I used to be a student at the University of California, Riverside. That was until I got the sense that the administration did not have the student's best interest at heart. I left because the faculty, excluding many instructors, mismanaged the funding and saw my major and indeed everyone who shared the arts building as nonessential. Pianos were out of tune, with broken keys aplenty and loose strings scraping the inside. The final nail in the coffin was this art installation.

The art installation is insulting and patronizing. If you were to ask literally any of the students in the arts building they would all much rather take this money and put it towards their education through opportunities, scholarships or general upkeep. The art installation is proof that the administration couldn't care less what the students, the very reason they have a job at all I might add, want. This slap to the face is unacceptable and should be removed immediately. The furniture is a good idea for the department as it will allow discussions in an uncaged environment but I still think it would have been better served elsewhere however, the tacky steel poles should be recycled immediately. Using this money the administration should put it towards the students education and overall learning experience. Tune the pianos, create scholarships, invite guest speakers, do anything else but prove to everyone what they already feel, that they are nonessential.