Conservatory is not beyond College ethical and moral codes

Many women did not find out about it, though. A few women who knew still may have attended with their dates, which, from some perspectives, could indirectly perpetuate acceptance of the pool. What did the women, knowledgeable of the pool or not, win? Well, for these contestants, there was blatant physical objectification, fragmentation of bodies and personalities, manipulation by their male dates who may have invited them to the Formal simply to enter the pool, as well as the creation of huge schisms between women who were put in competition against one another without realizing it. By creating a pool of contestants, these men indirectly placed all women at the Formal in the pool and, thus, all women present were judged.

These women are the same women with whom these men spend their days sitting through classes, reading and listening in the library, performing in ensembles - essentially, these are the women with whom these men may someday be working in the professional environment the Conservatory supports and develops. These are the women these men objectified at the Talcott Formal.

The Conservatory is presented as a more career-oriented environment than the College in many ways. Students entering the Conservatory as freshman are required to know their major before auditioning and are not accepted on how successfully well-rounded they were in high school, but on how focused they were on one aspect of their lives. This is severely limiting and extraordinarily rewarding in many various ways, and the difference creates an often tense dichotomy between College and Conservatory students - a dichotomy that is reflected not only in differing positions on specific social and political ideals, but also in differing positions on how important discussions of ideals are.

The Conservatory offers an isolated environment for students who do not wish to participate in the liberal arts diversity in the College. This isolation, seemingly one of privilege in the assumption that Conservatory students develop a certain maturity bred through the solitary hours they spend in practice rooms throughout their lives focusing on music, does not place Conservatory students above the ethical and moral codes inherent in the College liberal arts discipline. Regardless of how much Feminist Theory Conservatory students may or may not have learned, there is no excuse for a total lack of human respect.

Because the Conservatory is theoretically a professional environment, this lack of respect for all humans is particularly offensive. What are the ethics in the private lives of these students who are preparing for the world of professional musicians? How do these ethics apply to the women with whom these men share a stand in orchestra or share a desk with in College classes? How are these women looked at by these men when they walk through the con lounge? What ethics does the Conservatory as a whole perpetuate? Or does the curriculum of the Conservatory allow basic human principles - as well as more sophisticated concepts like Feminism or even human equality that extends into sex, race, and class - to be ignored?

We address this letter to the entire Oberlin Community, not just the Conservatory, because we feel it is essential to expose this hostile climate existing in an environment which promotes liberalism, open-mindedness, and tolerance. These men who may have participated in the pool have created a representation of assumptions made about the Conservatory and what is tolerated within it that is a reflection on all Conservatory students - regardless of knowledge of the pool or action taken. A blatantly sexist and demeaning event such as the pool at the Talcott Formal that effects all women on campus cannot occur without action taken against it.

Perhaps these men who may have participated are finding themselves defensive to those who may be accusing them for their inexcusable actions. Perhaps as these men sit through rehearsal or walk through the Conservatory, they should wonder who is watching them and how they are being judged.