Horn professor is forcibly retired
NewsFaculty at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music have been informed by the Dean that horn professor Biill VerMeulen has been retired, ‘effective immediately’.
In a message to media the school says: ‘Rice is aware of private images that have recently resurfaced on social media. Rice is reviewing the allegations and is prepared to investigate any reports of misconduct. As we review any new information, we will maintain the privacy of all involved. Rice does not tolerate sexual harassment or sexual misconduct by any member of the Rice community.’
VerMeulen has appeared in a couple of improper self-images that have been circulated online by a feminist activist. The pictures, seven years old, were sent in the course of a relationship to a lover, who later used them as revenge porn.
VerMeulen has been suspended for two months from his post as principal horn of the Houston Symphony.
There is no proof to your commentary or the statement from the university that he was forced to retire. There is so much more to this story that you are electing not to report on. How about you do some research about how this professor sexually abused students, mentally abused students, had affairs….the list goes on….
Sorry but he’s “dated his students” for years. Just because this is the first time YOU have heard about it absolutely doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening for decades.
He retired shamefully solely to keep his pension and benefits. He should not have been allow to be around students especially after the incidents in the 90s which got him suspended from Rice. So many in the community know what he’s done over the year, but they’ve feared him from a retaliatory perspective. He groomed his students to love him and fear him.
Yet they continued to come, like hogs to the trough, because they knew his students are the ones getting all the orchestra jobs!
And many of them left music entirely because he would mentally break them down/groom them and never build them back up. How much did the university sweep under the rug for prestige and donor funding by way of using his students accolades, knowing all too well what he did/was doing?
Apparently the “revenge porn” images weren’t the issue, but a long pattern of what complainants say was abusive behavior that was sometimes also overtly sexualized–or so it seems from a flurry of reports on social media.
Horn players should watch out for “tooting their own horns.”
You’ve correctly horned in on horny horn players.
Now WVM will have ample time (and a hefty pension) to sue the daylights out of Needleman – and perhaps Julie Landsman, since she is apparently rumored to have tipped off the hysterical harpy and her zombie tribe.
While Rice certainly has questions to answer re: what they knew and when did they know it when it comes to VM, it baffles me that Curtis employs a deranged lunatic to teach the next generation of great oboists. Though not many oboists from Curtis are currently winning jobs. I wonder why?
The Curtis oboist who won principal oboe in St Paul Chamber Orchestra really isn’t a great musician. Bad ideas, strange articulation choices, seemingly no major experience aying with ensembles. Curtis students seem to be really NOT-well-rounded.
And that oboist activist really is a deranged lunatic.
Correct. Currently oboists from Juilliard, NEC, Colburn, and Eastman are far superior and visible. Highly respected pedagogues, albeit mostly male.
Thanks for your thoughtful and well-reasoned discussions! I’d love to hear about all the auditions you’ve been in finals for, or jobs you’ve won, because I can just tell you really know what you’re talking about when it comes to music. So happy you’re gracing this comment section with your unmatched pedigree!
Not sure the point here, but sounds like you’re mistakenly bashing a talented young oboist out of spite. Cassie Pilgrim didn’t study with Katherine Needleman, she was one of the last to study all four years at Curtis with Woodhams, graduating in 2019.
Many of Woodhams students were hired for the most part right out of Curtis just like Cassie, without a prior appointment. This also recently includes Will Welter now principal in Chicago (2016; won in 2018 out of his post-bacc diploma) and Corbin Stair, who won 2nd in Cleveland while in still in his senior year at Curtis (2015).
Hi, Honestly. (Hmm, that sounds so odd! Mind if I just call you Harold? How about Alex?)
Alex, one of the things that any industry whistleblower experiences is lashing out, name calling, jeering and barbed comments. Those things increase as perpetrators (or their buddies) feel threatened. Thanks for providing a great example of this.
Maybe if you try smiling more you’ll feel better.
Amy, I’ll repeat the same thing I told a commenter named Susan in another thread: just because someone criticises KN does not mean that they are Alex or Harold. That’s naive & ridiculous.
