If you’ve ever messaged a music major in the late hours asking what they were doing, there’s a good chance they said they were practicing. But those night owls might be out of luck: On Nov. 14, the Frost School of Music sent out an email to all students and faculty announcing that Foster practice room access will now be limited to between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.
Unlike the average University of Miami student who can simply write an essay in the comfort of their bedroom, it’s unfair to limit the time music students can work in the practice rooms. There’s rules that prevent loud volume throughout residence spaces, and for students playing a larger instrument like a piano or drumset, they’re not even able to practice anywhere besides Foster.
Music industry major Quinn Olson averages two to three hours of practice each day. Olson said Frost’s decision to limit practice room hours “portrays a general lack of concern for student’s livelihood.”
“Practicing is essential to musicians’ work, and it is hard,” said Olson. “It’s hard to motivate yourself to sit down every day and work. Making practicing less accessible decreases that motivation even further.”
With less than 50 practice rooms for nearly 700 students, it’s often difficult to secure a practice room during business hours. Limiting hours will make it even harder for students to find an empty room.
“Almost every case of someone being in Foster after or before hours is simply because they need extra practice time…The students that are there at 2:00 a.m. or 6:00 a.m. are among the most passionate and hard-working in our school,” Olson continued.
The average Frost student enrolls in at least 17 credits each semester. Most music majors typically have 20 class-hours a week, in addition to extracurricular activities, work and social obligations. Sometimes, early mornings or late evenings are the only viable time to practice.
Coco Brown, a senior violinist, relies on late practice sessions due to her many day-to-day obligations.
“These new rules make no sense,” said Brown. “It’s making facilities that students are paying for harder to access, when administration should be doing the opposite and should be expanding and improving our practice room facilities.”
The decision is overall one that most Frost students feel was made without their best interests in mind. Olson suggested a form asking for the community’s input would have heeded better results, and Brown agreed there’s an ongoing “disconnect between administration and students.”
Brown added that in her four years here, she’s heard various complaints surrounding the Foster building. With extensive issues already existing within the Foster building — such as loud air conditioning, severe mold and faulty pianos — most music majors agree that the attention should have been allocated to more pressing issues.
“Over my four years of being here, there were no modifications to Foster until the other day with this new change, which isn’t remotely close to the issue that students have been frustrated about,” said Brown.
There’s no doubt that the Frost School of Music’s Foster building is in need of significant improvements. It needs expanding, cleansing and maintenance. It most certainly does not need to be made more inaccessible.