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Karen Estrella

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In Masks Outrageous and Austere (alumni)

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In Masks Outrageous and Austere (alumni)

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This is Edith Lesley Wolfard's portrait from her school's 1928 yearbook, The Lesleyan. At the time the Lesley Normal School was founded, Ms. Lesley was steeped in a national culture that was brimming with new ideas, new discoveries, new norms, and a newly impassioned aspiration to fulfill the ideals of a democratic society.

This portrait shows us a staunch individual who fiercely adhered to the principles of both democracy and the thematic touchstones of Froebelian Kindergarten, both sets of principles being the reasons for Lesley's very existence.

The tenets of Kindergarten's original foundation included things like providing a learning experience that engaged the whole person, a focus on the imaginations and potentials of students, the engagement of the community, the integration of the arts, generosity, unity, cooperation, and compromise. Ms. Lesley was grounded in an ethic of the egalitarian and a shared concern that disorder and disharmony would take root in a society that cannot live by the fundamental principles learned in Kindergarten.

All of this seems, in fact, anathema to the ethical principles of "Better Lesley." My response to the topsy-turvy world that "Better Lesley" has precipitated is to think of how unaligned it is with the values of the university and of how horrified Ms. Lesley would be at the prospect of the disorder she so feared descending upon her institution. She simply would not approve.

Furthermore, Edith Lesley most certainly would not tolerate the greed and tyranny of weak, selfish people in any form of leadership, be it locally, nationally, or abroad.

Edward Freeman

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feels like a death: Summer Residency 2023 Collage (staff, alumni)

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feels like a death: Summer Residency 2023 Collage (staff, alumni)

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I am extremely resistant

I am effected

Affected

I keep witnessing/watching [hypervigilant]

But mostly am upset

Made this piece during our community arts time at Summer Residency 2023

Anonymous

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Throughout Better Lesley there have been invitations for conversations and claims of collaboration. It is rare that these moments have felt like true openings for connection and input.

Anonymous

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As counselors-in-training, all master's students in Expressive Therapies at Lesley learn about the concept of "Rupture and Repair".  Originally identified by Bowlby, and rooted in attachment theory, the concept conveys that ruptures damage trust, and can come in the form of betrayal, abandonment, misunderstanding, or any other breakdown in a relationship. Repair is of course essential. Repair requires vulnerability, collaboration, reflection, forgiveness and understanding.  Ruptures that are not repaired, in my opinion, simply form rupture after rupture after rupture, further damaging the relationship. "Multiple ruptures" make me think of a dynamic in couples described by The Gottman Institute as the "four horsemen" of the apocalypse: criticism, contempt, defensiveness and stonewalling.  My experience of "Better Lesley" has often, to me, felt like a lack of repair, a lack of authentic and collaborative communication. I developed this scene, with Jason's help, about a family where in one scene the "leadership" is stonewalling and defensive, and in the second scene, vulnerable and collaborative.

Sandi Hammond

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Anonymous

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2 of 2 Better Lesley Unfettered by Plebs (student)

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2 of 2 Better Lesley Unfettered by Plebs (student)

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(see 1 of 2 for recording) I am including a chord/Lyric sheet as the way I chose to record the piece might leave some of the lyrics a bit muddy in the mix.

Aaron Dore

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Remembering (the yellow house) (student, alumni)

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Remembering (the yellow house) (student, alumni)

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As a low-residency student from afar, summer residency at Lesley is a much-anticipated “homecoming” to celebrate different stages of the marathon-like doctoral journey. During my first-year residency, the yellow Expressive Therapy office building was the greeting place to welcome first-year students. A tremendous sense of community and physical togetherness marked a memorable beginning. The instrumental cover of Sarah MacLachlan’s I Will Remember You, excerpts of the lyrics, and the progressive fragmentation of architectural images weaved a dedicated memorial to the former Expressive Therapy office – a lamentation of the lost space that once gathered everyone and everything Expressive Therapy on the Lesley campus.

