Kateryna Savienkova
Deputy Editor
When Courtney Lazzarini, the newly assigned General Manager of the LASR radio station, returned to PLU after the summer break, she was met with bad news: “The Monday before school started, I was [leading] New Student Orientation and I got an email that said to move my stuff into the new office by Friday.” LASR, with all its recording equipment, is located in the Neeb Center, which used to host the KPLU radio station, later succeeded by KNKX.
The sudden change of spaces is an aftermath of PLU selling off 60,000 square feet to Lubbesmeyer Construction Inc this past July. According to the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer website, the sold property included three buildings on the crossing of 121st Street South and Park Ave South, two of which used to be the Music House and PLU Health Services. “The decision to sell the Music House was made in 2023 as part of a larger campus plan… that also included the Partnership for Health Innovation with MultiCare,” shared Vice President for Administrative Services Shalita Myrick. As for the $1,622,000 received for the property, Myrick shared, “The proceeds from the sale are fully reinvested into the university. We use these funds to support our physical infrastructure and programmatic needs, ensuring the best possible student experience.”
The selling of the Music House, together with the onboarding of four new faculty members, caused internal reorganization in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Associate Dean Brian Galante was part of the committee formed to look for alternative spaces on campus. The committee ended up choosing Ness Family Chapel, Anderson University Center (AUC), and Neeb Center to disperse some of the music classes. “As far as I know, those are our spaces moving forward. It’s almost a one to one [exchange],” said Galante.
Student Media outlet leaders are not that satisfied with the solution, but are trying to adopt it. LASR lost two studio rooms, which are now occupied with pianos. “It hasn’t bothered any of our recordings yet because [the rooms] are pretty sound proof,” shared Lazzarini. The Rose Window Studios (RWS) and Late Knight teams, who share an office space in the AUC, are less lucky — the walls separating them from the music lessons are not sound-proof. Michael Miller, a co-director of the RWS, shared, “I am in there probably ten hours a week and eight of those hours they are playing music. It just felt weird that they decided to move it next to somewhere where we record a lot and have live shows.”
Galante explained that “we are aware of the acoustic challenges” and “we are working on the acoustics in the UC.” It’s unlikely that the AUC music room will be 100% sound-proof, so RWS and Late Knight will have to work with the music lessons schedule to be able to record. When asked about the acoustic concerns, Myrick maintained that “Because the Music House did not meet the necessary acoustical standards, all music lessons have been relocated to alternative spaces on campus that do meet those standards.”
Lazzarini also expressed a concern for music students who have to carry their instruments to the new locations. As a Music Education student, she has experienced it firsthand: her saxophone lessons used to be in the Mary Baker Russell Center (MBR) until they were moved to the AUC this year. “It’s fall, which means there is going to be rain, which means there is going to be snow, and that is what I am worried about.”
Myrick shared that a “newly formed Space Management Committee is actively working to determine and implement a comprehensive solution for our music program’s needs.” Whether the solution will involve more moving remains unclear. While students figure out their new locations and neighbors, Myrick assured that PLU is not selling any other buildings as of right now.
