As juniors and seniors of the USU piano program, we would like to add our voices to those discussing the recent developments. There have been concerns raised lately, including those of sexual harassment, emotional abuse and misogyny. Many are concerned for the physical and mental well-being of the current students. We appreciate their concern, and we wish to convey we feel safe with the current faculty and department as it stands today.
We have witnessed and experienced the toxic culture many have alluded to. Because of our own discussions with the administration, changes involving the music faculty occurred in the fall of 2017, and we feel those eliminated the hostile environment. The Title IX office and the music department took our concerns seriously, and we saw improvement because of it. We feel the piano faculty has been very proactive in making these changes. We feel safe and supported.
It is unfortunate many of these issues were not addressed earlier. There has clearly been suffering when there should not have been. We are grateful for the transparent way the current faculty and administration are dealing with these issues and we are proud to be piano majors at Utah State University and what that represents.
Sarah Hamatake
Alexis Hansen
Eliza Nelson
Joshua Musselman
Kylee Paul
Brady Pope
Ethan Seegmiller
Logan