Above photo: Despite there being multiple pianos on campus, students have limited access to them throughout the majority of the day. For students like Brendon Porter, president of the Musicians Club, this is a big problem. Jonah Hinebaugh | The Crow’s Nest
By Dylan Hart
Several pianos are on campus – ostensibly for student use – but a number of issues prevent students from playing them.
An upright Yamaha piano sits in the large Davis 130 meeting room. However, Davis 130 is usually locked and can only be opened with specific reservations by a student organization well ahead of time, restricting the general student body from using the piano.
An upstairs Davis classroom hosts another upright Yamaha piano, but the location is problematic; with it being so close to adjacent classrooms, any noise produced by the piano is a potential disturbance.
The baby grand piano located in the central lobby in the back of Harbor Hall has a similar problem, as its notes vibrate throughout the entire building, distracting students.
Brendon Porter, president of the Musicians Club at USF St. Petersburg, a student organization which has been seeking a music space on campus since last spring, takes issue with the limited availability of campus pianos.
“The main issue is that [the pianos] are few and far between,” said Porter. “Their accessibility is extremely limited. If a piano is placed in a more common area, you’d have a lot more students interacting. It could really expose students of the campus to the same sort of music that should be present on any university campus – having that sort of culture is key.”
Furthermore, Harbor Hall is separated from much of the campus and is currently undergoing construction, which makes it less accessible.
Some students have also raised concerns about non-students being drawn to the building purely to play the piano, despite having no connection to the school.
The fourth and final piano owned by USF St. Petersburg is in the Office of Multicultural Affairs, but it can only be used by students after business hours end at 5:00 p.m.
Another issue is awareness. Out of 77 students surveyed, only 46 knew that there were any pianos on campus at all. Even fewer knew the number of pianos or where they are located.
The rules surrounding these pianos are also left unexplained to much of the student body. There is no clear direction about which rooms can be accessed for personal use or when they are open.
Valerie Perkins, a USF St. Petersburg alumna who graduated in Spring 2017, expressed similar frustrations and said that she was occasionally told to leave Davis 259 while playing the piano.
“I always wish we had a couple of piano practice rooms that were soundproof,” said Perkins. “Playing piano really relieved my stress between classes.”
