Boston University students outside the College of Fine Arts wishing to access practice rooms have been having difficulty securing adequate space. While space is readily available for students in CFA, other students have more barriers between them and reserving a practice space.
Private practice rooms are available to students in several residence halls across campus, including Warren Towers, 1019 Commonwealth Avenue and The Towers, but the sparse conditions of some of these spaces may make them unappealing to students.
Specifically in Warren Towers, students have complained that the rooms are inadequate between the 30 minute rental limit and their 5 p.m. closing time.
Gorkem Coklar, a junior exchange student from Bogazici University in Istanbul, said that she has used the practice room in Warren Towers and believes there is room for improvement.
“Inside there are a bunch of chairs and leftover stuff and it was very weird, not really a music room,” Coklar said. “30 minutes is not great, [students] cannot enjoy playing an instrument for only 30 minutes.”
Colin Riley, a BU spokesperson, said the practice room in Warren Towers is the only practice space in a BU residence hall that has strict time limitations, due to a lack of soundproofing and an absence of other available practice spaces in the building.
“[Practice space] is not limited to 30 minutes, except at Warren Towers, only because there’s that one location,” Riley said. “And they don’t have as many hours available because of the soundproofing issue and people living nearby.”
Riley wrote in an email that BU Housing and Residence Life Offices do not currently have plans to add new practice spaces on campus.
“At the present time we’re not looking to add more spaces,” Riley wrote. “There are music practice rooms at a number of student residences around campus, and students who live on campus need only go into the Residence Life office to request the key to the room.”
While the CFA offers some music practice rooms to non-CFA students, many students are not aware of these resources.
Sarah Jones, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Ashley Abbuhl, a junior in the College of Communication, both said they are interested in learning new instruments, but have never considered that there may be spaces on campus where they can practice freely as students who do not explicitly study music.
“I just do it for fun,” Abbuhl said. “I have thought it would be fun [to use a practice room], but I’ve never thought of it as something that could be used for fun.”
Jones is learning guitar, and said although she is content to practice in her room, this strategy may be an issue for students with roommates.
“I just play in my room really, really quietly,” Jones said. “But if [practice space] is difficult to access, then that’s an issue for people with roommates if they can’t play when they want.”
Christopher Dempsey, director of production and performance at the School of Music, wrote in an email that practice rooms in CFA are to all BU students under certain conditions.
“It is not true that our practice rooms are only for SOM students,” Dempsey wrote. “Rather, anyone in the BU community can gain access under [certain] parameters.”
All SOM students and non-SOM students currently enrolled in a music course, as well students who are members of registered music groups on-campus, have access to CFA practice rooms free of charge, Dempsey wrote. Students who do not fall under one of these categories can access practice rooms for a fee of $60 per semester.
Jones said she understands why the practice rooms are prioritized for students in CFA, but still thinks they should be available to everyone.
“I think it should be more accessible for anyone,” Jones said. “But I understand that for students who are here for music, they’re more of a priority.”
Lauren Broussard, a junior in the COM, works as a stagehand in SOM and believes that students who do not study music through BU face significant obstacles in accessing music practice rooms.
“I think it is a bit inaccessible for people who aren’t in CFA,” Broussard said. “I think it should be more accessible for people who aren’t studying full time for music but still have an interest in an instrument and play an instrument.”
