We as faculty of the School of Music have reached a point where we cannot go on with the

conditions as they exist in the Music Building. This petition demonstrates our responsibility to
bring this dangerous environment, fraught with the potential for permanent personal injury, to
your attention. We consider it a severe safety hazard, a serious incident waiting to happen, and
a miracle that for all the years the building has been in use, no one has been seriously injured.
Further, the University of Florida, as a member of the National Association of Schools of Music,
received continued accreditation in 2011 which was predicated on the assumption that an
engineering study completed in 2011 was the first step in resolving major issues with the facility.
It now has been almost 4 years that we continue to be out of compliance with NASM Standards
that requires the University to provide an appropriate teaching and learning environment: Space
allotted to any music unit function must be adequate for the effective conduct of that
function...Facilities, equipment, and technology shall be adequate to support teaching and
learning in all curricular offerings and for all faculty and students engaged in them, and be
appropriately specialized for advanced work...All instructional facilities shall be accessible, safe,
and secure, and shall meet the standards of local fire and health codes...acoustical treatments
appropriate to music facilities shall be provided... ( NASM Handbook 2013-2014, II.F).
It is unethical and a risk to NASM accreditation for the University to continue to delay
addressing the significant problems with this building. The damage that is being done to
instruments including pianos due to the extreme temperatures will shorten their life span
considerably, thereby resulting in considerable cost in replacement. The permanent hearing
damage to students and faculty is a constant concern, and the risk of personal injury is high.
But most importantly, compliance with these standards ensures that University of Florida
students receive an education in an environment that is safe, secure, and conducive to a
positive learning experience.
To provide the safe, healthy and comfortable learning environment for our students, we are
demanding that the University of Florida meet its obligation and respond to the numerous
problems with the building as outlined in an engineering study done in 2011:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Replace the antiquated HVAC system to ensure appropriate temperatures.

Enclose the first and third floors to protect valuable instruments from the damaging humidity.
Sprinkler the building so that in case of fire, faculty and students are protected.
Resolve the acoustic problems that continue to damage the hearing of both students and
faculty.
5. Increase the height of railings on the second and third floors as specified by the Fire
Marshal to protect students, the faculty and the public from falling over railings causing
severe injury, possibly death.
6. Improve safety on all concrete stairways exposed to outside weather.
7. Resolve all issues to comply with standards of OSHA, the National Association of Schools of
Music, and Fire & Safety.
_______________________________

We are students in the School of Music pursuing bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in
music. Many of us are double majoring in outside fields such as business, chemistry,
engineering, science, technology and mathematics. We chose to study music at the University
of Florida due to the stature of the institution and its commitment to providing a quality education
preparing us for our future. We as students in the School of Music have reached a point where
we cannot go on with the conditions as they exist in the Music Building. We join our professors
in this petition demonstrating our support of their efforts to bring this dangerous environment,
fraught with the potential for permanent personal injury, to your attention. We consider it a
severe safety hazard, a serious incident waiting to happen, and a miracle that for all the years
the building has been in use, no one has been seriously injured.
Further, the University of Florida, as a member of the National Association of Schools of Music,
received continued accreditation in 2011 which was predicated on the assumption that an
engineering study completed in 2011 was the first step in resolving major issues with the facility.
It now has been almost 4 years that we continue to be out of compliance with NASM Standards
that requires the University to provide an appropriate teaching and learning environment: Space
allotted to any music unit function must be adequate for the effective conduct of that
function...Facilities, equipment, and technology shall be adequate to support teaching and
learning in all curricular offerings and for all faculty and students engaged in them, and be
appropriately specialized for advanced work...All instructional facilities shall be accessible, safe,
and secure, and shall meet the standards of local fire and health codes...acoustical treatments
appropriate to music facilities shall be provided... ( NASM Handbook 2013-2014, II.F).
It is unethical and a risk to NASM accreditation for the University to continue to delay
addressing the significant problems with this building. The damage that is being done to
instruments including pianos due to the extreme temperatures will shorten their life span
considerably, thereby resulting in considerable cost in replacement. The permanent hearing
damage to students and faculty is a constant concern, and the risk of personal injury is high.
But most importantly, compliance with these standards ensures that University of Florida
students receive an education in an environment that is safe, secure, and conducive to a
positive learning experience.
To provide the safe, healthy and comfortable learning environment for our students, we are
demanding that the University of Florida meet its obligation and respond to the numerous
problems with the building as outlined in an engineering study done in 2011:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Replace the antiquated HVAC system to ensure appropriate temperatures.

Enclose the first and third floors to protect valuable instruments from the damaging humidity.
Sprinkler the building so that in case of fire, faculty and students are protected.
Resolve the acoustic problems that continue to damage the hearing of both students and
faculty.
5. Increase the height of railings on the second and third floors as specified by the Fire
Marshal to protect students, the faculty and the public from falling over railings causing
severe injury, possibly death.
6. Improve safety on all concrete stairways exposed to outside weather.
7. Resolve all issues to comply with standards of OSHA, the National Association of Schools of
Music, and Fire & Safety.