A Musical Cacophony

Note: Emile Lee-Suk is an Arts & Entertainment editor for The Spectator.

Upon the start of the school year, students in the three music ensembles—Band, Chorus, and Orchestra—arrived at school to a surprise. Music teachers announced to their students that classes would be graded according to a Pass/Fail (P/F) system. This system was a reversal of the long-standing norm of numerical grades being given for music performance classes. Many members of the ensembles were frustrated by this change and decided to write and sign a petition to Principal Dr. Seung Yu, expressing their desire for a numerical grading system. 

The administration initially implemented the P/F system due to their belief that music performance classes were artificially boosting students’ GPAs. Performers typically receive grades of 95+ in their music classes, often for work that is not academic nor even related to singing or playing. “We use grades to determine eligibility [and] the amount of total AP classes you can take and so we’ve taken a look at some courses and thought they would be better off P/F,” Dr. Yu said.

Junior and member of the Treble Choir Jane No explained her and her peers’ initial reactions to the implementation of the P/F system, voicing their frustrations with the purpose of its enactment, as they believed it severely undermined their commitment to their respective music ensemble. “Obviously, there’s after-school rehearsals, and those take up a lot of my time,” No said. “Also, some people [would] stay until, like, 7:00 [p.m.]. You could be getting home as late as 8:00 [p.m.] or even 9:00 [p.m.].”

Some performers believe that the numerical grading system helps to foster students’ long-term interest in music by incentivizing their participation. “I know a lot of people who actually enjoy chorus. But if it’s a P/F class, that doesn’t give them the same incentive to participate,” No said. “Also, what if someone really likes to sing, but they can’t develop their interest because they never joined chorus because it’s a P/F class?” 

Students also believed that the quality of their performances could potentially decline, as fewer students would be willing to take music classes that use a P/F system. They feared that this could affect the music department since it raises money through concerts. “Many students might have been convinced not to join because it has no benefit to them or because they feel as though they're not appreciated as serious musicians. With less people in the music classes, it would seriously diminish the quality of our performances,” junior and member of Oratorio Choir Tahlia Jamir said.

In response to the grading policy change, students banded together to write a petition opposing the P/F system. The basis for the petition was one that honed in on both personal experiences and the general disappointment that the writers felt their peers would feel as a result of this new system. “They didn’t reveal this to us in course selections and I knew that a lot of students would be upset. If we wanted to change this, we [needed to] show how many students are vehemently against this, so I just wrote up a letter showing my thoughts and [tried] to get as much support from other students,” said junior Emile Lee-Suk.

The petition was quickly spread online through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook Messenger, as well as in-person during classes. “The Monday following the initial wave of signers, a physical version of the document was handed around in the chorus classes to sign,” said Jamir.

After garnering such widespread notice, the petition eventually made its way to Dr. Yu, who was impressed by its cogency and announced that music ensembles would return to a numerical grading policy. “I want to apologize for giving you this impression [that the performers’ commitment was being devalued], as the decision was not intended to devalue the importance of our music courses, diminish the concerted effort and commitment you exert, nor to penalize you in any way for taking courses you thoroughly enjoy,” said Dr. Yu in an email sent to students on September 13. “Therefore, after more consideration, I am changing the prior decision to make the performative music courses Pass/Fail and reverting back to the numerical grade as we have had previously.”

Performers were extremely satisfied with Dr. Yu’s receptivity and felt proud of their ability to catalyze change within Stuyvesant through the use of teamwork and reason. “I appreciate that we were able to get so many students behind this letter and make a real change.” Lee-Suk said.