Rita Wong

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Remembering, An Art Response to Better Lesley2

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1 of 2 Better Lesley Unfettered by Plebs (student)

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1 of 2 Better Lesley Unfettered by Plebs (student)

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(see 2 of 2 for lyrics)

Aaron Dore

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My Experience with Better Lesley (student)

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My Experience with Better Lesley (student)

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Is this struggle in drama, or is this in real life?
In real life, we cannot rewind like drama can, but we can always make changes for the future.

Heng Hsiu Liu (Grace Liu)

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Jennifer is an expressive artist, mother, wife and disgruntled grad student who uses her intermodal practice that incorporates visual art, poetry, movement, and music to explore and interact with her internal and external landscapes and relationships. Returning to graduate school after a 25 year hiatus was a dream of hers that has recently become more of a nightmare as the rippling effects of "Better Lesley" become more apparent.

Jennifer Knight

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As a multidisciplinary artist, I often flow between modalities but I struggled to find a flow to express my experiences with “better” Lesley. I chose to hack together haiku poetry and graffiti writing on a slappy. The result is a metaphor for what it feels like as a recent graduate and now an adjunct under this new organizational structure. Consolidating comes at a cost. Convolution isn’t clear. In summary, I’m left wondering who or what is actually “better.”

Anonymous

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My experience at Lesley is so meaningful because of the connections around me. There is no room for judgment, only for encouragement and acceptance. It is eye-opening to be taught ways to bring compassion in such a creative way to heal wounds. And to my classmates and professors who journey together, never stop being your authentic selves; it is the most wonderful thing to witness.

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Sadness invites a sense of comfort, but it whispers the shadow to ruminate us. Find ways to unveil it with harmony.

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The impacts of "Better Lesley" have hurt me as a student and wounded me as a human being. The decisions being made by the administration of the university to consolidate programs and cut back on resources only to raise tuition rates are cruel and undeserving of praise. I do not feel safe in President Janet Steinmayer's care and have several times considered whether to remain part of this cohort because of HER. My accompanying artistic response is directly to the administration. I am committed to the work in the expressive arts therapy program as it was when I entered it less than a year ago. May there be compassion and may there be listening ears. "Better Lesley" is unsustainable and unforgivable. Let us please save Lesley.

Tianna Fullmer

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Who are we without music? Without instruments? Without musicians?

Ash Landrein

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In response to the call for artistic expression regarding the impact of the Better Lesley initiative on the Graduate Expressive Therapies Department, I offer the poem "I'd rather be a log" as a reflection of my personal experience and emotions during this distressing time.

Anonymous

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The artwork is conveying the idea of reverberating effects (echoes) stemming from the changes brought about by Better Lesley. It suggests a journey (navigating) through these changes, reflecting the unique experiences and emotional weight (竒沉) felt by myself within the Expressive Therapies Department.

Anonymous

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I created this piece with gouache paint and collage. I went to Lesley for undergrad and came back to pursue my graduate degree, all in order to obtain a career in expressive therapies which has put me into immense debt and mental stress. I want to believe in a bright, inclusive, non-marginalizing Lesley, but right now it feels far from that, limiting the opportunity for future students and generations to be a part of this incredible field.

Anonymous

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This improvisation represents my disappointment in the Better Lesley initiative, juxtaposed with hope for the future and gratitude for being part of a committed and supportive Music Therapy cohort.

Chelsea Ventura

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Lesley’s “century of innovation” conjures up images of people--creative, vital, collaborative, engaged, emotionally honest and present for all of the conversations along the way. Human, relational innovation. This kind of innovation built our university, and it has sustained us as members of an academic community rooted in the “human arts.” Centralization, on the other hand, negatively impacts such innovation. It flattens the complexity that characterizes human-centered processes. It stifles creativity, devalues relationships and reduces people's investment in their work. What could possibly be "better" about that?

I miss my companions who have been relocated to centralized roles, I miss the voices of those who had their programs cancelled or been fired, I miss the ones who have left the university in frustration. I feel demoralized and disappointed and sad.

