SLU music majors are calling for change in the wake of the Pottle building damages due to Hurricane Ida.

When students returned to Southeastern after the category four hurricane, many music students came to find that their Pottle Music building still had major damage, and the majority of the building was blocked off for repairs. There was mold and water damage, as well as a broken wall on one side of the building.

Returning to campus meant that music majors have had to relocate often to find a proper room to practice or rehearse in, even if that had its own difficulties. Losing the majority of Pottle has been troubling for many music majors on campus, as many have had to resort to practicing their instruments in their dorm rooms or their apartments due to lack of practice spaces. 

“The first couple of weeks we had nowhere to practice on campus. Choir rehearsals have been taking place in the Teacher Education Center, which we are very fortunate to have,” said Anastassia Marr, a senior vocal performance major.

The students of the music department also feel that they need more attention to be aware of the Pottle damage and how it affects them. D. Vickers, another building that has been shut down for the semester, has received a lot of attention due to English, communication and theatre students losing their building. Music students say Pottle has not received that same kind of attention from leaders at SLU.

“The music department doesn’t get the coverage or attention that it deserves. I can’t speak for everyone, but I do know that a large number of my professors and peers felt very overlooked when D. Vickers was getting so much attention because of the damages, and we felt that no one really cared about the fact that the music majors and faculty also had nowhere to go,” said Sarah Wagner, senior vocal performance major. 

“There was large miscommunication regarding the Pottle building,” Marr said. ”People were given replacement rooms in Pottle for their classes, but those classes were unavailable due to Pottle being shut down. It needs to be fixed sooner rather than later. Pottle wasn’t even mentioned by name in Dr. Crain’s letter to the students while D. Vickers was.”

Even going off campus has had to become an option for some students to get their practice in. 

“I am currently finishing my run of Songs for a New World which is a musical by Jason Robert Brown. We were supposed to perform at the Columbia Theatre in September however due to the storm we have had to perform at a local church. This has led to an extremely unsteady and intense schedule for me,” said Jacob Chauvin, junior vocal music education major. 

Music students are asking for more attention and more efficient solutions to the problems stemming from damage to Pottle. While these problems affect more students than just them, they say that they are just as important as any other major here at SLU.