Dan DaranciangStudents and faculty of the Music Department and Performing Arts Department (PAD) have complained for over 25 years that there’s not enough space for them to perform and play. On Friday, they took their concerns to University administrators, the first meeting to occur between the two sides since 1988.
During the meeting, the student liaisons in music and performing arts presented a timeline of suggested improvements and additions to Executive Vice Chancellor Edward Macias, Director of Facilities Tom Simmons, and Senior Analyst Lynn McCloskey. These suggestions included soundproofing the wall between Olin Dance Studio I and II, increasing lab spaces in both departments, and hiring additional faculty to accommodate increasing numbers of students.
“The chairs have certainly talked to me about space issues in the past, but the students brought up things that were much more immediate that what I had heard,” Macias said. “The student input was very good to hear.”
Proposed changes long in the works
Senior Ben Allen, the student liaison for the Music Department, said the space needs expressed by the department in 1979 “have not yet been resolved by the University.” Music Department records indicate that 240 students received applied music instruction in the spring semester of 1979, which translates to approximately 240 hours of instruction per week; in the fall of 2004, 472 hours of lessons were taught each week.
“Teaching facilities have not changed. So, overloaded facilities in 1979 are still being used today with roughly double the number of hours taught,” Allen said.
Macias questioned this allegation.
“I’m not sure that’s quite right. A lot has happened since 1979,” Macias said, noting that a new building was added recently. He was unable to recall specifically what other changes have been made, as he is not in charge of such records.
The building in question, a replacement for the original music lessons building, “has the same number of classrooms and offices as the old building,” Music Department Associate Professor Robert Snarrenberg said. He noted that this 1996 construction is the most recent change that had been made to the music facilities.
PAD also expressed the feeling that it suffers negative consequences because of a lack of space.
“Students feel like they compromise their work in order to accommodate each other, given limited time and space,” said David Marchant, senior artist-in-residence in dance. “They get things done, but they could be doing better work if they had more space.”
The lack of space also leads to less-than-ideal alternative measures, PAD representatives explained, such as students rehearsing in the back of Mallinckrodt’s food court after hours.
Marchant also noted that students who work in the scene and costume shops need more space because they handle dangerous equipment. The problem can be resolved by limiting the number of people who work in the room simultaneously-but this measure slows things down too much when things need to be completed quickly before a production is staged.
Departments also end up with extra costs due to the lack of space. Because the Music Department does not have its own performance spaces, it rents spaces in Graham Chapel, Holmes Lounge, and other facilities.
“Renting spaces from other departments entails a base cost plus the price of moving equipment from our department to and from the concert spaces. The total cost for of all of this came to $12,567.81 in the 2003 fiscal year,” Allen said.
Junior Pushkar Sharma, the drama liaison, said the space concerns are not new.
“These [issues] have been brought up with the faculty every year I’ve been here. The faculty are complaining as much as the students, if not more,” Sharma said.
More students sharing the same spaces
The lack of space also has to do with the increasing number of students who come to the University interested in becoming involved in performing arts or music. PAD Chair Henry Schvey explained that these space issues were not a problem when Mallinckrodt was originally built.
“Fifteen to 20 years ago very few people came to Washington University to major in the arts. Now [we’re seeing] a lot more dedication by students,” he said.
The only major changes that Schvey can recall in his 17 years at the University are a storage warehouse on North Campus to house props and costumes, air-conditioning in the Olin I and Olin II studios and ventilation renovations (which still need improvement because of health issues) in the scene and costume shops. None of these changes, however, have addressed the department’s space issues.
“The administration supports the arts [but] they are not aware of what it necessitates,” Schvey said.
He also noted that Edison Theater, where many PAD performances are held, was originally intended to be used as a multi-purpose space-a theatre and lecture hall.
“Having multi-purpose spaces sounds like a good idea, but it doesn’t serve the arts very well,” he said.
Last Friday’s meeting left some students and faculty hopeful that there will be major changes in the future. However, the issue of when these changes will be made is still in question. The student liaisons suggested that in 10-15 years the University should complete “a performing arts center/recital hall dedicated primarily to curricular student recitals, or if a new Student Center is constructed, [renovate] Mallinckrodt Center in order to serve as a Performing Arts Center as it was originally conceived.”
Junior Justin Huebener, the dance liaison, thinks that this will happen, but not in the near future.
“One might be done in the next 10 to 20 years. A project like that is very expensive, and a building of that size and magnitude, cannot be implemented next spring. The purpose of the meeting is for planning to start happening now. There is now a plan of action,” Huebener said.
Not all students left the meeting hopeful, including sophomore Scott Abrahams.
“I left early because [the administration] believes they can do whatever they want. The meeting was frustrating for many people,” Abrahams said.
In response to the meeting, Macias is scheduling a second meeting early next month where he can further discuss the space issues with Simmons, McCloskey and the student liasons. Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences James McLeod may also be in attendance.
“I thought the dialogue was very helpful and I want to keep it going,” Macias said of the initial meeting. “I wanted to get more information then talk with the representatives [again] to see what we found.”
While he could not elaborate on what specific action will be taken, he said the University intends to take the departments’ concerns seriously.