By Rogelio Alvarez
The South Gate Educational center lacks in color and creativity, and needs to be decorated with more artwork.
A person’s first impression while touring the school might be that it seems too monotonous and boring.
There are only nine paintings decorated amongst the halls in the South Gate Educational center.
Those who are attending classes at the south gate center or who have visited the campus could debate about the actual amount of paintings taped or thumb-tacked to the wall.
Walking around the entire angular halls should not take more than ten minutes, so after counting the actual amount of paintings located, the result is still the same: There are not enough paintings and decorations.
Most of these artworks depict abstract patterns or geometric shapes. One particular artwork located in the main entrance, on the left hand side, displays horses racing across the wall, looking towards the reception desk.
For a 50,000 square feet campus to barely have a dozen paintings around the halls is far too less and is mediocre, more decorations are needed.
The walls of the schools were painted in a fading monotone crème color, and are in need of a fresh paint that will help liven up the place and raise the spirits of the students, teachers, and visitors.
The current décor around the school does not invoke a sense of welcomes. It instead makes the south gate center look more like a psychiatric ward than an educational center. Some health clinics are decorated better than the south gate campus.
If the south gate center was decorated and had its walls covered with artwork ranging from all time periods, the school will be a role model on how other small campuses should look.
New arriving students will feel more welcomed and current students will feel more proud of their campus.
Most of the decorations located throughout the campus come from brochures given to the south gate center by universities While touring the school, students easily notice the announcements school clubs make, or news regarding future events associated with the school or the surrounding community.
The informative brochures are important to student life, but adding more art to the school makes those brochures more motivating.
The last couple of days have seen the campus with added color, due to the numerous donated items located in donation boxes around the school. Although it is only temporary, the improvement in added color is already noticeable.
Students attending both the south gate campus and the main campus should donate whatever artworks they own to the school and ask that it be hung around the halls.
The South Gate Educational Center can be compared to an empty canvas, students and staff should work together in doing what they can to make the south campus look alive.
Advertising current and upcoming exhibitions at the Vincent Price Art Museum would also encourage students to visit the museum located on main campus.
Some of the walls could even be painted with murals that will showcase the connection with the community and East Los Angeles College.