BOSTON (WHDH) — Students at the Berklee School of Music staged a walk out Monday in protest of how sexual misconduct is handled at the school.
Students walked in silence in protest of the sexual assault allegations. They also accused the school of not taking the subject seriously. This comes after a recent Boston Globe investigation found that Berklee left several professors leave quietly after facing sexual assault allegations. The investigation found at least one of the professors was also hired elsewhere.
“We’re in studios one-on-one with people, we have lessons one-on-one with people. We’re prone, we’re more vulnerable in this industry and I feel like Berklee should be more responsible for taking care of us and making sure that if someone assaults us, we’re protected,” said Skye Stahlmann.
In a meeting with students Monday, Berklee President Roger Brown said the school has fired 11 faculty members over the past 13 years for sexual misconduct. He also announced a group of students, faculty and administrators will be created to address any sexual misconduct concerns.
“It’s nice to see that the administration if creating this space for us to talk and that they’re really taking what we’re saying into account,” one student told 7News.
Students said they want mandatory expulsion for any student or faculty member found responsible for rape. They also said they want better immediate reporting of sexual assaults reported on-campus and better screening for faculty members for any past behavior, along with reporting to other schools when a teacher fired for sexual assault tries to apply elsewhere.
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