On a given weeknight, the New College West (NCW) Ceramics Studio is alive with artistic creation. Spinning a pot dotted with flowers or crafting a handmade handle for a coffee mug, the space allows undergraduates to tap into their creativity and take a break from academic demands. Equipped with eight pottery wheels, stoneware clay, multicolored glazes and slips, molds, and other tools, there’s just one thing missing: graduate students — and they want in.
According to their website, the studio “offer[s] basic instruction in functional and sculptural ceramics” through “self-directed work in clay,” “instructional workshops on topics like coil-building, pinch pots, slab building and wheel-throwing,” and “study breaks on a selection of topics.” Limited by a 10-person capacity, the NCW studio does not currently permit graduate students to use the space.
The studio opened in the spring of 2023, replacing the University’s former ceramics studio, which was located in the now-demolished First College and closed in 2022. Graduate students were permitted to use the former studio.
This exclusion of the 3,212 graduate students from the chance to use the studio prompted a group of graduate students to form the Graduate Ceramics Association (GCA). The organization is composed of passionate graduate-level ceramicists lobbying for access to the studio.
In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Rias Reed GS, co-president of GCA, described the origins of the group.
“It was really out of a couple grad students trying to access that space and being denied that we decided that creating a group was … one of the first steps into going through the process of advocating for grad students to be allowed into the studio at New College West,” he said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
The GCA recently released a 16-page pilot report explaining their goals. According to the report, “The formation of the Graduate Ceramics Association was inspired by a vision to extend the profound benefits of ceramics — a powerful tool for creative expression, mental wellness, and community building — to all members of the university.”
On Apr. 30 and May 7, the group helped coordinate two pilot workshops in the studio: one on handbuilding and one on glazing. Following the workshop, the GCA argued that participation yielded a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing. According to the report, 80 percent of participants noted increased relaxation and decreased anxiety, while 73 percent reported increased joy following the workshops.
However, logistical concerns still stand in the way of regular studio access for graduate students.
Debbie Reichard, NCW Ceramics Studio Manager, AnneMarie Luijendijk, Head of New College West, and Johanna Rossi Wagner, Dean of New College West wrote to ‘The Prince’ regarding some potential limitations.
“We are very pleased that [the studio] is in high demand by the undergraduate students. We also know of the many graduate students, staff, and faculty who would love to be involved in this studio,” they wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “Unfortunately, due to current space, budget, and staffing constraints, we have not yet met the needs of the undergraduate community we are meant to serve. We look forward to discussing possibilities for the future that would help expand access for a larger community.”
In their report, the GCA has attempted to address some of these concerns. The group recommends hiring graduate students as student studio managers as well as reserving a select number of spots for graduate students in scheduling. The GCA has stated that the Graduate Student Government Event Board can supply the group with some funding as a recognized student organization. In their report, the group also wrote that “TigerWell has indicated a willingness to fund this initiative over a longer term, recognizing the substantial mental wellness benefits it offers.”
TigerWell is a group dedicated to promoting wellbeing on campus beyond traditional healthcare. The group did not respond to a request for comment from the ‘Prince’ at the time of publication.
“The Graduate School is working with the Graduate Ceramics Association and campus partners to move towards providing access for graduate students,” Tracy Meyer, Director for Communications and External Engagement of the Graduate School, wrote to the ‘Prince.’
Reed also believes that integrating undergraduate and graduate students would benefit both parties.
“When a graduate student is the person underneath your professor who is grading your work, or who is leading a precept … those power dynamics don’t allow for a more genuine, more authentic, more enriching cultural or meaningful or personal relationship to occur,” he told the ‘Prince.’
According to Reed, sharing the NCW space could serve as a place “where undergraduate and graduate students can learn from each other … that only really serves to benefit both populations and essentially elevate the entirety of the university.”
Conversations between GCA, the Graduate School, and NCW about graduate student access to the studio will continue into the fall.
Isabella Dail is the head editor of The Prospect for the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at id7289[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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