DisneyDirector

DKMom: I agree. I am actually in the process today of doing extensive research on the claims made here. My wife reminded me that, even at Northwestern where we both went, there was crime on campus - rapes, etc. Ths is a dangerous society we live in and there is no campus that is completely safe. It's about awareness.

I will keep you posted as to my findings.

snoggie

I actually think the response of both DD and DKMOM is great. You cannot be sure of anything; there are no givens. What you have been given is an opportunity to be more aware of possibilities in your kids' situations, which is in its own way a blessing! I wish I had known more about my Ds first school... we may still have chosen it but made different choices while there!

S

DKMom

There is no such thing as a completely safe environment, and while one can choose to invest in living in 'safe' communities to minimize the exposure to such things like we did in order to raise our kids, once we set them free they will not avoid the exposure. Such is life.

Granted, when it comes to colleges, yes, one can try to minimize security risks in the selection process, and overall, campuses are safer than the communities in which they reside, but still, campuses are just smaller versions of all the communities represented by the student body. If the bulk of the students hail from inner cities then that will be reflected on campus, but we select colleges for their programs, not their student body makeup, and we pray - a lot!

What I like about college campuses is it is a transitional step to reality for the kids. On a smaller scale the students get exposed to all that gunk parents shielded them from all those years, and they learn to adapt, so that when they graduate and have to consider job prospects for their lives, they are a bit wiser about how to live in the community where the job is located.

As for the professors and their rudeness, drunken-ness, well, I hate to be stereotypical yet again, but isn't that the nature of the subculture of the arts anyway? Since campuses are mini-realities I'd be surprised if the mind-set of the subculture wasn't present. Some directors and producers in real life are flat out rude and obnoxious, but if you manage to earn a spot in a production, you'd best know how not to take his/her comments/attitude personally and make the guy/gal happy if you want to keep the job. Would I rather all the teachers were Disney-esque and Christian-centered? If the real-world environment of that profession is, then yes, but if the real-world environment is cut-throat and brutal, then I want my D to learn what it takes to survive in that environment. At the very least, it may steer her away from the profession into another one. That's what the college experience is about.

DisneyDirector

Well, it took a while to get my blood pressure back to normal but I've spent the day researching and talking and finally have a more realistic picture of what I feel about all of this.

First of all, let me say that NO ONE should take any post on any website as gospel. It is imperative for you to consider all viewpoints and do your own research to come to your own conclusion.

Regarding the safety of the school - or any school for that matter - the world is a dangerous place. There is crime anywhere you care to look for it. There are statistics online for every college in the country and the crime rates that apply to those campuses. Crime is everywhere! My wife reminded me of rape on campus at NU - a beautiful, seemingly safe campus - and that was 25 years ago! There is no way that we can keep our children completely safe. All we can do is prepare them as best as we can to face whatever might come their way and then hope for the best. On this note, I plan to enroll my daughter in a self-defense course over the summer so as to give her another tool - besides common sense - to deal with issues that may arise.

Colleges have faculty turnover. Happens every year on almost every campus. A new professor does not necessarily equate to a bad professor. I checked with current students on the Millikin campus as to the impressions of the new faculty and received very honest answers - most being positive.

'Abusive' professors are on every campus. Abusive directors, choreographers, lighting designers, scenic designers, stage managers, etc. exist in the world of the arts - even at Disney. (Jerome Robbins - depsite his brilliance - was an ass). Our children need to learn how to deal with all personalities if they are going to survive in the business. When my wife and I were at Northwestern we had a director who was abusive, who was drunk most of the time and who slept during rehearsals. BUT, we both learned a great deal from him. Number one was to be punctual. He had zero tolerance for being late and would throw you out of the show on your very first infraction - whether you were a lead or in the ensemble. In our careers, directors, etc. have always commented on how punctual my wife and I are and how great our work ethic is. This is due in part to this abusive man. I also learned from this man what kind of director I DID NOT want to be. And I am not that kind of director. He taught me something - even if it was hard to learn.

As far as getting work after college or during summers - the faculty was very upfront that they do not do the leg work for the kids. They provide them with all of the information as to what is out there to explore and give them the tools to explore it but they don't do it for them. That's good training in self-reliance as far as I'm concerned.

What I don't understand is that, if things are as terrible as they are being made out to be, why are the kids still there? I would pull mine in a second if I thought they were in imminent danger or my money was being wasted. we all have choices. If the school is not a right fit, move on. Kids transfer every year.

Finally, to get another side of the arguement, my wife and I contacted two former Millikin students who now work for Disney (class of 2001 and 2004). They are both VERY talented young ladies. We told them about the posts and asked for their honest opinions. They both said that they did not have the kind of experience that has been referred to here. In fact, one of the girls became physically sick to think that the school was being generalized in that way. She said that Millikin was the best thing that happened to her. That her parents did not support her going there and that professors even helped her find more financial aid so that she could stay at the school when her father would no longer contribute.

I don't doubt that kids have had bad experiences at Millikin. There are kids that have bad experiences at any school. PLEASE do your own research and do not react, as I did this morning, to a few comments (bad or good). That is a severe injustice to not only the school, but to you and your kids as well.