KN has an army of critics worldwide – you just don’t see them on her FB page because open discourse is not allowed there. Anyone outside of KN’s echo chamber learns quickly not to engage on her FB. This is why you are not aware of them.
Let me further explain that Slipped Disc has an enormous global audience. The chances that you personally know the identity of someone commenting here are very slim. I know this from experience as a reader here who’s been misidentified numerous times as being a key figure in some scandal or another simply because I agree with that person. It’s quite comical, actually, as is your assumption.
Both Harold & Alex always write under their own names – not just here, but on all social media. That’s precisely what’s brought them both under scrutiny. When they have something to say, they put their names to it. I don’t know either of them personally, but I’ve observed this over & over again.
Amy, open your eyes. Many people worldwide, including both men & women who work professionally in classical music do not agree with how KN is approaching this problem. They are not all men, and they are not all named Harold or Alex.
Then it’s too bad, La B, that you don’t have the strength of conviction to write under your own name. I do. Katherine does. Lara does. Abby does. More and more women do, because this is the way that change will be made.
Wait, don’t tell me: you’re afraid of the hordes of wokemobsters coming for you, and therefore dare not risk commenting under your real name? A simple solution: don’t send genitalia pics to colleagues or students; don’t grope students; don’t engage in academic blackmail, don’t rape colleagues, don’t deny tenure to people who object to any of the above…et cetera, et cetera.
I’m happy to provide more examples of what not to do if you’re interested.
Amy,
Reposting dick picks & dancing around Lincoln Center in tin foil hats is not the best way to address this, IMO.
And no, how could I possibly use my name? Look what you, KN’s loyal hyenas do to anyone who criticizes her. You literally dox them.
What your group did yesterday to the polite Black violinist who simply tried to comment on her FB page was horrendous. It bordered on racism. Your group’s responses to the woman from the Montreal Symph who tried to explain that her orch doesn’t have a problem were outrageous. Both of those individuals put their names & their careers on the line by commenting honestly on KN’s page & you rude ignoramuses attacked both of them. That’s why I don’t use my name.
Plenty won jobs before Woodhams abrupt dismissal in 2021, including in the last decade Corbin Stair, Will Welter, Alex Vvedenskiy, Virginia McDowell and Cassie Pilgrim.
It is strange.
If this is truly ‘revenge porn’ and not something he sent to a current student at the time, I hope he sues Needleman and grieve to the union as well. Since when have we started tolerating this kind of defamation? I don’t know anything about this horn player, I wouldn’t know what kind of inappropriate behaviour he has engaged professionally, but I’m appalled that this oboist believes it’s her job to engage in this criminal behaviour of posting nude pictures without someone’s consent.
Wow, seems you doth protest too much? Women raise their voice against abuse and they then get branded as “activist”, “harpy”, “hysterical”? Well, ok. Maybe if said male had just decided to behave honorably and have kept it in his pants, he could have retired with distinction. I can tell you that said male started his predatory, abusive behavior even while in high school.
mmmm…bullshit
BVM should sue Katherine Needleman, and others who knowingly propagated a lie, repeatedly, to their thousands of cult-like followers. Needleman, the worst offender has made multiple posts about this generating more than a thousand comments. She repeatedly insinuated and allowed via her platform that these were unsolicited pictures, which they are demonstrably not. Bill seems to have many detractors and has clearly not lived a life free of sin (who has?), but Needleman is no saint either, and she is certainly no hero. Her cult calls her “The Queen of Filth”. How fitting. She has aired out false information about many people, and with increasing reckless abandon. Now, finally comes something so outlandishly heinous from her, it may finally give her cause to think before speaking so convincingly on subjects of which she has little or no actual knowledge. Rumors don’t count. She writes that she doesn’t read this blog, but let’s hope that one of her 16,000 cult followers will read it to her. Norman, please post the lawsuit when it’s filed.
