The recent past

As a music student, in the midst of all of the mayhem that has been present within the JCFA , I thought it may be important to examine how our tight-knit music community responded. Walking around Lilly during finals week, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Of course we all had finals, but music students had another issue on their mind: The firing of Andrea Gullickson was present in reminders all over Lilly and campus in general. Whether it was the avid efforts of the petitioners, the students involved in the sit in on Tuesday, or simply a quick glance from a teacher who simply seemed to know, there was no escaping the mood of shock and sadness. A few of the teachers came out and said that they supported Gullickson and I overheard others say it. One in particular simply gave a smile to a student as the student walked into the dean’s office, after breaking for a final, to rejoin the sit-in.

Tensions were high on all parts, students, faculty, and of course, the higher administration. A few students, while meeting with Peter Alexander, seemed on the brink of tears while others simply had a disapproving glare on their faces. Some simply sat and listened in awe. The administrators fielded questions like “Did anyone other than you have a problem with Dr. Gullickson?” and stumbled over their words while trying to answer the questions without ever actually answering the questions.

Lastly, I want to give personal commendation to a particular Graduate Student, who acted extremely effectively, promptly, and appropriately, organizing the sit in within hours of the release of the news. His actions were admirable and he showed passion, resolve, and respect, which is more than we can say for the upper administration. The Grad student represented Butler far better than a certain Fine Arts dean who can’t seem to be bothered to come to student performances.Dean Alexander gave the welcome speech at the annual Rejoice concert so he must have come to that one, right?Wrong. He left before the music had even started…(Yeah, we noticed.)

These are just my memories of my final few days in Lilly in 2008. Sorry for the lateness: holidays and Family and all. Happy New Year to all, and I hope everyone has a lovely break before we all return. 
signed, 
a Non-Greek (music) Bulldog