In the university setting, a good conversation starter is always, “What is your major?” Upon hearing the answer to the question, the inquiring party silently assesses the value of the major, the level of difficulty, and its transferability into the work force. Of course I would never actually voice my opinion on the matter, but my thoughts go a little like this: Oh…you’re dealing with math, science, and technology…you’ll be miserable but you’ll always be employed… You’re an English Education major? That’s more my cup of tea. Aren’t you concerned about landing a solid job? Social work? You’re such a good person but you’ll be broke. Theater…what a walk in the park! Philosophy? Pshhhh...wait, seriously? When I take a step back, I find fault in my logic. Is there not value in all areas of study? It is completely biased and unjust to look at an individual and critique their passions or credibility. Unfortunately, these ideals trickle down from our most prevalent decision makers and negatively affect the extrinsic significance in which individuals place on the value of various walks of education and life.

Kentucky Governor, Matt Bevin, is currently pushing extreme budget cuts for higher education in public universities. In January of this year, he stated:

“I want funding that incentivizes outcomes that are specific to the things people want. There will be more incentives to electrical engineers than French literature majors, there just will. All the people in the world who want to study French literature can do so, they’re just not going to be subsidized by the taxpayers like engineers will be, for example.”

Just to be clear- more than 200 million people speak French and the international organization of French-speaking countries makes up 68 states and governments. Furthermore, French is the second-most broadly learned foreign language after English and is the ninth most common form of communication in the world. If a student is studying French, they are more than likely exposed to business, marketing, economics, military history, artistic elements, and various other subject areas that are relevant on the world stage. However, rather than just express the importance of French studies, it is necessary to realize Governor Bevin’s comment for what it is—a critique against all liberal arts majors that do not fit perfectly into his Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math ideals. That means English, Theater, Visual Arts, Media and Broadcasting, Photography, Music, Philosophy, International Literature Studies, History, and a plethora of other majors are under attack by Bevin’s principles. There is nothing wrong with encouraging engineering and advocating for professions that innovate. However, an increase in one field should not constitute a drastic decrease of funds toward another.

So many college students graduate and never work in their field again. That is okay. Simultaneously, many go on to be extremely successful in the very subject area in which they originally decided. Regardless of the result of ones’ higher education, the mere experience of work ethic and intensive studies is a value in itself. As a devout Christian, Bevin should know that Romans 12:2 states, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” In other words, we are not here to simply to be work machines that contribute to the economic system. We are not here to suppress happiness in order to contribute to the state financially. Religiously speaking or not, most people feel an inner calling. From Engineering to French Literature, politicians should stay out of it. College is a time of exploration and transformation. The freedom to choose a field is an exciting and scary time for most students. It is imperative that leaders such as Bevin accept it as a time for growth and halt value judgments on what majors are acceptable for state funding and which are not.

After hearing Bevin’s disgraceful comment, Jeff Peters, a professor of French literature at the University of Kentucky immediately responded:

“Our former majors are now educators, translators, business people, doctors, and lawyers throughout Kentucky. By proposing that government, rather than students themselves, should decide what they study (and apparently what ‘people want’), Governor Bevin makes it harder for Kentucky college students to bring their international knowledge and experience back home and impoverishes the commonwealth he no doubt wishes to enrich. A great state like Kentucky, I would suggest, deserves well and broadly funded public universities.”

Imagine what our nation’s current circumstance would be had our founding fathers no background in worldly knowledge. What if Thomas Jefferson was strictly an engineer and neglected his desire to study political theory in an effort to “contribute to the economy.” Picture Abraham Lincoln shrugging his shoulders and deciding, “Law isn’t really for me. I’m going to learn math because it’s more important economically.” As a future English Educator, my fear is that Bevin’s “work diligently for the system” philosophy will eventually move to my middle grade mandated curriculum. While on the surface, his comments just seem blunt and impolite; the root of his rhetoric could certainly lead to further degradation of arts education.

All knowledge is beneficial. In the current condition of Kentucky, we cannot assume that we are at a point where the pursuit of knowledge can diminish. As citizens of an ever-changing world, thinkers from all fields are a necessity. If we deem certain subjects as invaluable, our descendants will surely suffer the consequences of a stagnant state. We need thoughtful citizens who have a great understanding of ethics. That is only attainable with the continuation of liberal arts majors. We should encourage students to “make stuff,” to be innovators, and to excel in STEM careers. At the same time, we need people who read, write, and study language. We need people of all interests. Still, we must not force individuals down paths in which they do not feel called. This includes the appreciation and community support of all areas of study in order to contribute to a better and widely integrated world.