Justin M. Jones
Triangle Reporter
During the next Student Government Senate meeting Wednesday at 9 p.m., SGA will continue to speak about making pianos publicly available on campus to students who are not music majors or minors.
“Expression in the form of music should be encouraged,” senior Daniel Grayton said.
Pianos used to be in the Huston and Long lounges and were taken out in the middle of the spring semester last year. SGA is against the idea of putting them back in the lounges because the sounds could be heard from almost every floor, sometimes after hours.
Freshman English major Kelsi Bostic, along with several other students, is upset by the fact that she cannot use any of the pianos in Rudd despite her several years of piano lessons.
“There is no way I can grow as a pianist, or musician, if I can’t play,” Bostic said. “How am I going to better myself if there is no means by which I can practice? I mean, practice makes perfect, right?
“I understand that they don’t want people simply banging away on the pianos and destroying them, but coming from a musical background, I find it absurd that the routes and means by which I can play piano have been cut off.”
As for the placement on campus, the lounges seem to be the most logical place to put the pianos.
“I can see the pros and cons of [putting the pianos back in the lounges]. If they were placed there, it would be a good setting, and I can’t think of anywhere else on campus where it wouldn’t be much of an annoyance,” Bostic said. “However, in the lounges it would be an annoyance for the people studying and what not.
“Where else can you put a piano? You can’t put it in the workout room. Well, you could, but you would probably get beaten up.”
Senior Music major Wendy Krauss remembers when the pianos were in the lounges.
and social opportunities, so when they were taken out, it was disappointing,” Krauss said.
Krauss also remembers that the school was more lenient with the Rudd pianos; however, this year, since the school has cracked down, the rules pose problems.
“[Music majors and minors] have to sign up for a particular time, and it conflicts with students who have heavy schedules,” Krauss said. “There aren’t enough pianos in Rudd.”
Currently there are five practice rooms, the piano lab, and the small amount of classroom pianos.
“There’s only enough for a handful of people to play at once,” Krauss said. “With the music department booming, it’s a brilliant idea to put more pianos on campus so people who need to practice or just enjoy them can play.”
Nov. 29 the senate will be hosting a student forum in Mac’s Café open to all students.
It will be the perfect opportunity for students to voice concerns and to talk among peers about changing the status quo.
“[SGA is] always open to new ideas and suggestions,” Grayton said. “The best way to share an idea is to talk with your senator about it or to put a comment in the mailbox outside Subzone.”
The forum will be important for both SGA and non-SGA students alike, so the campus can better itself.
“In order to be a voice for the student body, SGA needs to tell us things – what on earth they’re trying to do so that we can give support, give advice, share ideas, or shut them down,” Krauss said.
Ideas, advice and the like will all be welcome in the forum.