Readers comment on theater at St. Thomas

“Foley folly” ... “Tragic mistake” ... “Disappointment by St. Thomas choice” ... “Money isn’t everything.” Comments on St. Thomas’s plans to close its 80-year-old Department of Theater and tear down the Foley Theater show a depth of sorrow and disappointment.

“I think it’s short-sighted to trash the tradition of Foley Theater, but I’m an old sentimentalist.”

“It’s a tragic mistake. One that will come back and bite St. Thomas University sure as the sun comes up.”

“But in the world where nothing is valued unless it came make money by either students attending or graduates who can GIVE money to their alma mater, the arts will never create those kind of people. But how much smaller and lesser is the college community, the Twin Cites arts community, and ultimately the degrees St. Thomas gives out on this decision.”

“I am a sophomore at UST, and while I am not a declared theater major or minor I am currently cast in my fourth production here. I was shocked and angered when the announcement was made to dissolve our department. ... I still love most things about this school. However, had I followed UST’s example and acted on purely financial reasons when choosing my college I would not have come here in the first place.”

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