This petition is to show interest from Montana State University's Studio Art students towards further advancing our resources in relation to the foundations classes we are required to take. 

      Studio Art students at MSU are required to take a plethora of first-year studios, two of which are notorious for costly materials and assignments with little guidance and instruction. 

      Foundations students have about ten to fifteen projects a semester, each amounting to about $50 in materials, totalling about $500-$750 a semester outside of regular class fees. These materials include, but are not limited to, grout, wood, glass, tiles, metal, hot glue, paint, canvases, charcoal, printing fees, etc. 

      In addition, many of these foundations classes are built to show students other forms of art that they may not have had previous exposure to, like mosaics, lanterns, zines, cardboard sculptures, music videos, etc. While this exposure is extremely important and valued, there is little guidance on how to actually carry out these projects. Things like how to grout, how to make a zine, how to cut tiles, how to use programming software, how to use a professional camera, etc.; students are expected to do these things and know these things without actually being taught how, in order to carry out and finish their projects. 

      To summarize, this petition is to show interest in change within this program, but is not a petition directly trying to enforce change. 

      Some of the things that "change" could mean are as follows: discounted color printing for art students, discounts on art supplies at the bookstore for art students, a change to the current curriculum that requires professors to teach students actually how to do things (not just the creative process), etc. 

      It is important to note that the Art Department at MSU already does a lot for its students, and that is recognized. There are community supply closets, 24/7 access to studios, access to varying tools supplied by the department, and creative support from all professors. That being said, there is always more that can be done, and there is always more that can be changed and adjusted to better fit a community. This petition is addressing just that.