The Arts, Media and Entertainment Division hosted an open house on Sept. 5 to showcase its programs and welcome students to the fall semester. Faculty from each AME department spoke to students regarding available classes and networking opportunities on campus.

“I really want every student that came tonight to recognize their role as an artist in our world is paramount,” Rickel said. “Too often in education and society we devalue the arts by underfunding them and by treating them as electives to other things.”

Film and media studies Professor Adam Wadenius discussed the Film and Media Club and their collaborations with the theater and art departments.

“Cinema offers us an opportunity to not just to experience things from a fun and entertaining perspective, but also to study cinema primarily as a cultural artifact,” Wadenius said. “We think about the experiences we put ourselves into where film is being manipulated into different spaces.”

Wadenius said film and media studies examines the world from different perspectives.

Photography Professor Kathryn Mayo discussed photography’s two-year program to prepare students for careers in weddings, events and product photography. The program also prepares students to transfer to four-year universities like Sacramento State.

“Sac State is one of the only universities in California that has a BFA in photography,” Mayo said.

In photo history classes students study how photography has changed and the reflection of history in photographs, Mayo said.

“If you’re interested in looking at photographs, but it scares you to death to take them in a class, I want to encourage you to take one of our photo history classes. We offer them every semester,” Mayo said.

Biagian De La Cruz, a 23-year-old film and media production major, said the biggest thing to take away from this event was the opportunity to explore her different options before committing to a four-year university.

“They were talking about the tie of mental health to artistry and your support system as a college student. I love that each department has its own localized support system,” De La Cruz said.