Letter to the Editor: Robert J. von Gutfeld

To the editor:
With respect to the upcoming Bacchanal, (Spectator April 5, “Bacchanal spring concert lineup announced”) it was interesting and disconcerting to learn what students consider “concerts” these days when groups are asked to “perform” hip-hop, gangster rap, and a combination of sounds and texts that is aesthetically most disturbing. In my over 54 years as a resident across from the student center, I have complained about this annual aural nightmare it causes those who live in the community. However, these complaints have mostly gone on deaf ears.

Of course deaf ears are, and should be, the greatest concern accompanying these “concerts.” Dozens of professional musicians I know personally, both classical and non-classical, have complained about their steadily increasing loss of hearing from excessive volume occurring in their musical profession that our culture has found to be fun, acceptable, and a must. Well-known retired rock musicians wrote columns in the New York Times over 20 years ago warning of the impending danger to hearing at these excessive volumes. But, to the campus crowds, louder is better. Some years ago, I wrote a letter to the chairman of Columbia’s department of public health asking why Columbia allows these horrendous decibels on campus which have been scientifically shown to lead to cardiac and hearing problems. The reply I got from the chairman after a few weeks was “I don’t know much about the anatomy of hearing, I’m a gynecologist.”

I guess there’s not much else one can say after that response other than deafness is becoming ever more pervasive throughout the world, but few seem to care. Perhaps the graduating students would do well to go into the hearing aid business. I’m sure that business will just continue to grow as deafness becomes as much of a problem as cancer does from smoking.

Robert J. von Gutfeld, Ph.D, Graduate School for Arts and Sciences ’57
April 19, 2010