Does the presence of two separate educational programs in Earl Haig: The Claude Watson Arts Program and the standard Collegiate Program, have the overall effect of separating students from one another?
Being a Claude Watson major comes with many privileges that a collegiate student lacks. The Claude Watson program provides special activities and trips specifically for Claude Watson students, such as trips to New York, competitions overseas and performances at prestigious music halls. Logically, there might arise tension between the two programs due to the scarcity of privileges in one and the abundance in the other.
Hera Chan, a collegiate student, argues, “[Claude Watson students] got into the arts program. If you get into a math program, you get the privilege of going to a math contest. We still have Gritaly, the Holland Exchange, the Japan Trip. Take your pick.”
Claude Watson student Aviva Phillip-Muller believes, “Though it may seem that [Claude Watson students] are getting special privileges, considering our program, some of these trips are necessary in order for us to form the contacts for future collaboration in the arts.”
She goes on to say, “We are in a specialized program; however, we are not more special than the collegiate students; we are just under different circumstances. We can’t ignore the fact that this program exists and try to suppress it.”
To be accepted into the Claude Watson Arts Program, students must not only go through a highly-competitive audition process but must also maintain a high academic average throughout high school. Classes that are missed due to extra trips and assemblies must be made up on the student’s own time. Claude Watson students, therefore, do have to put more work into their studies than collegiate students do in order to mitigate the detrimental effects of Claude Watson privileges.
Collegiate student Ben Chin makes a strong point that many of the privileges of being a Claude Watson student are also available for collegiate students. He notes, “[collegiate students] still get to use the practice rooms, and take elective classes [in the arts]. I get to be in SOPSS assemblies and we got to go to the Kiwanis music festival.”
The presence of the Claude Watson Arts Program is a benefit to both Claude Watson and collegiate students alike. With a higher number of performance opportunities within Earl Haig, the arts program can actually enhance the rest of the school artistically by exposing students to artistic opportunities who would otherwise not be fortunate enough to do so.
The existence of a divide between Claude Watson and Collegiate students cannot be argued. However, interviews with students have shown that the effect of this divide does not contribute negatively to students’ lives. Though it is important for the Claude Watson students to be recognized within a specialized program, is it also important for collegiate students to feel just as privileged.
