VAPA Math Club provides a space for arts students to improve their math skills in a non-judgmental and healing environment.
Club president Bernadette Streep, a junior theatre and dance double major, founded the club when she found herself struggling to count above eight because it put her “off-beat.” She became determined to utilize her love of theatre and dance to better her math education.
“I’ve developed a couple techniques to better teach math. Last week, we actually staged a full musical dedicated to PEMDAS. I’ll never forget my five o’clock number: ‘Multiply/Divide,’” Streep said.
Music major Wolfgang van Beethoven has loved his experience as a member of VAPA Math Club. “After Bernadette’s genius idea to practice my times tables by figuring out what numbers multiply to create the beats per minute of each piece, I finally know what six times seven is: 45!”
Streep places importance on the club breaking stereotypes. “Everyone assumes that we don’t have a ‘real degree’ because our classes ‘aren’t hard.’ Together, we are proving VAPA students are at least as smart as other LAS majors,” she said.
The community they’ve built isn’t only based on math; it’s based on mutual, loving support. Streep reported they play improv games and do trust exercises at the beginning of each meeting to build rapport between members.
“I’m not accustomed to all these theater games, but I feel so much more connected to my peers after playing them. Big Booty is still a little weird, but I’m a fan of Zip Zap Zop,” Beethoven said.
Although other majors under the VAPA umbrella have been invited to the club, none have shown up in its first few weeks. “I guess they’re used to numbers in Museum Studies, they have to know all those dates,” Streep said.
The club was recently banned from the Kraemer Family Library due to multiple noise complaints. They will continue to meet at 11 a.m. on Thursdays in the hallways of Centennial. The club hopes that they will attract some science majors who overhear their “more fun” way of learning math.
Editor’s Note: Scribble is the satirical section of the Scribe.
Photo courtesy of Math Professional Development.