#Metoo at IU: A conductor is suspended
mainA student newspaper reports that a graduate conducting student at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music has been suspended for a year following allegations of a sexual nature. He has also been banned from setting foot on the IU campus.
More than 20 people filed misconduct reports against X through the Office of Student Conduct, students said. Some students allege they either witnessed or experienced X touch, grope or kiss male students without their consent.
Ten students talked to the Indiana Daily Student for different aspects of this article, including some who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation from X or the music world.
I may throw up.
What about choral faculty D[redacted]? He and his partner have been sleeping with students for years. Why is the university not investigating?
The sleeping-with may have been consensual, which raises issues but they are different issues.
As a former graduate student with part-time teaching duties at Indiana University, I can clarify that our contracts include a clause which specifically states that even consensual relations with music students are prohibited.
That doesn’t make it a MeToo matter, though.
It depends on how many people come forward! If anything it is a massive ethical issue that the university needs to address
Obviously this young man wanted to prepare for the profession very thoroughly.
And that’s supposed to be funny?
Yes.
There is an inconsistency between #metoo movement type sensibilities in the USA and the President they elect and keep in office in spite of endless scandals & bad behaviour.
Those are two separate groups of people. The former group did not vote for the current occupant of the WH. Those who did are not supportive of the #metoo movement.
Mustafa is the first to point this out.
I heard the IU choral faculty would have sex with the student while his husband (who also works for the music school) videotapes. Why isn’t the university investigating? Is there also a admission scandal?
Not sure why SD is refraining from identifying the name of the person suspended. It isn’t as if it’s “hush-hush” information around the campus. This article pretty much covers it all:
http://specials.idsnews.com/students-allege-misconduct-against-david-jang-iu-jacobs/
Not sure I’d want to be playing under this conductor’s direction — for a whole lot of reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I6kcjaxi-s
That video is “unavailable” please verify and/or re-post link.
Well that didn’t take long; it’s now been removed.
lol
Just checked this again (March 2021, followed the story from https://slippedisc.com/2019/05/metoo-at-iu-a-conductor-is-suspended/). The video is back up.
The allegations in these comments are serious and concerning. Anyone with information on the alleged choral faculty member who wishes to submit information in a confidential manner may do so at https://indiana-advocate.symplicity.com/care_report/index.php/pid657475 or email Dean Richards at grichar@indiana.edu. Jacobs takes information like this very seriously. Thank you for your attention.
What about the orchestra administrator there W- who gives preferential treatment and preferred seating to Korean girls while always creeping on them with unwanted touches and hugs? I heard it’s been going on for years and school has been hush about it.
Oh, do you now? What about the rampant sexual abuse and rape of students at the hands of János Starker?
Proof, please. This is a wild and unsubstantatiated smear on a great artist.
Starker will always be one of the greats of the 20th century; no one can contest that. But, ask any of his Asian female students in his studio from the early to mid ’00s and you will likely see a very different and disturbing picture painted.
since his name has not been hidden by that newspaper, it is easy to find this video of him conducting in a class led by Benjamin Zander where in this video you get to hear Zander tell a “very very naughty joke” with the punchline “the fly no f@#K no more” 😀
https://youtu.be/TWb7V0S-Bus?t=224
The conducting on the other video (a demo reel, now taken down from YouTube) is kind of like this one, but waaay more over-the-top.
[Redacted] was apparently removed from the IU faculty and is no longer a guest faculty member at 2 other student festivals for a very similar reason. Eastman School of Music students protested [X’]s appearance at the school a few weeks ago over widely known allegations of sexual harassment & assault. Norman, if you follow the leads, you’ll see I’m sadly right on this one…
We would first need to see some proof.
Oh it’s out there. Someone will expose Mr. bowl haircut eventually. Mark my words…
Who are we talking about here on IU’s faculty? Choral Faculty? Jazz trumpet? Orchestral Conducting?
No names, please, without legally sustainable evidence.
Dear Maestro/Maestra Chausson, In Philadelphia there is an iconic landmark that is a symbol of American independence, called the Liberty _ _ _ _. Does that ring a _ _ _ _?
If you think you know the correct answer to Nicolas’ riddle, you can phone it in, courtesy of its inventor, Alexander Graham _ _ _ _.
So the editor may redact names of faculty members with allegations not confirmed, yet you allow the link to be posted to the original article, where none of the allegations are proven against this student? If someone has been involved in sexually harassment it should be proven and tried in law, not by public opinion or vigilante justice from a group of kids. Your website supposedly has a rule of “no defamation.” You should be ashamed of yourself for posting this.
Reader: The article, despite being from a student newspaper is factual. The student was suspended and is no longer permitted on the campus. Multiple named people were interviewed including the student’s university appointed advocate. If the allegations are challenged (which they have not been since the suspension happened in February) the article would be updated or superseded. That is a big difference than someone anonymously dropping names of people they’ve “heard” have done bad things. Seems like a fairly obvious and simple distinction.
When Baltimore Symphony’s oboe player accused the concertmaster of assault, there was a big article on it. However, it ended up having no substance to the claim. It does happen and the student’s university advocate doesn’t say anything about the allegations being true. And the students claiming they’re afraid of retaliation from the music world sound like they just don’t want their names out for falsely accusing someone. And it says that suspension and no permit on campus is for one year, so he will return to campus afterwards? That doesn’t make sense to me either because usually they should be expelled if the allegations are in fact true. The university must have found the allegations to be empty but probably thought it was easier to suspend him for a short time rather than to deal with a group of kids.