Deb Spragg

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A free-write, spoken word expression of "Better" Lesley

An Institution in Dissolution

Why should I have to preach-

To those that are meant to teach?

My education, and institution, what is supposed to be the head of a revolution.

Instead, falls by the wayside, no dignity, no pride.

Slashing away, relinquishing ability to play

To play with art, with music, with dance,

Now I’m only living in a trance. Making it through day by day, while Better Lesley crumbles like clay.

To be better is to improve, to help, to soothe -

The aches and pains of those that heal, not pull from their wallets, and continually steal -

Their efforts, their joy, their insistence to try.

Why can’t you hear our cry?

As you take away departments and friends.

It seems like Lesley may be coming to its ends.

So fill your pockets and enjoy your reign. For it is us that feels the loss and you who gets the gain.

Anonymous

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The actions behind the “for a better Lesley” initiative fail to recognize the university’s best resource: its people (staff, students, and faculty). The administration is failing us by blatantly squashing the strengths of our community and by making major structural changes without our consultation. The administration would be wise to listen to the voices of its community. This is a plea to the administration to do so.

S.M.

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Mostly I speak as an alumni, a grateful one, speaking to colleagues and students, fellow alumni and the admin.  My presentation is simple, and a question.

Anonymous

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2 of 2 Meeting Musings and What Gets Left Behind (faculty)

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2 of 2 Meeting Musings and What Gets Left Behind (faculty)

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This is an on-going project. These images (and many others) were created throughout the past year or so during many meetings where faculty and staff discuss their thoughts, feelings, and frustrations with Better Lesley and its roll-out. I imagine there will be many more added. What would you add?

Donna Owens

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1 of 2 Meeting Musings and What Gets Left Behind (faculty)

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1 of 2 Meeting Musings and What Gets Left Behind (faculty)

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This is an on-going project. These images (and many others) were created throughout the past year or so during many meetings where faculty and staff discuss their thoughts, feelings, and frustrations with Better Lesley and its roll-out. I imagine there will be many more added. What would you add?

Donna Owens

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I am a 4th year doctoral candidate, I work very hard to gain knowledge and obtain a distinction which will give me the opportunity to change the way mental health is delivered. I have learned greatly from extraordinary teachers and they deserve the best teaching conditions to continue to do so. However, my degree is not only worth the work I put into it, it directly depends on the reputation of the program and the institution it belongs to. The changes created by "BetterLesley" have brought about uncertainty and have weakened our institutional reputation in our field. Alike my painting, I feel that after climbing a very difficult mountain, I am now walking on thin air because it is unclear what my degree will mean in the professional world should my institution continue to belittle the impact of my program and the professors.

Marie Deschamps

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This is how it has felt to find my way into the Better Lesley plan.

Karen Estrella

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Within my digital collage, I explore my personal journey within the realm of "Better Lesley." Initially drawn to Lesley University by tales of its vibrant creativity and commitment to social justice, I envisioned a space brimming with boundless opportunities. However, my experience within the confines of this model has been fraught with disillusionment.

Once envisioned as a beacon of innovation and community, Lesley now appears to me as a landscape marred by walls devoid of windows or doors, obstructed by roadblocks, and tainted by the specter of greed. The university's shift towards prioritizing profits over people has become evident, with resources allocated not towards supporting students but towards inflating the pockets of leadership. These observations are not mere conjecture but grounded in statistical fact.

While the concept of "Better Lesley" is presented as a positive transformation, my reality has been one of economic strain and unfulfilled promises. Despite this, my commitment to Lesley persists, fueled primarily by the solidarity found within my graduate cohort. In each other, we discover the support and understanding that "Better Lesley" fails to provide. There is a saying going around the halls of Lesley by graduate students, "We will graduate and be better humans not because of Lesley but despite it." This may be hard to hear but it is the truth of my experience and others at "Better Lesley" University.

