Burying bad news? Juilliard suspends composition chair
NewsThe Juilliard School let it be known in the last hours before the holiday that it has ‘put on leave’ the chair of its composition department.
Robert Beaser, 68, had been accused of demanding sex from students in return for career help.
Some 500 classical music activists signed a petition demanding his suspension. Juilliard initially ordered an independent investigation. Now, in the fading light before Christmas, it has sent Beaser home.
“Sexual discrimination and sexual harassment have no place in our school community. We take all such allegations extremely seriously,’ said a Juilliard spokesperson, in response to media inquiries.
Beaser told the New York Post: ‘I am more than willing to participate in Juilliard’s outside investigation in order to protect and defend my reputation. Until the school concludes this process, I have agreed to be on leave from my teaching position.’
Personal take-aways from this episode –
1. The Mob is the new judge/jury in year-zero America
2. Avoid the signatories of that demand letter as if my life depends on it.
(neither of these are intended to suggest that Beaser is innocent, or guilty. That is a separate issue)
“‘I am more than willing to participate in Juilliard’s outside investigation in order to protect and defend my reputation. Until the school concludes this process, I have agreed to be on leave from my teaching position.”
Isn’t that nice, he’s ‘willing’ to participate and has “agreed” to be on leave. Don’t know if he’s guilty, but I DO know he’s an arrogant putz.
and you know he should accept his guilt and his punishment, whether guilty or not, right? Like anyone accused who knows the new rules.
This seems like the proper thing to do and Juilliard has hired an outside law firm to investigate.
Burying? If they waited, you (and the mob) would complain. If they act swiftly (as the mob demands – presumed guilt in the post-woke USA) its burying.
Nothing says “Christmas” like allowing a howling mob force a school to put a teacher on leave without any sort of due process. I won’t how many of these person’s “testimony” would be allowed in a court of law. I am guessing none of them. It’s all calumny, gossip and innuendo. He might be completely guilty, but trial by petition is not the way to go. Shame on anyone who does not have first-hand knowledge of wrong-doing but put his signature to a document to cancel someone.
The investigation IS the due process, as long as its result is based on evidence more solid than “calumny, gossip and innuendo.” Or, should evidence be lacking, if it results in restoring him to his position. And having him on leave (note: paid leave) during it seems the optimal solution for a dismal situation.
I left this comment on the previous post about this story, but it’s relevant to this headline/story as well:
“If you read the Washington Post article (which is behind the paywall, so guessing many haven’t), the school put him on leave Friday afternoon (Dec 16), which is also the (same afternoon) open letter was posted. So they were clearly already preparing to take that step.
Also, from the article, the school is quoted saying;
“Allegations that were previously reported to The Juilliard School were handled at the time, based on the information that was provided,” the statement reads. “However, in order to review new information and to better understand these past allegations, the school’s current administration has launched an independent investigation.”
So he is on leave while they investigate. Seems like appropriate due process to me. Let’s hope the investigation gets it right.”
We ALLLLLLLLL knew Beaser was doing this with students when we were in school in the late 90s. Common knowledge.
Did it happen to you Are you testifying to the enquiry? If not, this comment is defamatory.
We’ll see what happens.
He looks like a weird bug