Do you work for the student newspaper? Do you know whether the student challenged these allegations with the school or not? The article is factual in that it is an opinion piece that is also filled with inappropriate information like the accused’s license plate number. It’s a one-sided story that is meant to smear. Someone being suspended doesn’t mean that they are guilty of assault or harassment. Do you know the nature of how the suspension took place, the details of what happened in the proceedings, or the exact reason for the school to decide on suspension? No. This should be taken seriously, but in the correct and fair way. Again, it’s inappropriate of Slippeddisc and this student newspaper to ‘report’ on hearsay and potential slander.
Reader: You apparently did not read the article. As the top of this page quotes: “More than 20 people filed misconduct reports against X through the Office of Student Conduct, students said. Some students allege they either witnessed or experienced X touch, grope or kiss male students without their consent.” 20 people filing reports, means that their names were attached to those reports. They were not anonymous. So your suggestion that the suspension was based on “hearsay and potential slander” seems completely wrong. Universities have to take these allegations very seriously, both for the sake of the accusers and the accused. When 20 people put their names to formal reports of misconduct, it seems like much more than a few people trying to slander another. Do you think they did no followup and just took the accusers’ word for it?
Did Office of Student confirm that 20 people filed misconduct reports or is it another hearsay? I don’t see that anywhere. And it does say “allege”. Allege means to assert without proof or before proving. Why isn’t the police involved then?
The police IS involved. From the article: “Many of the allegations in this article are backed up by police reports and the text of student conduct reports provided by those who wrote them.”
I just read the article and it says police report says they are just for statistical purposes and it’s just to show the students reported it with the office of student conducts. That’s not having the police involved. It says that the students did not want to make a report with the IUPD. It says students did not want to make reports with the police. I really hope that the police does get involved and they get to the bottom of this.
David, is that you?
Reader: I am afraid you do not understand the law, or the difference between a criminal accusation and a civil hearing. The university can suspend someone without a criminal hearing, and don’t need to absolutely prove any accusation.
The student was given a summary suspension based on several reports which outlined multiple events filed with the Office of Student Conduct.
The student appealed this summary suspension and was awarded a hearing.
At this hearing, more than 20 students and former students submitted reports on paper, and more than 10 people testified in person
*The suspension was upheld following the appeals hearing.*
The student who committed these acts has access to millions of dollars. Which may explain why people were scared to come forward.
How come the student was only suspended for a year instead of 3-4 years or expulsion? So the student will return after a year back to school and continue his studies? That doesn’t make sense to me for someone who is guilty.
That is the penalty that the university reserves for similar misconducts. He is allowed in campus after a year, but not as a student. He’d need to apply again.
Office of Student Conduct says he does not need to apply again. It is up to him whether to return or not as a student. If they didn’t wish for him to return as a student, then he would’ve been expelled.
There was a similar accusation a few years ago at the IU Music School and that student was found guilty and expelled after a similar hearing. And I just read that a Communications major was suspended for 3 years for a sexual misconduct. Clearly, there was not enough for harsher punishment and the school had to show some kind of something.
It seems like these comments have turned into a bunch of catfights with IU students. Please go practice instead of counting the number of thumbs with your fellow students. Norman, can you please control this? This article is starting to lose any meaning and credibility.
There is no absolutely no evidence or base to the claim that this student has access to millions of dollars. That assertion is absurd. Saxon, were the 20 accusations of sexual assault? No. Was his side of the story told? No. Let facts be facts, but opinions or accusations don’t make something true. I never insinuated that the school didn’t have the right to suspend him. A student code of conduct is not under the jurisdiction of the law.
I agree. The world has moved on. The comments have been nothing but to start more gossip on what seems to be unsubstantial news along with trying to defame other great faculty members at IU. This sounds more like student gossip column rather than actual factual classical music column. IU students must have a lot of time on their hands. Curtis and Juilliard students wouldn’t have even bother with these bs gossip comments and allegation against their stellar faculty members and student. How do you get to Carnegie? Practice!
I totally agree. Iu students must have a lot of free time
You are here after all, aren’t you? Lol
If you really have the time, you should look up the names of the accusers and witnesses mentioned in the student newspaper on YouTube. Now, THAT is funny to watch on a Saturday afternoon with a bag of popcorn. Entertainment for me.
As an IU music graduate and a journalist, I find that the article—which is news, not opinion—is very well and very carefully reported. I see no reason to object to the story, if you read it as carefully as the reporters wrote it. Personally, I do not know any of the people directly, although I know people who . . . which is inadmissible. In any case, friends who have worked with sexual assault survivors find everything about the student report entirely credible. With so many coming forth, and so many reporting and witnessing the same details, I personally am inclined to believe the students. You may disagree, but if you do so, I ask you (a) to observe Norman’s reasonable request that you not give names without evidence; and (b) the you write with respect for both he student who came forward and those of us who believe them. Snark is out of place.
I hear that the article is being retracted.
It’s June 2021 and the article hasn’t been retracted (or the subject of the article readmitted to IU).