effort to ensure that each student
is exposed to certain out-of-class activities
which may provide an opportunity to develop an awareness of life
which might not otherwise be attained.
The Faculty Conference adopted a definition of Cultural Events as
follows: An approved cultural event is
chosen from areas such as plays, films, art
exhibitions and dance and musical performances or from lectures of
general appeal. Over the years, the Cultural
Events Committee has evolved a series of general guidelines to assist
in making decisions and interpreting this
definition.
Approved Cultural Events will be selected
from the following areas:
A.
Performances in music, dance, and theater
1. Performances
which are officially sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts
and its
various divisions will be automatically approved as Cultural
Events.
2. Performances
by individual students or student organizations should be under faculty
direction, or
have guidance from a faculty member with expertise in the area.
3. Performances
in music not covered above will be selected on the basis of their ability to
broaden
a student’s musical experience. Performances
in musical genres which are readily available to
students and/or are part of the current “popular culture” may not be
selected, unless they would
otherwise qualify under lectures, panel discussions, and forums.
4.
The reputation and qualifications of the performer or performing group
will also be taken into
consideration.
B.
Films and
readings
1.
Films selected
should meet one of the following criteria:
a.
All films must
include a presentation and/or discussion led by a qualified individual(s)
with expertise in the subject area of the
film. Films that are readily accessible to the
students (i.e., recent mainstream films) must
also qualify under the category of lectures,
panel discussions, and forums.
b.
Foreign films
presented in a foreign language.
2.
Readings
of poetry and/or fiction will be selected on the basis of the
reader’s/writer’s reputation
and credentials. Readings by individual students or sponsored by
student organizations should be
under faculty direction or have guidance from a faculty member with
expertise in the area.
C.
Guided
discussions of exhibitions of visual arts or material culture
1. The
selection will be based on the reputation and credentials of the artist(s) and/or
the individual
leading the discussion.
2.
Exhibitions of
visual arts by individual students or sponsored by student organizations
should be
under faculty direction or have guidance from a faculty member with
expertise in the area.
D.
Lectures, panel discussions, and forums of general appeal based on the
speaker’s ability to
generate new ideas and discussion on topics of broad significance.
Lectures that receive
approval will have the following attributes:
1.
A speaker with
credentials, reputation, and expertise in the subject area.
2.
A subject of
importance and/or uniqueness (e.g., new ideas).
For example, Public Service
Announcements as lectures or presentations (events that serve more to inform
the public
about safety or health concerns, etc.) will, in general, not receive
cultural event credit.
3.
A topic
that relates to culture, the arts, world culture(s) or societal concerns.
Topics of a
scientific, business, sports, or mathematical nature must show
their relation to broader cultural
or societal
concerns. Topics in potentially controversial subject areas (such as politics
and/or
religion) must allow for a discussion of a
broad spectrum of viewpoints. These discussions should
be under
faculty direction or have guidance of a faculty member with expertise in the
area.
In general, programs and performances by, or specifically designed for,
children (below college age) will
not be approved as Cultural Events. All events selected as approved
Cultural Events should be under the
sponsorship of a faculty member, administrator, or a related
organization(s) (e.g., student
organization, University department, etc.)
Students are encouraged to earn some cultural event credit through events in
which they are not
participating. Students may not earn more than one half of the total
required cultural event credit through a
single event
(e.g. trip abroad, conference).
It should be noted, and strongly emphasized, that failure to attain
the
approval of the Cultural Events Committee does not reflect upon the quality or the validity of any
event, nor
the committee’s support for the
program being presented, only its relevance to the specific goals of
the Cultural
Events requirement.
II. Procedure
and schedule for obtaining approval of an event for Cultural Events credit
Once each semester, a call for Cultural Events will be sent to the
faculty and to student organizations by the
Cultural Events Coordinator. Approval of all
events sponsored by the College of Visual and Performing Arts is
automatic. A calendar of these events will be supplied by the Office of
the Dean of the College of Visual and
Performing Arts. All other events for which
Cultural Events credit is sought must receive approval by the Cultural
Events Committee.
A.
Responsibilities of Cultural Events sponsors
1.
It is the
responsibility of the sponsor of an event to submit appropriate paperwork
requesting
approval of that event as a Cultural Event.
2.
