The Documentary Institute may be on the chopping block, but it's not going quietly during this round of budget cuts.
Ana Habib, a graduate student enrolled in the program, worked with two Documentary Institute alumni to get an online petition posted on Monday to help generate support.
About 450 signatures were posted by Wednesday evening.
Eric Flagger, one of the UF alumni who helped create the site, said 30 states and 13 countries are represented on the petition.
"We were feeling powerless," Flagger said. "It's something we decided was important for the dean and the president to see."
Flagger said each time the petition is signed, an email is sent to UF President Bernie Machen, UF Provost Joe Glover and Representative Larry Cretul.
"We want to make sure we exhaust all possible options before we let (the institute) disappear at its peak," he said.
Churchill Roberts, a professor in the Documentary Institute, said Rachel Grady, who was nominated for the Academy Award for her documentary "Jesus Camp," signed the petition.
Roberts said he cannot believe the 11-year-old program is being cut since it is both award-winning and nationally ranked.
Two students enrolled in the Documentary Institute also recently won the Student Emmy at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' College Television Awards for their film "Standard Deviation." Roberts said the program has now won the award two years in a row.
"You know success breeds success," he said, adding the program's prominence has started to attract more students and grant money. "We were really beginning to blossom. But a lot of our good things happen to be unfortunately overshadowed by the bad things."
Flagger said if they do not receive a response, they will consider taking the whole petition to Machen. However, he said they are taking things one step at a time.
"We'd really just like a good explanation," Flagger said.
In an interview earlier this semester, John Wright, dean of the College of Journalism and Communications, said he chose to cut the program because it is not as central to the college's core mission as its four other departments.
To find out more about the Documentary Institute or the petition, visit savethedocinstitute.com.
