Play it again, Sam

One day, about two years ago, the music died.

The piano, whose slightly out of tune notes echoed through the Bryan Center, was removed from its station outside of Schaefer Theater. With the recent proposals submitted to the University Union Board that call for several pianos to be placed across West Campus, the music may soon be back.

Bringing pianos to West would be thoroughly refreshing. Two years ago, when the piano was still in the Bryan Center, people just came in and played-from classical concertos to adapted rock hits, and anything in between. To have the option of listening to these players again would be a welcome relief from the canned Top-40 music of Le Grand Café.

In addition to the obvious benefit of allowing students enrolled in music classes the opportunity to practice without the commute to East Campus, the placement of pianos at key locations on West can serve as a community builder, providing a place in which students can congregate and talk. Pianos would also allow people the opportunity for self-expression and the chance to play informally for an audience.

Furthermore, pianos add a touch of class to the University campus. As Sue Coon, dean of University Life, recounted, "I remember a student once telling me that he came to Duke because when he visited in high school, he noticed the piano in the Bryan Center. He said that it made the campus appear cultured and civilized."