Vast uptown expansion? Check. Globe-trotting presidential trips? Check. Providing basic amenitites, like heat, to university buildings? That’s always seemed to prove a little more challenging for this institution. As temperatures in New York plunged over the last two weeks, the radiators at Columbia’s Computer Music Center (the vaunted 125th St. mainstay where the world’s first music synthesizer, the RCA Mark II, was invented, and the likes of Edgard “electrical storm” Varèse and Charles Wuorinen have experimented) have struggled to keep up. As a result of the unbearable cold, professors have gotten angry, classes have been cancelled, and work at the center has ground to a halt until the university does something to remedy the situation.

Bwog was made privy to an email from a CMC professor with details, available after the jump. But first, in other faculty protest news, Bwog has also been told that Prof. Achille Varzi of the Philosophy Department has threatened to go on strike if his Symbolic Logic class, enrolled at 140+, isn’t moved into a room that can seat more than the 90 currently accommodated. It seems the heat will be on, at least, over at Facilities today.

Email from within the Computer Music Center

“The lack of building heat that plagued our last two meetings is not confined

to our classroom alone, but to the entire Computer Music Center, and has

been such for some time now. Today’s classroom temperature hovers around 40

degrees. It has gotten to the point where the teachers, staff members, and

students cannot work and are even getting sick. The administration and the

maintenance department of this university have done little to remedy the

situation. The director of the center, Professor Brad Garton , has decided

to stop his repeated and futile complaints to the school, and simply refuse

to hold classes until the situation is fixed. Therefore, the MIDI class will

not meet tomorrow, and will not meet again until the room is heated

properly. I must also unfortunately ask you to not use the studio until

further notice. I will email you with updates as they develop.

I regret that this disruption hurts your access to knowledge, but I

completely agree with Professor Garton’s decision. It is ridiculous for this

university to charge you 30K+ a year and expect you to learn in these

conditions. I especially hope that this is remedied quickly so that we can

get back to music making! I hope that this stand against the university’s

sloth solves this problem within the week, but given the illegal actions we

are taking, we don’t know what will happen.

I also encourage you all to spread the news of this disgrace amongst your

friends. The complaints of tuition-paying undergrads often have a lot more

sway than the complaints of those in the school’s employ! Please contact me

if you have any questions, and I hope to see you again very soon in

tolerable temperatures…”

-CJS