University of Birmingham’s own Brumfess – the anonymous confessions page on Facebook – has recently been subjected to various comments relating to non-STEM degrees at university. Anonymous submissions to the social media forum suggested that non-STEM subjects were not worth attending university for, and students should instead use their time more effectively by getting jobs or taking up an apprenticeship. The post then claimed that people who criticised such degrees as worthless were just expressing pity at a situation where an individual has wasted three years and collected a significant amount of debt when it was not necessary. Another submission suggested that it is down to STEM graduates to finance their degrees through their income tax, as non-STEM graduates would not pay their student loans back due to their lower earning capability.

By definition, non-STEM subjects are those that do not fall into the realm of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, and are mainly considered to be arts degrees, such as English or Drama. These comments represent a pre-existing debate over the superiority of STEM subjects in ‘today’s digital economy,’ which former President Barack Obama commented on when calling into question the use of an art history degree. If Brumfess were to be considered a societal microcosm on behalf of the University, it is then expected that it is a debate that also exists in the professional world. But given the current climate of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the devastating effect on the arts industry, this is a debate with more meaning and more harm now.

Theatres have been most brutally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with their main source of income being impossible in the current situation. Due to this, many members of staff face losing their livelihood, while a large percentage of people have already been made redundant. The Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre, for example, may be forced to make 65 percent of its staff redundant, while the Nuffield Southampton Theatres (NST) have announced their permanent closure, causing a loss of 86 jobs. Although Boris Johnson announced theatres were allowed to reopen, they are still unable to perform live shows, meaning the theatrical economy is still left damaged.

This comes, however, in accordance with the arts being used as a network of support for people during lockdown. Services such as Netflix and Disneyplus have been relied on for entertainment, with streaming consumption increasing by almost a third. Television consumption in general has increased, with viewership increasing by 25 minutes a day at the start of lockdown. Similarly, society’s reading habits have also changed, with The Reading Agency releasing a report suggesting 31 per cent of people are reading more during lockdown, with many citing it as a welcome release in such troubling times. Importantly, these activities are all fundamental subjects in the non-STEM category, and the material being consumed would likely have come from graduates in similar such fields. Although challenging the industry, lockdown has proven the necessity of such subjects. Brumfess posts in reaction to the anti-non-STEM subjects brought up careers that provide universal entertainment. One uses the company Pixar as an example, explaining that those behind such films studied animation and learnt their craft through completing degrees, in the same way that film apprenticeships often require you to have a degree in such a subject area.

Although these comments were probably flippant remarks made on a University forum, they are relevant to today’s society, and represent ideas that are likely to have a damaging effect on entire industries. Stating the unnecessary nature of artistic degrees takes us one step closer to disregarding these crafts altogether. Moreover, this attitude is echoed by the government’s decision to deny funding to help the theatrical industry during this time. Instead, we should recognise the importance of such degrees, and not put them down to see the superiority of others. Both STEM and non-STEM degrees require dedication and hard work, and are both imperative to crafting important skills for future careers. In terms of non-STEM, they provide the necessary skills for  a societal culture that will bring people together through words, performances and music. Perhaps those who submitted such comments should reassess the way they spend their time, and whether such subjects are worthwhile then.

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