Fellow Shockers, Student Government Association, and Student Fees Committee, I want to speak to the suggested funding cuts towards the English department’s literary journal, Mikokosmos / MOJO. First off, I cannot fathom why SGA and the university as a whole insists on continually slashing funding for the arts and humanities, specifically as it, right now, concerns MIKRO/MOJO. Our literary journal has been around for roughly 60 years, meaning there has been investment of all kinds poured into this, and we want to take that away and make that investment worth nothing? MIKRO MOJO has been a saving grace for many students in the English department to be involved in something outside of just attending class, for many grad students that are also teaching, and then just simply going home – it boosts morale, it boosts resumes, it boosts university recognition when another one of our amazing students lands a job showing off their participation in this. Marley DeRosia in her article from the Odyssey entitled “The Importance of Literary Journals: Why They Still Matter” says that “Literary journals aren’t usually for profit, [they’re] wanting simply for their readers to come away with a new outlook on life and read some damn good writing…literary journals have been a way to read new stories for generations.” Why would we destroy this, and in turn, destroy ourselves? The written word is the fabric of society, the core of who we are – language is the cornerstone of civilization. Taking away MIKRO (and, might I add, discriminating against The Sunflower, but I’ll save this for another time), is not only unnecessary; it’s destructive. I just have a few questions: Where is the disdain for the arts and humanities stemming from? Where will the money be allocated to instead? Why wouldn’t we want this to continue for another 40+ years and beyond? Why do we want to erase WSU’s history and thereby silence the universal human condition that appears within the precious pages of this journal? I implore you to consider not the short-term effects of this decision, but the very large, very long-term implications this will have on the department, its faithful students, and the university as a whole.

—Anonymous