Each year when the Alabama School of Fine Arts holds its annual graduation at the Alabama Theatre, there is a special moment for recognizing students who have proven to have true dedication. Graduates in the arts departments who have been at the school for six years and Math/Science students who’ve attended ASFA for five years receive the honor of being asked to stand. They are recognized and congratulated for their efforts and for pushing themselves through as long as they were allowed. It represents courage.
But what about the students of ASFA who reside in the school’s dorm? What about the courage they had to muster to live away from their parents at such an early age? To grapple with budgeting and caring for themselves?
Dorm students say they feel as if they're living in the shadow of the larger student body and would appreciate being recognized at graduation. Some residents have discussed tassels, similar to those in ASFA's Black Student Union and LGBTQ+ students. Others have suggested going to the administration and making the small idea a reality. Six-year Music senior Levi Johnson shared his difficulties as a younger student living in the dorm.
“My parents aren’t really available to give me a ride,” Levi explains, “whether it be to hang out with friends or for a mandatory school thing — especially being in music and having a bass.”
Johnson says this inhibited his social life as well, as he was one of the only middle school residents at the time. Often, when events took place off-campus or after school, he was unable to attend due to the lack of transportation. Finances were also a huge concern, being at too young an age to be employed.
As Levi graduates this year, he says it would mean a lot to be recognized for the difficulties he and his counterparts face during their enrollment.
“I think it would be a symbol of including the dorm more into regular school. That’s good not only socially, but also — if people don’t talk about the dorm, it’s harder to get more funding,” he says.
According to Levi and other students living on campus, non-residents, or commuters, don’t have the best or most accurate idea of what it’s like to live at ASFA. Dorm students make up around 20 percent of the student body, and it easily goes unnoticed by the other 80 percent. “It’d be nice to have some recognition for it," Johnson says. "A really big portion of my life was spent living at a school. To have some homage to that at graduation — it’d be nice.”
Jason Akins, the school’s dorm advisor, agrees.
“I would like to see them be seen for the strong kids that they are because of what they do. Because this is not easy," he says.
When asked about the challenges he’s personally seen from generations of students coming to and from the residential areas, he lists things such as learning how to handle their own problems, being lonely, and the lack of parenting or guidance.
Akins agreed that some sort of recognition would be justified. “It’d mean a lot. Like I said, I don’t think people understand how tough it is on them. Especially six-year dorm students—or even four-year dorm students.”
ASFA President Dr. Tim Mitchell says he is open to the idea.
"I haven’t given it a lot of thought yet, but I cannot see where it would have a negative impact," Mitchell says. "Actually having everyone stand might make it more visible that we have a dorm community. . . . Graduation is a good time to have more rather than less recognitions. . . . What I generally do is I bring it to what we call our Senior Administration Planning Group.”
According to Dr. Mitchell, this group consists of a small bit of the administration such as Dr. Brad Hill, Mrs. Kim Strickland, Ms. Beth Mulvey, Ms. Jamie Plott, and others. The proposal of having dorm students stand would be presented and decided upon with a vote.
He explains the significance of being asked to stand, why full-term seniors are meant to be seen before their final departure from the school. “I think we’re just recognizing longevity,” he says. “There are some who’ve come in the very first year possible to come.”
The tradition is one carried over from many years ago, Dr. Mitchell says. “It’s actually just a precedent. It goes back so far in time that I couldn’t find the beginning of it. . . . It gets carried over from one year’s script to the next year.”
“Our registrar, Mrs. [Melanie] Lee, overlooks and oversees the details related to [recognition], and Dr. [Brad] Hill oversees the academic awards . . . Of course, everyone in the class eventually does get to stand,” Dr. Mitchell says.
The Star will follow up with the Senior Administration Planning Group in coming weeks and months to further inquire about the status of dorm student recognition at graduation. Keep visiting The Star for updates.
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