A Letter to Senator Cynthia Nava, NM Senate Education Committee Chair

Dear Senator Nava,

Please don't let my college die.

I am an alumnus of the College of Santa Fe, class of 2003. I received a degree in Moving Image Arts from the college and graduated magna cum laude.

I chose the College of Santa Fe for a variety of reasons. First, I wanted the best film school education I could afford, and at the time, CSF was ranked fourth in the nation—behind only the behemoths of NYU, USC, and UCLA. Quite an impressive achievement for a school barely a fraction of their size.

Second, I wanted a smaller school where I wouldn't feel like just a number. My graduating class from the college was smaller than my graduating class from high school, and that made for an amazing experience, forging a close bond between my classmates and my teachers.

Finally, I fell in love with Santa Fe, plain and simple. Santa Fe is for artists, and at your disposal you have one of the finest campuses for the arts ever conceived, with state-of-the-art facilities for the visual arts, the theater arts, and the moving image arts all in one place. There is no other facility in the New Mexico state system to rival it. You have a place rich with history, interwoven into the tapestry of the history of Santa Fe itself. And you have the perfect city culture for nurturing young artists in a community dedicated to the arts at all levels.

Please vote yes on House Bill 577 and do not let this college go quietly into the night. Too many people—faculty, staff and students alike—have poured their hearts and souls into making the College of Santa Fe the quality educational institution that it is. Please don't let our love be only for a memory, our good work be in vain. Do not let the financial mistakes of a few ruin the future of this venerable institution.

Please vote yes and ensure that future students will have the opportunity to live and work in Santa Fe, to pursue their art in an environment that is utterly unique in the world, and to come away from the experience better, stronger, more accomplished citizens than they were when they began.

I implore you to support HB 577 for the good of the New Mexico state university system, for the good of the city of Santa Fe and for the good of the thousands of future students who will bloom and grow at the College of Santa Fe.

Most sincerely yours,
Me