Issue date: 7/21/03 Section: Opinion

Current journalism students at Texas A&M may not know how much impact the closure of A&M's journalism department will have on their careers. Apparently, neither does Charles Johnson. Johnson, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, recommended July 10 that A&M cut its journalism department -- a decision Johnson made without doing all of his homework.

In a meeting last week with representatives of the Former Journalism Students Association, The Associated Press, the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News, Johnson said he did not consult professionals in the journalism industry to see how they recruit graduates. At the same time, Johnson claimed "the bottom line is how we can serve students."

These two actions directly contradict each other.

Those media members attending last week's meeting told Johnson that closing the department would have negative effects on A&M graduates in the job market, something that does not "serve students." The current job market is difficult enough that closing the department will place Aggies at a marked disadvantage when interviewing for media internships and jobs, especially compared to graduates of the University of Texas where there is an entire college dedicated to journalism and communication.

In addition to hurting students, Johnson's ill-informed decision will hurt A&M. He said he did not consult with those teaching on the high school level to see what they look for when recommending a journalism program. One can be sure that a high school journalism teacher is not going to recommend A&M to any students who are interested in a media career, thus costing A&M some of the state's future journalists.

It is an insult for Johnson to make a decision of this magnitude without thoroughly researching the effects it will have on Aggies.

While he says the bottom line is how he can serve students, his actions show a blatant disregard for students and their education.

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