Students are reacting in creative ways to budget cuts.

Large budget cuts in the De Anza College photography department helped students form the idea of a formal De Anza photography exhibit.

“We can’t march, so we did this,” said coordinator Kristin Munday.

A few quarters ago, De Anza purchased exhibit cases for the photography department to showcase students’ work. However, the cases remained empty. Two De Anza students decided to change that.

Last winter quarter, Kristin and Andrew Munday started planning a program to display students’ photography works.

The De Anza exhibit is a regularly rotating exhibit for students to submit their work. “[The exhibit] is an affordable means for people to grow,” Kristin Munday said. The submissions can be all types of photography, both digital and film.

Andrew Munday hopes the exhibit can be a way to blend past photography styles with the present.

“We are documenting our time,” Andrew Munday said.

The two coordinators hope to add a sense of community and see what aspects of photography interest students.

“We want this to be a place where students’ work can be seen and celebrated,” Kristin Munday said.

The display will also be a place to show what is going on in the photography department and why it is of importance to De Anza students.

In the future, the coordinators plan to have the photographs judged on a professional level. They also plan to sponsor occasional themed projects.

Kristen and Andrew Munday have set up a Facebook group to reach more students. “We want to take the time to build it,” Andrew Munday said, “until it is sustainable.”

The coordinators plan to branch out and bring the students’ photography to other venues besides the photography lab exhibit.

The Mundays plan to start workshops on how to properly mount, frame and submit photographs. They would like to conduct workshops in areas in which classes were cut.

There is no current budget for the project, all the work is voluntary. The two plan to create a club to recruit students and raise money to fund their projects.

With the recent death of lab technician Greg Serniuk, the photography department is enduring a difficult time.

“He was a phenomenal resource for this department,” Kristin Munday said. “We each touch each others’ lives,” she said. “Some are just not as obvious how much they touch your life until they’re gone.”

The coordinators hope to name the exhibit in memory of Serniuk.

For more information, visit the Facebook group “De Anza Photography.”