Dear “Lawsuit A. Head”
…the moniker “Queen of Filth” is a joke, bless your heart. Oboist Alex Klein referred to her that way in a torrent of bile, and she wears the term proudly and ironically.
But this is incorrect, what you’ve written. Did you know that telling the truth is not libel? Check with some of your lawyer friends. (I’m just a zombie, so don’t get your legal advice from me.)
Amy, are you the same Amy that comments a lot on KN page? The one who has a lot of snarky things to say? You aren’t a “zombie” as you say, but you are a clearly a worshipper in the Kult of Needleman. The truth must be the whole truth. She continues to propagate a lie that these were unsolicited pictures sent to a student of his. They were not. This was an exchange between two lovers that unfortunately leaked. Sharing the photos on Facebook was shamefully weird of her. The repeated assertion (by her and others) they were sent unsolicited is the crime. See, that’s what the problem is. That’s telling a lie. Libel. There may be other skeletons in his closet, but this isn’t one of them. Get your facts right. And find a better supreme leader to follow.
Thanks, The Whole Truth. I’m also assuming that she’s the same Amy. I’ve seen her comments on KN’s FB page, too. Typical of many of KN’s followers, she doesn’t appear to be connected professionally in any way to the world of classical music. She’s simply an enthusiastic KN fan. This explains her blind adoration.
“…an exchange between two lovers that unfortunately leaked” (ugh, talk about unfortunate imagery, thanks so much.)
“Whole Truth” (I’m going to call you Harold.)
Harold, it’s …weird…that you think you know so much intimate detail about these pics and their purposes. The Shamefully Weird part is on Bill VerMeulen, not on the people who shared them.
He’s the one with it hanging out.
But more importantly: the “unsolicited” part doesn’t really matter: his judgment was atrocious, and his studio environment is notoriously sexist.
People should know these things about him before sending their teenage musicians to study with him at music festivals.
Again – the truth isn’t libel.
Amy, again, for the love of God, all commenters here criticizing KN are not Harold! Don’t be an idiot.
Let me spell it out another way: Harold is an older gentleman who uses his own name & writes in a formal, un-idiomatic style. I don’t think he lives in the US & he doesn’t use modern US idioms. Look at what he’s written & compare it with the posts of “The Whole Truth”. “Truth” is a much younger US-based person, probably a guy, who is using words like “snarky”, “zombie” “Kult” and “shamefully weird”.That’s not a man in his mid to late 70’s. How are you missing this? Why do you insist on believing that Harold & Alex are the only 2 people criticizing your hero KN?
Alex wouldn’t waste his time writing about this here & Harold is concerned with the damage done to his own career by KN. Are these the only 2 names besides KN’s in classical music that you know of or something?
Please, Amy, you are not in our world. KN is not universally respected by men or women in our profession for many reasons. Please accept that and move on.
Oh, I see.. all men are dogs but never call her a bitch… lol
That means anyone can openly share everything KN sent privately using her email? Interesting.. Amy you are such a hypocrite!
I don’t follow Ms. Needleman much, but what I have seen usually includes screenshots of other people’s words – perhaps with some annotation from her – rather than wholesale statements from her.
She definitely has a thing going about exposing bad behavior in the music field (also about how orchestras still lean so heavily white males as composers and conductors), which is a noble cause.
She’s not going to get sued – successfully, anyway – unless someone can demonstrate that she posted things with reckless disregard for the truth. And there is enough true bad behavior out there that she probably doesn’t need to make things up.
This is, in fact, the case. Everything that Bill’s former students and colleagues has said about him is true. It is the sad, unfortunate truth.
Those screenshots are often lifted out of larger posts, stripping them of context and intent to intentionally mischaracterize its authors’ intent, painting them in the worst possible light.
