Lecture 5: Rewrite an article in txt spk by Shawna Blumenschein

The original article is "Arts students feel they're second class" from the Edmonton Journal.

Arts stds feel they're 2nd class

Construction cranes have been a common site at the Uni of Ab in recent years.
Thtre dsgn maj Nick Blais may b fortunate he can't c them from his crmpd studio in the Fine Arts Bldg.
If the room had windows, Blais might develop a case of facility envy, since the cranes currently on campus r being used 2 develop giant new rsrch palaces for sci & hlth stds.
In contrast 2 those state-of-the-art glass & steel structures, Blais's home base, the FAB, was constructed in the early 1970s, which is probably y much of it rsmbles a Cold War-era bnkr.
Instead of nat lite, FAB is mainly bathed in a gloomy fluorescent glow. The colour scheme is grey & brwn, from the tiles on the floor 2 the colectn of rusted art lining the ext. It's 1 of the few bldgs on cmps that doesn't have wrls Internet access.
3 dptmts--msc, drama & art & dsg--r crammed in2 a bldg built for 2. Just 5 dsks fit in2 Blais's stdo.
Things get rly tight when stds start producing thtre modls of sets, lghtng & costumes. Around the corner, mstrs stds r crammed in2 a back alcove formerly occupied by vending machines.
Acting majs have it even worse, often arriving on cmps at 5 a.m. 2 sign up for rehearsal space. Dawdlers have 2 rehearse in hallways or dorm rooms.
Hardly an enviro 2 inspire creative exprn.
"On the 1 hand, I'm blessed 2 have what I have, coz our studio has a gr8 enviro," Blais says.
"On the other hand, I'd love more space. It's easy 2 get a little jealous looking (across campus) at those other bldgs that r new, pristine & accessible."
In a way, FAB is a brick & concrete symbol of how people in trad arts prgms--fine arts, soc scis & humnitis-- perceive their place in Alberta's post-2ndary hierarchy. They love what they do, yet feel like 2nd-class ctzns.


The original article follows all the rules of the English language. As such, it is easy for anyone with basic literacy to pick up, read, and comprehend. The transition into text speak makes the article clunky, despite the removal of characters, almost to the degree that it becomes a puzzle to be decoded rather than an informational piece. Despite the proliferation of texting not everyone texts. Further, not everyone who texts employs text speak or even the same text speak as their peers. The rewritten article therefore has a narrower audience and greater ambiguity than the original.