I am now done. I wish everyone the best in your future endeavors.

DKMom

Thanks, DD. Good advice all around.

Mom2incollege

I did not post this before because I was unaware of post like this. Before going to any school go to this web page to see the criminals that live around the schools:National Sex Offender Registry.
Well, as for knowing more then most, I currently have a child at Millikin. But don't take my word for anything, what would I know.
I left her at Millikin because it is supposedly the best school, she moved into the secured apartments. She has campus security drive her to the campus and back so she is not hurt. They offered her a good scholarship and she was learning a lot in the beginning. When the staff's enthusiasm went down so did the education. Make your own decisions but be aware of the fact that this school does not offer the best like they claim to do.
I have TWO children in college and my other child is on a campus with "0" crime, look it up Elmhurst college. His school is so much better, he is currently a junior and his working on a business music degree. Since I have seen a good school, I can tell you that Millikin is not as good as you might think.

DisneyDirector

Mom2incollege: My point is that no one should accept any one (or even two) reports on a college. A person must research fully to understand a truer picture and make their own decision. Posts can be incorrect and, even though the person posting may think their information is accurate, as you can see below, it isn't always.

From the latest published documents available on both colleges (from their own websites):

Elmhurst College – crime stats 2006
Murder 0
Sex offenses 0
Burglary 22
Car Theft 2
Liquor Law Violations 156
Drug Abuse Violations 16
Weapons Violations 6



Millikin University – crime stats 2005
Murder 0
Sex offense 3
Burglary 21
Car Theft 0
Liquor Law Violations 109
Drug Abuse Violations 14
Weapons Violations 1
Aggravated Assault 2
Arson 1
Robbery 3

As you can see, neither is crime free. That's, unfortunately, the way of the world. We need to be smart and make decisions with our heads not our hearts.

And, as for the National Registry, if you check any neighborhood in your own home town you will be surprised to find many such offenders closer to home than you'd like. Again, not exclusive to any one town (or college). This is the reality of our world today.

Mom2incollege

http://media.elmhurst.edu/documents/SecurityReport.pdf
this is elmhurst page.

I believe the whole point of these kinds of post is to let others become aware of different situations, so that now one goes in blindly. If I had had more information on this school then just previous referrals I would of thought twice about sending her, or at least been more prepared for the unfortunate mishaps that have occurred.
Let us try not to get too petty amongst ourselves. Everything is suppose to be about the students not the parents.

DisneyDirector

Best of luck to everyone.

DisneyDirector

I have decided to make one final post.

Unfortunately, it became obvious that my responses to the recent posts were being regarded as personal attacks. If you go back and read my posts you will see that that was never the case. No child should ever have a bad college experience and I would not wish that on anyone. My reaction to the posts was just that - a reaction. After months of going through a very stressful process it was very disheartening to see such radically different viewpoints being displayed after all the decisions had been made. It was difficult to see that possibly we had made a mistake. So, I did what I said I would do - and what this forum is ultimately about - I researched the subject myself so that I could make a determination as to whether I needed to pull my daughter from the school. The posts contained the kind of content that actually deemed that sort of consideration. I was relieved to find that, while these are very real experiences and I do not mistrust for an instance that they are based in truth, they are not the only experiences that Millikin students are having. I researched the subject to the point that I felt satisified that I could still send my daughter to the school with personal confidence. That is not to say that if she ultimately has bad experiences that we would not consider transferring. But, to be fair, I would do that at any college she attended because no one knows for sure what kind of experience an individual will have until they have it.

Now, quite possibly, I should have just kept my findings to myself but, as Mom2incollege stated above, this forum is about sharing so that others become aware of different experiences. My posts were intended to give the other side of the Millikin experience. If I had not done the research and posted my findings then there would only be recent negative experiences posted and that would not allow future prospectives to have a complete view of the school.

My daughter is attending Millikin in the Fall. I hope strongly that her experiences will be positive. She actually knows nothing of these recent posts and my comments do not reflect her in any way.

We all want our kids to have the best and I truly hope that, ultimately, they all will.

DKMom

Mom2inCollege, thank you for taking the step to add your perspective.
While I see you value the Elmhurst experience over the Millikin, I guess the question I have is: Is your daughter happy? Is she making progress?

I hated my children's high school experience but they survived and walked away wiser and relatively unscathed. I've learned to trust them. If they are happy with their choice, despite my own concerns, I will support them. They know that if they change their mind at any time we'd support starting the transfer process in a heartbeat as well. It's their life and already my D has chosen a field that to me, seems extremely daunting, but she's so excited and can't wait to begin this part of her journey that I just plan to sit back and keep an eye from a distance. Oh, and continue praying, too.