“Lawsuit Ahead”, “Oof”, “Honestly Speaking”… right…
Katherine Needleman probably has personal flaws (wow, amazing!) but, from my stand point she comes out as an essentially decent human being. She is pissing a lot of people off because she is exposing a whole mountain side of pigs who, thanks to their startling genius, have got away with disgusting behavior for ages. About time too, I say. No-one gets all the facts right. Ms Needleman has probably not gotten hers 100% right either. Sadly, however, the stories she tells and the ones that are told to her, sound tragically plausible. If you are hankering for character-assasinating someone (say, Ms Needleman) then you should read Everything she has put out. I cannot claim to have done so but have probably read 95% or her posts in the past three months or so and, as stated above, she comes through as a decent human being. And she has the guts of signing her posts with her own name. And she happens to be a world class oboist, which may piss off a number of people too.
Needlewitch and context are mutually exclusive. Her Land of Make Believe tall tales and accusatory fragments have little to no factual basis, even regarding the most serious issues in our world. Her feminism is really narcissism disgusted in seemingly altruistic actions.
What “sounds” plausible is still not convincingly “the truth.” This is the crux of the matter. Needleman is a sociopath. I would argue that she is not decent; she gave no consideration to how the original recipient of these photos must feel now, 7-8-9 years later after regrettably proudly sending them to a friend as trophies. The original lover has moved on with her life. Needleman is a leech, looking for any angle to grow attention for HERSELF. Open your checkbook to donate to her defense (which is indefensible) if you believe in her so much. She does more harm than good.
On her FB page, she is tossing around the idea of establishing a 501(c)3 to monetize her “QoF” moniker.
I am all for exposing the predators and bullies in the profession
(regardless of gender), but I find the above to be troubling.
I don’t see how anyone can say her posts make her come across as a decent human being. She’s bordering on obsessed. It’s just relentless and most of the time unfair. The way she frames some of her posts is so caustic and mean-spirited. Knowing her history; the way she fell into her current position (she did not win that job), the way she failed at her NY Phil trial, the way she basically doxxed a critic for not loving her CD, and her flimsy “harassment claim” against her concertmaster that went nowhere. It all adds up to make her seem very petty and bitter. And her “protest” at Lincoln Center with Lara St John in their bedazzled crowns? Seriously unhinged. She very well may flip out completely when Liang gets his settlement.
And mind you, my opinions about Needleman are completely separate from my feelings on abusive men which is that I’m glad when they get their comeuppance. Back in my conservatory days, I knew of several woman who were taken advantage of. One time it happened to my then girlfriend and she didn’t want to say anything about it, but I persuaded her and the man was dealt with.. which in those days meant, they just stopped giving him female students. But at least she spoke up. You’re welcome. Am I enough of an “ally” now? Or should I just virtue signal, pander, smear, accuse and attack, like some other people?
I’ve noticed that people who use the phrase “virtue signal” often have something troubling their consciences.
No, you’re not enough of an ally, based on the story you just told about your girlfriend. The “man was dealt with”? and that means “they stopped giving him female students”…??
You’re saying “they stopped giving a rapist easy access to female victims” as if that’s anything approaching justice.
So no, you didn’t do enough, based on the details you provided.
Jesus Christ, did I say the teacher raped anyone? He served her a glass of whiskey and TRIED to kiss her. The end. For that, he was banned from teaching women. Would I have wanted him fired? Sure. Different time, and it wasn’t my issue.
Ricardo, not entirely true. KN is also pissing off huge nos. of women. She is disrespecting what we’ve accomplished and what we’re doing now.
Many of her idiotic followers are not musicians & know nothing about what goes on in our profession. They are attacking women in orchestras, events organized by women, and disrespecting women who are successful in our field, who’ve survived the crap she thinks she’s exposing for the 1st time.
We’ve been through this. We’ve been hard at work on these issues for years. Certain specialties in music are full of women addressing these problems. We’re not blasting dick pix all over FB or dancing around Lincoln Center in tin foil crowns. We’re getting it done quietly, intelligently & taking care of our own. KN & her cult need to back off of our women.
Stop attacking woman event organizers & CEOs. Stop disrespecting our women who are principal players, soloists, conductors and university professors. These women have succeeded! Why aren’t you celebrating them? – Holding them high for all to admire – instead of saying they don’t count because they play the wrong instrument?
