A Letter to the Mayor and City Council

I have just written possibly the longest email of my life. It seems that every time we propose something dealing with a budget, the cuts are always to arts and the public sector. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written letters to politicians throughout my life. Anyways, here’s the email I have written.

Dear Mayor and Council, 

Greetings. My name is Patrick Prejean. I am a fencing instructor at Thomas Park and my mother is an employee of the department. I was informed about the proposal by my colleague to defund Parks and Recreation. I strongly advise that you reconsider. It is of upmost importance for not just my mother's sake but for the sake of all the classes held in the parks that they be kept funded. For many of our students, our fencing class is their only out of school activity and should that no longer be the case, I fear greatly for their mental health and social growth. It isn't just about the sport, but we have formed a small community as a result of having classes like fencing, HEMA, and others. I am gravely concerned on another front as well, that dealing with the arts. As a professional musician with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, I can firsthand say that many of our concert attendees enjoy the pleasures that events like ArtWalk bring. To defund the arts would be a hammer blow to many active and potential artists and musicians that would take away from our culture. What kind of message would that send to our upcoming generations? If we are to keep our population happy and growing, we must provide these necessary things. 

With great sincerity, Patrick Prejean