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[Joel Jones]

>On Fri, 18 Nov 1994, John Minor wrote:
>
>>
>>       I need suggestions on what to do with students who place
>> drinks on top of pianos! We have 15 or so new Yamaha verticals in
>> practice rooms, and students seem to treat them like they are the
>> same old junk we replaced!
>>       There ARE new signs posted in most of the rooms stating no smoking
>> or drinking, etc. I HATE asking people to remove their drinks from the
>> pianos, especially the graduate students who should know better!!!!!!
>>       Any comments are welcome!
>>
>> John Minor
>> University of Illinois
>> jminor@uiuc.edu
>
>John this problem is older than I am.  The effective solution has yet to
>be born as far as I know.  I make a big deal about it whenever I see it.
>I have confiscated coffee pots from practice rooms.  We have 49 new
>Baldwin 243s that we got 16 months ago.  So far the damage has not been
>significant but it is something I get serious about.
>
>I make posters and put them on my shop door.  One of them has a picture of
>a large aligator.  The head fills the picture and he appears to be
>smiling.  Under this is written: "...and then he sat his drink down on the
>piano so I ate him."
>
>If you find a TRULY effective means to stop this kind of irresponsibility
>please let us all know.  Also, if you learn a tactful way to kill tenured
>professors who water their plants on top of their piano let me know that
>too.  I don't think the students can learn what their professors don't teach.
>
>Dave Porritt
>SMU

Dave,
        I like your aligator poster idea and would very much like to get a
copy if you have one.  Humor used like this makes more of a  point than the
preachy 'thou shalt nots'.  Here's my address:  Joel A. Jones, 1501
Humanities, 455 North Park Street, Madison, WI   53706.
        For a fact, I know that students emulate what their professors do -
more so than tell.  I see alot of instructors with their coffee mugs on top
of the piano.  A no win sitation if I ever saw one.  But, I keep on trying.

J^2 Keep In Tune !