“Stewardesses” of the orchestra indeed. Give me a break, Lara St. John & Jennifer Thompson.
Shame on you, Katherine Needleman and shame on your noisy cult. Respect what women who’ve gone before you have accomplished. Honor your sisters who’ve succeeded.
“Retired” is exactly what at least 2 sexual predators in another specialty area – you know the one dominated by women which KN keeps interfering with – have done. Neither she or her cult seem to realize that other groups of women are already addressing these situations. Here’s one of the guys we took down: https://academic-sexual-misconduct-database.org/index.php/person/bradley-garner
He also “retired” but at least we got him out. There have been a no. of others.
But I guess KN wants to believe that she’s the only one on this. Because after all, flutists and violinists are just the “stewardesses” of the orchestra according to the KN cult. We don’t count.
Lara St. John, shame on you for agreeing with that sexist comment about violinists just being “stewardesses” in an orchestra. You’re a violinist yourself. Does that mean that what you do is less significant than, say, Alison Balsom? That comment is insulting & disrespectful. You’re a fine musician, but frankly, I don’t think you’re the sharpest knife in the drawer.
KN is no saint. But the fact that it takes her vitriol, brashness, and lack of civility to expose the disgusting lifestyle of many of these people is indicative of the deep-rooted, insidious nature of the problem in our industry. Be glad he is gone.
You’re right, the problem is deep-rooted and insidious…
The mere reporting of it, identifying behaviors and culprits and institutional patterns of it is deemed uncivil, brash and vitriolic.
Amy, absolutely not. KN’s social media temper tantrums are not “reporting”. She’s holding public auto-da-fes & burning people to the stake. She’s not “identifying behaviors and culprits”, she’s accusing anyone who serves her own narcissistic interests often just based on FB photos. She’s not in this for women or minorities, she’s in this for herself.
Someone here pointed out that she doesn’t have a single female oboe student in her Curtis studio. She’s not a sincere or effective advocate for our cause and neither are you, I’m sorry to say.
Anyone around him in the 1980’s knew that he preyed on any attractive female in a mile radius at NMC and other summer festivals. This wasn’t hearsay, this was first-hand viewing by so many, and was not limited to just casual flirtations. It was aggressive and unrelenting. Of course it was seen by some as cute (he was a good looking guy, even in corduroys), some were disgusted and tried their best to avoid him, and some saw his male machismo and rooted for him.
I have no idea who is accusing him at the moment or for what, but as soon as I saw the photo and the story heading, I immediately knew what the story would be about. There should be no lack of direct experiences availabe by people from several decades.
First, Bill’s sexual proclivities are the worst kept secret. Even more than [redacted]. Anyone who has spent time with or near him can identify that’s he’s problematic, and depending on how the alleged recipients take the acts – could be illegal or problematic for employment.
I have second hand (heard from victim) knowledge of a female horn player who didn’t get into Rice so Bill offered her free lessons if she “watched his kids”. I think kids were a euphemism for his small horn. This is nothing new.
But. I think a lotta folks are conflating Revenge Porn with sexual assault/unsolicited dick pics. People sharing Bill’s photos are the ones committing revenge porn, not Bill. Bill’s is an undisclosed problem (perhaps the recipients were students or colleagues) which can have employment consequences, unlikely legal, but what the feminist agitator (others phrase) Katherine “plays out of tune” (by my observation) Needleman did is committing the illegal act. KN might be flying too close to the sun. I expect her to face many lawsuits in her future.
I presume her fate will be related to the quote from The Dark Knight “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
I really doubt there will be any lawsuit from BVM. I cannot even begin to imagine the pandora’s box of depravity that would open up for him. It’s not like this is a one-off. If he has any sense at all, he will take the L and just go quietly into private lessons and any hired gigs people will give him.
“The Captain” is now “Captain Dick Pic”. Glad he finally got his comeuppance.
Men often let the Captain steer the Ship….
Loved taking pictures of his first class upgrades, airliner lounges, stating you’re “part of crew”- meaning the rice horn lackeys run by the “captain” dick pic-sexual predator.
