Marist Gives Another Black-Eye to Music Students and Faculty

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Studying and playing music has been the most rewarding artistic and intellectual activity I have ever pursued. It is a profoundly human and life-enriching experience that can be hard to capture and define, but one that I believe we cannot live without. Music builds character and teaches one to celebrate their success while also encouraging them to develop a habit devoted to practice. I am not alone in holding this opinion. 

I have been a member of the Marist College music family since I came to campus. Music defines the lives of countless students on Marist’s campus. These students devote a considerable amount of their time and effort to making music with friends and peers. Like me, they view music as their passion. It is this shared passion, coupled with the enthusiasm and the commitment of the music faculty at Marist, that has created a strong sense of community between music students that I am thankful to be a part of. 

This is why I’m incredibly disappointed and frustrated.

Since last fall, the music department at Marist has been practically paralyzed by the school’s administration. The band and singers are denied the opportunity to play or sing under any conditions. A proposal from the music faculty to mask instruments while playing outside, coupled by social distancing of 30 feet, was rejected. Music at Marist has essentially been limited to marches outside without instruments, singers’ meetings without actual singing and Zoom — an utter disappointment for those who love the band and singers.

I could possibly understand the administration’s concerns last semester, even if they failed to give us any real opportunity to prove we could operate safely and meet the challenges the virus presented to musicians. They feared that the virus would spread around campus and lead to an increase in infections in the greater Poughkeepsie area, putting lives in danger. However, this semester is completely different. As of March 12, cases are about a quarter of what they were seven weeks ago. Additionally, deaths and hospitalizations are also declining, with deaths decreasing to 56.6% on average every week since January 13, and hospitalizations down 70% from their peak in early January. 

Moreover, Americans now have access to life-saving vaccines that are extremely effective at reducing transmission, serious illness, and death. In fact, studies have shown that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine reduce infections by around 95% and are effective against variants. A study conducted in Israel suggests that the Pfizer vaccine prevents 98.9% of deaths. Furthermore, some doctors, like Marty Makary of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, estimate that we will have herd immunity by April.   

All of this information leads directly to the following conclusion: it is time for the country, college, and music department to begin a gradual return to normalcy. This includes allowing the music department to operate in-person and let students embrace their passion again. 

The recent surge in cases at Marist is an unfortunate exception to these trends nationwide. However, I believe there is a simple solution to this matter: activities that are known to be or are likely to cause the virus to spread on-campus can be limited during the pause. However, once the pause is lifted and the number of cases declines, the gradual return to normalcy can and should take place. This includes allowing the music department to operate in-person.   

Making music in-person is not going to get students and others severely ill or killed. The administration is aware of this as well. I know this because Marist has, and continues, to allow athletes to resume training and participate in sports. In other words, Marist is more than happy to allow football players to practice in close proximity, but will not allow a band or chorus anywhere on campus with masks and social distancing. This double standard is infuriating and illogical. Like athletes, musicians at Marist should be able to pursue their passions and embrace their talents again.  

There are videos released by Marist athletics showing soccer players practicing without masks or social distancing. Athletes can be seen without masks on, even when they’re not playing. Again, I want athletes to be able to play their sports, but how does the college approve of activities like this and not allow the band or singers to make music under any conditions?     

I think I speak for every reasonable Marist music student when I say that we understand that operating in-person will require limitations — masks, social distancing measures, reduced capacity — but a complete prohibition on all music activity is unacceptable. It is a complete betrayal of students who have abided by Marist’s COVID-19 restrictions and waited patiently for the situation to improve. Once the pause ends, it is time to make music again. The CDC and researchers agree with this assessment. 

Put simply, the administration’s operating assumption that the music department should be treated the same way as it was in the fall, is neither rational nor scientific. Moreover, as mentioned previously, I believe music is a human need and life-enriching endeavor. In this respect, the school’s excessive restrictions are detrimental to student life and it is about time that the college repealed them.  

The administration’s failure to allow the music department to operate like other organizations on campus has turned the department into a shell of its former self and make no mistake, the administrators are to blame. To freshman students, faculty, and members of the Marist music family who will help this department thrive after I graduate this summer, remember this year and how the administration treated us. When our passions were on the line, in a time when we could all use the happiness and social connections that music provides for us, our administration callously dismissed us. They do not appreciate us or the music we produce. To any Marist faculty member who is working to help get the music department running again, thank you. You have my utmost respect and admiration.        

*The views represented in this article are mine and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marist Music Department in any capacity.*