There are many classes that Jeremy Groskopf, instructor of communication studies, teaches that are similar to classes film students would take such as Television Studies Through Doctor Who, Science Fiction Cinema, African American Cinema, and Sports Films, and it could be possible to have a film minor at Averett.

If a film minor is something students are interested in, they should express that interest to Averett’s academic leadership.

“I think not only is it possible for students to drive a change like that, now might be one of the better times at Averett to try,” Groskopf said. “It happens and it can have an impact if you want it and if you try to push forward.”

If a film minor was added at Averett, some things would change with the film classes. The changes would likely benefit professors and students involved in it. A prerequisite class could cover material that saves time and allows for more specific content in each class.

“The thing that would change that would be nice is that I think always the most difficult thing for everyone that enrolls in the class is that first two to three weeks, sometimes longer, is all introductory material, and that is a massive mountain for some students to climb, and if you did it as a minor then that would just be the first class and everything else would use that as a prerequisite, so it would actually streamline everything that I do so I don’t have to do all that stuff every single time,” Groskopf said. “You could dial that all the way back to just a refresher on the first day or two and then really focus on the target which I think would improve students’ ability to work through it and it would improve the ability to make it more fun and lively in the classroom so you don’t have to start with three weeks of dead weight which is always what annoys me. A lot of that stuff is just really dry and you have to get the legs under you before you can move on, so it would change the way I structure it, it would change the way students took classes.”

With something new like this, it could be a little awkward at the start of it, but it likely wouldn’t harm students that have already taken some of the film classes that would want to move into the minor.

“They would probably take an intro to film and media and then every other choice would be theirs, but the intro class would be the prerequisite, and that would of course have to be negotiated if that was a new minor you wouldn’t have to force everyone to take that if they’ve taken like three of the classes they’re already past that at this point, so there would be some fine tuning in the first couple of years,” Groskopf said. “It would make each class more of a standalone experience paradoxically by giving you a prerequisite. It would change things, but not the pleasure of it. That, I think, would actually increase.”