You can debate diversity all you want, but classical music is deeply tied to the white male patriarchy that so many on the left wish to dismantle. At least Needleman is honest – she wants to see many white men lose their status and be replaced in their roles by women and minorities. This is a power play, and her goal is to get more for herself and her sex. This is not to say white men are victims of systemic oppression, but her campaign less about helping victims of sexual misconduct and more about advancing the gender and race quota ideology.
There is talk of a lawsuit in these comments, but there are issues with any potential case. Needleman cleverly uses ‘quotes’ from private messages and adds very few explicit (no pun intended) details, allowing her commenters to do the heavy lifting. While it may seem like extreme rhetoric to us normal people, her feminist rants are not necessarily libelous, unless she makes a specific false allegation.
In the long run, it will be interesting to see if modern classical music survives long enough for Needleman to make any real progress before the white male population who funds it has moved on to UFC and Power Slap and left Mozart and Schubert in the wastebin.
It’s not considered revenge porn if the people that were sent the images never gave consent. It’s sexual assault on his end. Tasteless journalism and a horrible representation of the situation… do better
Oh Zoie! You’ve had a drink of that Katherine Kool-Aid. How sad for you. And exchange of pictures between lovers isn’t unsolicited or assault. But thanks for bringing up the point that we’ve all been sexually harassed by Katherine Needleman in how she shared those photos (unsolicited!) on Facebook. Let’s all file complaints against her and her employers! Yeah!
Interesting how the dickpics as “revenge” porn” are being used as a subterfuge to cover up a long history of allegations of the sexual abuse of students.
Allegations, precisely. Nothing specific, nothing proven, no charges brought.
You have to start somewhere.
Nearly every horn player in the professional community is well aware of his behavior with many brave women now coming forward and putting their names to some appalling, immoral, and even illegal behavior by BVM. If he does sue KN, good luck with with that cess pool he’ll unleash into the public eye.
In this case, where there is smoke, there is fire. I personally know 2 young women who have left music because of him. He hasn’t been singled out for nothing.
True, but the very large number of allegations is notable, especially combined with a previous suspension. Giving due weight to both sides leads me to reserve judgment, but with the concern that there should be an investigation to determine the truth. This however, will likely not happen due to his immediate resignation and retirement.
There were charges in the 90s at Rice University….And everyone in the orchestral world knew about this guy….He should have been sacked 20 years ago already.
There’s perhaps something else here worth discussion. When charges of sexual assault are brought the evidentiary standard is usually clear and convincing proof or proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Since most sexual assaults have no witnesses, these standards can seldom be met, thus rendering sexual assault laws almost useless. That’s why only about 1 to 3% of sexual assaults and rapes end in felony convictions.
The only option left is for people to formulate their own *opinions* about guilt. When people question allegations with the comment that “no charges have been brought,” they are often (not always, but often) consciously taking advantage of the extreme weakness of sexual assault laws to rationalize behavior that was most likely wrong or even criminal.
Title IX has been useful because the evidentiary standard is a preponderance of evidence, and universities are allowed to conduct their own investigations and punishments, even if subject to appeal to the criminal courts (which tellingly, is rarely done.)
Unfortunately, in cases where a professor is highly esteemed and famous, schools are less inclined to pursue Title IX cases which can lead to people getting away with years of abuse before their house of cards crumble, if ever.
Norman, I must remind you that Vermeulen was suspended from Rice in 1996-97. It is a matter of fact and public record that Houston Symphony hornists Roger Kaza and Bruce Henniss taught horn at Rice that year
I admire what Ms KN has accomplished in such a short time.
She should keep on with her mission while toning it down a bit since much of the pageantry is detracting from her message. Also her frequency of communication ultimately dilutes her important message.
A few comments beyond what others have said below:
< Many players have been appointed to positions after rounds of auditions have been held with no clear winner. If KN has done the job well (since she is tenured it appears she has), she can claim her position as her own. Perhaps this is the audition system of the future for US orchestras. Players (after a cattle call audition) are invited to perform and the audition committee (along with the MD) pick from that vetted field.