Anonymous

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2 of 2 Open during (con)/(de)-struction (faculty)

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2 of 2 Open during (con)/(de)-struction (faculty)

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What happens when institutions become unrecognizable to their members? What happens when aspirational ideals for collaboration and democracy are made invisible? The ironic tragedy embodied in the microcosm at Lesley reverberates in the macrocosm in the double talk, empty rhetoric, and suspension of logic to preserve the fragility of our emotions, the illusions of power, the farce of safety, and the delusion of exceptionalism.

Kelvin Ramirez

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1 of 2 Open during (con)/(de)-struction (faculty)

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1 of 2 Open during (con)/(de)-struction (faculty)

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What happens when institutions become unrecognizable to their members? What happens when aspirational ideals for collaboration and democracy are made invisible? The ironic tragedy embodied in the microcosm at Lesley reverberates in the macrocosm in the double talk, empty rhetoric, and suspension of logic to preserve the fragility of our emotions, the illusions of power, the farce of safety, and the delusion of exceptionalism.

Kelvin Ramirez

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Lack of clarity leads to lack of trust. Community ties grow weaker. As the thread unravels, how will it be woven back together?

Sahita Pierre-Antoine

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Mikki Lane

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I wrote this poem in response to the initial series of art responses that I had created (Three Votes, No Confidence, Confidence in Community). The three pieces showed me that it’s easy to absorb the confusion, criticism, and frustration that permeates the halls of Lesley. I’m grateful to my art for acknowledging these feelings—but my heart also reminded me that I didn’t want to be stuck in that nor contribute more to the atmosphere of Fear and Apathy. I asked Love to guide me in my next art response (The Real Assignment)…
The Expressive Therapies program at Lesley is based on a framework of social justice, yes? I see the "Better Lesley” restructuring crisis as an opportunity to turn theory into praxis. Posting my "Key Assignment #1" on Tevera satisfies the clinical licensure requirements, but the real assignment is about how I show up for my community and working together to create an actually better Lesley for all.

Anonymous

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For Students, Better Lesley is the Epitome of a Sad Balloon (student)

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For Students, Better Lesley is the Epitome of a Sad Balloon (student)

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This piece was collaboratively created by a collective of expressive arts therapy graduate students who harbor deep concerns and despair regarding the recent trajectory of Lesley University under the banner of "Better Lesley." We've felt completely disheartened as we witness escalating tuition and fees coupled with reduced communication, support services, and quality of education. Lesley University was promoted to us as an institution committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and social justice, which aligns with our values and was the reason many of us chose Lesley. However, we believe "Better Lesley" has undermined the core of what Lesley University is truly about, making us feel confused, lost, and ultimately deceived.

As we watch "Better Lesley" be implemented we feel anger and stress as our raised tuition and fees are being used for extravagant vending machines, marketing campaigns, and leadership raises, while essential faculty who represent the core of what makes Lesley University its identity are being fired and programs merged or disappearing altogether. For us, the mask is slipping, and "Better Lesley" is truly the epitome of a sad, hopeless, deflating balloon.

We feel so grateful to lean on other graduate students in the community to get through this difficult experience called "Better Lesley", to graduate, and to make sure others truly know what our experiences at "Better Lesley" have been like.

Anonymous

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Hear us now, Sincerely, Lesley students (student)

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Hear us now, Sincerely, Lesley students (student)

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Despite countless attempts to communicate with President Steinmayer, she continues to ignore us.
There is nothing "better" about an initiative that benefits those in power while actively causing harm to students, faculty, and staff. This is a call out. Ignoring us will not make us shut up. Lesley is a university that claims to stand for justice. It's time to act like it.

Anonymous

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This image represents the swirling of fears and unknown possibilities that have arisen throughout my experience at Lesley. New layers were added with each statement and change propagated by the "Better Lesley" initiative such that I have felt lost to the seemingly incessant dysfunction of the institution. Metaphorically, I struggled to establish a face among the chaos of the swirling color and sweeping energy. The one I was able to locate has a sullen and disappointed affect, looking down to the right with an almost defeated or resigned acceptance.

