In the wake of recent allegations of sexual misconduct in classical music settings near and far, Oberlin Conservatory of Music is taking specific steps to change the culture.
The conservatory's actions are part of Oberlin College's school-wide focus on the issue.
Last summer, two following accusations of innapriopriate behavior with students. Shortly after those resignations, Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar said to staff and students that institutions need to be 鈥減repared to respond to reports of sexual misconduct and to prevent such misconduct whenever possible.鈥�
In addition to mandatory training for staff, the school hosted conversations around the issues.
鈥淗aving small groups of faculty be able to have these conversations within the conservatory specifically has been super helpful,鈥� said Oberlin Conservatory Dean Andrea Kalyn. 鈥淭he rule is very simple, right, don鈥檛 have relationships with students. But the nuance is how you make sure that the culture is one where that鈥檚 very clear and there鈥檚 a security in that professional separation.鈥�
Those conversations included discussions about the teacher-student relationship in music education, office spaces, traveling faculty and night rehearsals.
The conservatory faculty also voted in September to remove obstructions from studio windows. While some music schools have solid doors to keep sound contained in rooms, Oberlin added windows during a renovation. However, those windows were often covered up to remove distractions, conceal instruments or establish privacy, Kayln said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a climate where鈥� privacy can be abused, Kalyn said.
The change is to provide security for students and faculty as well as make a statement of awareness and transparency, she said.
Additionally, 鈥渕aking sure that we don鈥檛 excuse bad behavior for art鈥檚 sake鈥� and being 鈥渉yper aware of the ways in which we send subtle messages鈥� are important for improving the greater classical music world, Kayln said
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