< Many of these perps had teachers from the previous generations where this type of predatory behavior was part of the "mix". One can list many names from the Old School who viewed their studio as a harem rather than an Academy for learning.
< It takes years to develop a great studio. Curtis is an advantage due to its free tuition but there are some very good oboe instructors out there. Give her time and she may turn out some great players. The small student body at Curtis allows for many playing opportunities and the level is as good as many professional second tier orchestras. Getting a top job out of Curtis is not unusual.
< The Voice from the Wilderness (KN) had to be done by someone in an important position who has nothing to lose. It's obvious that students, new orchestra members, and young administrators have little power in this world. And it's easy to fall victim to those that know how to make it all work however slimy or even illegal.
< She needs to tone down her rhetoric a bit as she seems to be heading down two paths at the same time with one being more important now (sexual predation) than the other (percentage of women in the orchestra musician pool).
I admire KN's courage and desire to reform an antiquated industry. She just has to make sure this doesn't turn into a Dog and Pony show (aka her NYC appearance with Ms St John) which ultimately will dilute her important work.
Guido, isn’t it possible that those “two paths” are the same? Isn’t it possible that sexual predation decreases with the presence of women in formerly all-male spaces, like the wall-to-wall male brass section in Houston?
Plenty of misogynistic, power-abusing males may confidently claim they’re “anti-rape” but contribute to an environment that is, well, toxic for women.
(It’s as if I claimed to not be racist because I have never burned a cross in someone’s front yard. There are many more indicators required for justice to be present.)
Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
While her two pronged mission is worthy of the fight, I think it’s a mistake to fight on two fronts.
Get the harassment stuff out of the way or allow it to make institutions more alert and vigilant of this behavior by BFM.
Then work on the issues around gender and DEI. Those will take another generation to fix but it’s also worth a fight. But after.
The defense of retaining the services of WVM for so long at Rice is that however heinous his behavior and methods, his students (the ones he didn’t ruin psychologically) have had phenomenal success. I understand that one approach to teaching is to strengthen the student’s backbone and resolve. You’re unquestionably going to need it. You can do this in a supportive way or “test” them in ways that pushes the envelope towards abuse in youngsters, many of whom are unable to copy with this. I personally don’t think the collateral damage is worth the risk of the latter. The tide has turned against this, and even without D-pics making the rounds, the writing should be on the wall for those who teach this way. WVM has never given a damn about anyone he’s “above” in station. Colleagues are more likely to defend him because he treats a FEW of them with respect. But if you are not an “equal” to him he will treat you like crap every time. This includes quite a few Houston Symphony colleagues, most of which can’t stand him. I personally think he shouldn’t be allowed within 100 miles of students….he’s a toxic abuser and groomer. I guess the students who could stand this environment and have jobs and a solid technique would disagree. That’s not good enough. However, even if KN picked a worthy target through shady means THIS time, she’s also trying to ruin others whom she MAY be on target about, but she doesn’t really care if she’s accurate about quite a number of them as long as her choir is preached to and kept at frenzied levels of hate towards the male race.
Sexual abuse is never acceptible.
See, but there’s no such thing as the “male race.” There’s only one race, the human race. You seem to have issues with women.
Regardless of his past behavior, KN is completely out of line. I hope he sues her and wins. She has no right sending his pictures around. She’s just as bad.
is she? Expose them and clean up.
He won’t sue her. Nor would he win if he did.
She was sent them, maybe you should go after the hundreds of women he sent them to. One person sharing them isn’t the issue. Don’t take a picture of your penis, Twink.
Stop taking genitalia pictures Americans. Please stop. Puritan nonsense
I didn’t even need to check that this article was written by a man. “Revenge porn”? “Feminist activist”? Come on SlippedDisc, pull yourself out of the 1950’s.
what’s the “captain” gonna do now? More crew talk selling lessons to rich and priviledged kids? More fantastical talks about flying first class on donors-foundation dimes