Arielle Ruggeroli

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Through this piece, I am re-imagining Better Lesley. Taking the words as they were, and using just the ones that I wish we could have read.

Angelle Cook

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B_O poetry Lesley Strategic Framework and Bet

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The education I invested in feels like a ground changing underfoot and I have no input. The language describing what is happening does not seem to fit what is actually happening and that feels perplexing and does not engender trust. This piece illustrates that and some of the many questions and concerns percolating.

Anonymous

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This simple image shows how the changes at Lesley have resulted in me feeling impaired by my dis/ability, rather than empowered by my inherent differences and abilities. Gross termination of staff, including Daniel Newman, has impacted my experience at the university in a negative way and put the onus on me to weed through the aftermath of reckless decisions.

Anonymous

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an organization operating in chaos loses sight of the goal

and hurts everyone involved

except for those who don’t want to hear it

we are on our own

procedures are not enforced, agreed upon, or are unclear

we can ask again but doubt we will get an answer

we are on our own

a lack of communication across the organization

who, when, how remains unanswered

we are on our own

absence of transparency

town halls, department meetings, committees, faculty meetings, university council, faculty assembly

the frustration grows

we are on our own

our once vibrant, supportive, respectful culture has died

chaos and burnout and anger prevails

we are on our own

Donna Socha

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My Experience of Better Lesley (faculty)

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My Experience of Better Lesley (faculty)

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My experience of "Better Lesley"

Michelle Napoli

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The ET graduate program has been hailed as an important “flagship” program and yet…

Flagship

State what we need to sustain

No response

Resources cut back

Feel the ground slipping away

Fault lines emerge

State what we need to function

No response

Stripped of more resources

Scrambling to patch together

Crumbling, wearing away

State what we need to survive

No response

More resources gone

Deep, deep erosion

Rendered powerless

A flagship sinks

Michaela Kirby

former Department Chair

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As Better Lesley was starting in the spring of 2023, I took quotes from email messages I was receiving and put them together in this video. All are direct quotes. I think about the sequel I could make now - one year later.

The music is Fyrsta by Ólafur Arnalds.

Jason Butler

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PAINT THE SKY is an animated short film and art installation created in collaboration with my creative arts colleague Andrea Gitter, MA, LCAT, BC-DMT, a psychotherapist, and dance/movement therapist. This animated short film explores the theme of grief resulting from traumatic loss when it becomes a thread in the tapestry of one's life narrative. The expressive arts offer room to breathe, express, and explore our grief with aesthetic distance, which can forge a path of unseen possibilities. We are interested in the vast space and hope the arts provide in processing one's grief experiences and the grounding pathways one can find throughout one's grief journey. We are honored that this animated short was selected for the LiftOff Global Network Film Festival 2023 and 2024 season. - https://liftoff.network/

Reji Mathew, PhD, LCSW, REAT

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Hillary Rubesin received her masters in Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University in 2008, and her doctorate in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University in 2018. She has taught as an adjunct professor since 2020. She maintains hope in and love for the program, despite all the recent madness.

Hillary Rubesin

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Call to action audio effects response (student)

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Call to action audio effects response (student)

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There is not much to say, as the piece speaks for itself.

Rachael Penn

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This short song is meant to capture the frustrations of many in the Music Therapy program with the changes of Better Lesley. Not only have these changes not improved our experiences at Lesley University, they have added unnecessary stress on the students and faculty in the Expressive Therapies programs. Time and time again, the concerns for our department and need for full-time core faculty that we have voiced to administration have been met with dismissal and weak excuses or delays in action, especially with the imminent re-accreditation of the music therapy program. "We tried to give our best to you, but you plugged up your ears. And now we just can't take no more, we've had it up to here" is a sentiment felt by many of us in this program, especially the low-residency MT program.

Anonymous

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Reflecting on all the changes and mixed messages I am receiving and perceiving on our beloved university and the history and reputation of excellence for ExTx program that is at risk of going down the drain...I am wondering about how it's becoming less of a Lesley, thus I submit this photo image I took in a bathroom titling it, Lessley.

Anonymous