USF’s Student Government lacks funding for an arts and crafts center

For around 30 years, USF had an arts and crafts center called the Craft Shop where students gathered to make pottery, jewelry, ceramics, drawings, paintings and other artwork.
Issues with facilities for USF’s ceramics club, Lil’ Muddy’s Fun Bunch, led Student Government (SG) to look into reinstating the Craft Shop last year.
Though SG determined there wasn’t enough funding for the center, when Lil’ Muddy’s lost their room at the end of this spring, the idea gained traction again.
John Byrd, the head of the ceramics department, said his goal is to bring back the center – a permanent room for all USF students who enjoy the arts. However, problems with funding and building space still stand in the way of Byrd’s hopes.
The Old Craft Shop
The Craft Shop first opened on the west side of the University Center in the building’s basement on July 5, 1967, according to a 1967 Oracle article.
Everyone was welcome to participate in free pottery and leatherwork demonstrations, according to another 1967 Oracle article.

The Craft Shop was renamed Centre Studios in 1994 but was closed in 2000 after “losing” too much money – approximately $38,000 a year, The Tampa Bay Times, then named the St. Petersburg Times, reported in 2000.
The old student center was replaced by the Marshall Student Center (MSC) in 2008 but never included a Centre Studios space.
Even though the MSC was built without a dedicated arts and crafts center, some USF alums still push for its reinstatement.
Charles McGee is a teaching laboratory specialist who oversees USF’s ceramics facilities. McGee was a math major at USF from 1990-94 and had a job at the Craft Shop.
The time he spent working there inspired him to pursue his current job at USF, he said.
“It changed my life,” McGee said. “The craft shop allowed anyone to pursue art knowledge and education without having to take a class.”
What about now?
Byrd, the head of the ceramics department, said there should be a real drive to bring back a dedicated center for student artists. The addition would help address the mental health needs of USF’s students, he said.
Some art-related USF student organizations, such as the crochet and ceramics club, also lack dedicated facilities.
Related: USF’s ceramics club is at risk after losing its facilities
Nick Nelson, the graphic designer for USF’s crochet club, said because the student organization doesn’t have its own space, it has to rent rooms in the MSC — which is “always hard.”
“It would be awesome to have a big, accessible and stable place where everyone could go to instead of being so separated,” Nelson said.
Aditi Rangdale, a member of USF’s ceramics club, said that USF is already spending a lot of money on the on-campus stadium. She said funding the Craft Shop would benefit the student body as both athletes and artists would have facilities on campus.
Related: OPINION: On-campus stadium is too costly
Jennifer Bielen, the associate director of SG advising, said it was determined at the beginning of 2023 that there wasn’t enough Activity and Service Fee (A&S) funding – a $7 flat and $12.18 fee per credit hour included in students’ tuition – at the time to bring back the Craft Shop.
And a year later, lack of funding continues to be an impediment.
Althea Johnson, a USF spokesperson, said that funding and identifying appropriate space for the Craft Shop will continue to be an obstacle regardless of student desire.
“SG currently does not have the funds to subsidize an arts and crafts center, so they would not approve it,” Johnson said.
Matthew Marshall, the MSC’s director, said the building’s current needs would not allow for an arts and crafts space — not even in the basement, where maintenance and storage are housed.
Still, McGee said the Craft Shop’s presence on campus is equally important as having spaces for students to eat.
“Everybody needs an outlet for stress relief, whether it’s gardening, sports, or the arts,” McGee said. “It’s hard to see that creative people don’t get to have a space on campus.”