Sponsors
of potential Cultural Events should obtain a Request for Cultural Events
Approval form
from either the Cultural Events Web site (www.winthrop.edu/culturalevents)
or the Cultural Events
Office (126 Tillman).
3. Sponsors
may fill out the on-line form and submit it electronically to the Cultural
Events Office, or
fill out the printed form and return it to the Cultural Events Office. Additional
materials which may support the request (such as details of the nature
of the event or information
regarding the participant(s) in the event) should be attached to the
form. If there is insufficient
space in the on-line form for additional information, a separate e-mail
with that information should
be sent to
culturalevnt@winthrop.edu. The information may be sent in the body of the
e-mail, or in
an attachment to the e-mail. The
Cultural Events Committee may request verification of the support
for a proposed event by a Dean, Department Chair or, in the case of a
student organization, an
advisor. The name of the student organization’s advisor and contact
information should be included
on the request form.
B. Deadlines
1. The
deadline for submission of request forms is the Wednesday of the first week of
classes each
semester. Events proposed at this time will be considered by the
Cultural Events Committee during
the following week, and will appear on the initial Cultural Events
Calendar for that semester.
2. Events
that are scheduled after the deadline date at the beginning of the semester
may still be
approved as Cultural Events. The
sponsor of such an event should submit the Request for Cultural
Events Approval form as specified
above. The Cultural Events Committee meets around the 15th of
each month; therefore, requests should be submitted before the 14th
of each month. Since the
committee meets only once a month, it
is recommended that, when possible, a sponsor submit the
request 4-6 weeks prior to the date of the event. Events
which receive approval in this way, after
the initial calendar for the semester is
posted, will be added to that calendar (added events will be
in bold type), which is posted
on the Official Cultural Events notice boards around campus. They
will also be added to the two on-line calendars, the university events
calendar, and the specific
Cultural Events Calendar found on the Cultural Events Web site(www.winthrop.edu/culturalevents).
3. When
an event request is received too late for committee approval to be achieved
through the
normal procedure, it is still possible for the event to receive
approval. A Request for Cultural Events
Approval form should be submitted on-line to the Cultural Events
Office. Upon receipt of the
request, the Cultural Events Coordinator will
contact the committee members via e-mail, passing
the request form on to them, along with any
supplemental information submitted, to obtain their
votes on the event’s approval. It is important to recognize the
limitations inherent in this e-mail
procedure. An event may fail to achieve approval from the committee
because there is no
opportunity for shared discussion of the merits of the event, or
because there is insufficient time
between the submission of the request and the scheduled date of the
event to allow for enough of
the committee to respond (since some may be out of town or otherwise
unable to respond
immediately).
C.
Location of
Cultural Events
1. Generally,
approved Cultural Events take place on the Winthrop University campus.
However, it is
possible for a faculty member to sponsor an off-campus Cultural Event
if that faculty member is
willing to accept the
responsibility of distributing Cultural Events slips to the students attending
the
event, and collecting the slips
from the students afterward. In such a case, the Request for Cultural
Events Approval form must still be submitted and approved by the
normal process prior to the date
of the event. In addition, the faculty sponsor must pick up sufficient
Cultural Events slips from the
Cultural Events
Office (126 Tillman). It is recommended that this be done at least two (2) to
four
(4) days prior to the
event. The faculty sponsor must also return the completed slips and any
unused slips to the same office
following the event.
D. Notifications
1.
The
sponsor will receive notification from the Cultural Events Coordinator of the
decision of the
Cultural Events Committee. The sponsor will receive a written rationale
for a Cultural Event’s
denial.
2. The
sponsor of a Cultural Event must notify the Cultural Events Office immediately
of any changes
in the Cultural Event. These changes would include:
cancellation of the event; change
in time, location, or duration; or any other changes which might occur.
The Cultural Events Office
will post these changes in the official Cultural Events
notification locations, and update the on-line
calendars and telephone Hotline. It is the responsibility of the
sponsor to post signs at the site of
an event in the case of a cancellation,
especially when such cancellation comes late enough that it
is unlikely that the students will have
received word of it by other means.
3. The
sponsor of a Cultural Event is encouraged to contact fellow faculty members
who might be
interested in the event, and those who teach courses related to the
event, as well as relevant
student organizations, to inform them of the event. It is hoped that
such information may be used
by the faculty to inform their students, and may be of use in enhancing
course curricula, thus
making the event a more enriching experience for the students.
