By LUCIE BURNS
News Editor
There were many films showcased throughout the annual Albany Film Festival, but one in particular drew a crowd of Saint Rose students, faculty, and community members: filmmaker and professor, Jaime Iglehart’s documentary about the school, with a working title of “Goodbye Dear Neighbor”. The film is fairly new and still ongoing, delving into the closure of the school and also a discussion of higher education.
Two clips of the film, one of them being a sizzle reel, was shown at the event, followed by a discussion panel including Iglehart, cinematographer Lakota Ruby-Eck, and two Saint Rose students who work on the film alongside their professor, Kyla Mayberry and Ethan Kleinke.
One of the purposes of the film is to shine a light on a national trend in higher education, the trend that Saint Rose has recently faced: closure. It also opens up a discussion about the value of higher education in the world today.
“It isn’t something that’s just happening to Saint Rose, it’s happening all over the country,” said Iglehart. “Saint Rose is going as strong as ever and every day, more and more impressive stuff is happening here, so it’s important with this film to rewrite the narrative of the college’s closure.” Iglehart’s intended audience is mainly students that are Generation Z that could have to face the issue, but also those who hold positions in higher education and have the power to make an impact in this field.
This trend has been happening all over the country, proving to be a crisis for Gen Z, as they enter the field of higher education. At least 54 colleges have closed down since March of 2020, with six of them located in New York State, not yet including Saint Rose.
Along with spreading awareness about the trend of college closures, an emerging topic of the documentary is to showcase the spirit of Saint Rose in its final days, while also allowing professional experiences and new opportunities for its community.
The students working on the film have gained lots of experience working alongside Iglehart, as well as improving their time management skills, as they have to balance the film work with their school and personal lives.
“The biggest challenge is the time constraints that we have, especially since this is our last semester, the last semester, of Saint Rose,” said Mayberry, who is the sound engineer for the film. “A lot of us are focused on making the most of the last semester that we have, and we obviously wanna make this documentary as great as it can be, but we also still have to live our lives and do our work.”
The documentary also serves as a way to twist the narrative of the closure, giving an opportunity to capture students’ feelings and accomplishments in a new way.
“Sometimes I’ve noticed there’s a lot of frustration and sadness, but that’s not all people are feeling. There’s still a lot of joy and happiness at this place and I feel like this documentary can serve as a way for the faculty and students and everyone affected who wouldn’t normally have their voice made public to speak their truth,” said Kleinke, describing how the film was a great opportunity to be a part of as an editor. “You see all these news reports and articles that state facts and statistics, but they don’t say how this is really affecting us on a personal level. The film gives us a way to do this in a way we couldn’t have done otherwise.”
After the clips were premiered, the panel opened up a discussion to any audience member who had a question. One audience member first appeared to be in support of the film, stating that he was furious about the situation despite never having gone to Saint Rose except to attend a basketball game. However, he took his words into a different direction.
”You’re wasting film, you’re wasting talent, you’re wasting time. Someone needs to be involved in resurrecting Saint Rose,” he said, essentially calling all of the crew’s hard, time-consuming work, worthless. “I encourage you to get a new project, talk about what happened, how we prevent it from happening again, and how to bring Saint Rose back in operation,” he said.
A few people who were in the audience and on the panel felt they should respond to this comment. Kleinke began to respond and was interrupted by the same man yelling.
“You’re celebrating it,” said the audience member. “Don’t celebrate a death.”
“We are celebrating it. We’re not trying to celebrate its death, we’re trying to celebrate its life, and I don’t think it’s a waste of film at all,” said Kleinke. Following this, the room heavily applauded Kleinke’s response.
Jessica Otitigbe, a professor at the college, also had a response to the audience member’s statements. She described how with the documentary and the situation in general, there are two stories to be told: the fall of the college and decisions made that led to it, and then what the closure experience was like for Saint Rose.
“What we’re here to see today, is to see the ending of Saint Rose, even though it’s bittersweet for all of us. That there is a beautiful ending and beautiful things that are happening,” said Otitigbe. She also describes the opportunity that this documentary provides, letting the Saint Rose community be part of the national conversation of the college closure and how it impacts the people that are left behind. Otitigbe’s response was also followed by a round of applause.
It is clear by the responses from the Saint Rose community, in which many members were seated in the audience, the documentary appears to be bringing unity to anyone who has been affected by the closure. It has the ability to create awareness of the national trend of college closure, while also remembering the legacy of the college as it comes to an end.