BrownEyes

DisneyDirector: While I'm not personally familiar with the MT program at Millikin (yet), my child is currently a high school Junior and we have already visited 11 college BFA campuses in the Northeast and Midwest. On this basis, it seems there are many fine BFA schools located in questionable neighborhoods. Two that come immediately to mind are CCM and Syracuse - - both offer excellent BFA programs, amazing faculty, beautiful facilities and successful, working graduates - - however, I would not consider the neighborhoods which surround either CCM or SU to be 'safe'. I got the same impression from the neighborhoods which surround Northwestern. Still, these are among my child's top choices for next year, and my husband and I remain supportive, in spite of our somewhat negative impression of the surrounding neighborhoods. I agree with you completely that this is just the way of the world, and it's better to teach our kids to be safe in all environments than to try and shelter them. I guess the point I am trying to make is that if recent posts about safety concerns at Millikin are true (and I'm not saying they are), Millikin is not the only BFA school that's located in a questionable neighborhood; and to be honest, Millikin is not the only BFA program to receive 'mixed reviews' on College Confidential. It sounds like you've done extensive research and you have your daughter's best interests at heart ... Millikin also sounds like an excellent program which my child may also consider, in spite of some of the negative commentary on this thread. I therefore hope you will continue to post your and your daughter's experiences on College Confidential. Best of luck to you and your daughter in the future!

Mom2incollege

FYI, Millikin is a good school for the actors, but it is not a good school for techs (the people behind the scene). I found out that the school does help the actors get jobs but does not help the techs get jobs. When questioned the teachers stated that the techs can find a job anywhere, so they do not need the help. They said it is harder for actors to get jobs so that is why they help them. The students met in a forum at school (actors and techs) and the actors where shocked that the techs did not get help. The staff said that they were unaware that the tech students were not finding jobs in their field and the school said that this policy will change, for the upcoming year but the current graduating students (techs) will not get help this year in finding jobs. The actors however, did get help and most of them do have jobs lined up.

I know I am all over the place, but, there are laws on how we are allowed to treat our children, and in grade school - high school teachers are suppose to pay attention and make sure the parents are not abusing the children. But we allow the teachers to abuse our children? Your child comes home and says the teacher yelled at me and your first response is well that couldn't of happened your teacher would not do that. Why don't parents believe their children? As they get older it gets worse, but because we told the children to ignore it they let it happen and do not say a word. But abuse is abuse no matter how you sugar coat it and it should not be allowed by anyone. Would you let a stranger yell at your child? So why do we allow teachers to treat our children badly. Someone said in a previous quote something about dealing with it. If we do not teach our children to say stop it at a younger age, then how can they tell the difference between abuse and just a person having a bad day. No one deserves to be abused, and their is a fine line that a lot of teachers do cross.
I thank GOD everyday that my daughter is no longer in this school (she graduated), and I hope that all of your students are smart enough to pay attention to any kind of abuse and know that they do not have to take it from anyone. They deserve better then that, after all they are our children!

DKMom

Mom2incollege,

Thanks for letting us know Millikin responds to the needs of the students. They complained, the techies got support from their actor peers, and the school has committed to making a change for the upcoming classes. That's a good thing.

As for the abuse charge, after 18 years of age, your children are no longer 'children'. They are adults and are supposed to stand up for themselves. If your adult daughter survived Millikin without regrets and is making a living with the skills the university provided then your money was well spent. It seems you found the situation to be abusive but that your daughter did not, at least not to the extent that it impeded her ability to learn and succeed. This tells me you raised your daughter very well.

I guess I don't understand why you're so upset with the fact that some adults are jerks. Bullies in school grow up to be bullies in the workforce, this is nothing new. They aren't going to get fired if they produce positive results for the employer because money is the bottom line. I get the impression that you think if more parents complained at the k-12 level about 'abusive' teachers that these teachers would lose their jobs or something. That's just not the way it works.

There is such a thing as tenure for K-12 teachers and they have powerful unions. If you want change then you need to go to the school board in your area and ask them to set a standard of conduct for all teachers which define 'abuse'. Once that's in place, THEN, parents can place charges against certain teachers for breaking District Conduct Regulations. But beware: it is highly unlikely that the district will agree on a definition of verbal abuse that matches your own personal standard. Chances are, if you look at your district's current guidelines there's broad language already in place and you'll see it makes it very difficult for parents to levy accusations against any specific teacher as it is. And that's the way it is in the workplace, as well. That's why it's more important to teach our children to stand up for THEIR OWN PERSONAL STANDARDS than 'settle' for any government, work, or school guidelines. Raise the bar for yourself and insist others rise to your level, and if they refuse, then WALK AWAY from that job, school, situation. It seems your daughter learned that lesson from you and I know my two young adult children know it well. There is hope for the future because of parents like you and many others here on this board. Our children will become better teachers, bosses, supervisors as the older generation retires (I'm seeing that happen here at home) and in time, this problem our kids faced will be greatly lessened for their children.

emilymonologue

Hey all-
I'm going to be a sophomore at Millikin this fall- if any of you had students auditioning this past semester, we probably met. I worked in the theatre and dance office talking to auditioning students and their parents.

I really want to give you all a perspective from a current student because a lot of what you're all citing, good and bad, is from official sites or past students, which is different than what your kids will get when they attend Millikin.

1) Someone made a comment about the old ballet teacher. I never knew her, and I know that a lot of upperclassmen really respected her. I also have heard that she was one of the teachers that was unprofessional in her socializing with students. The new ballet teacher, Angela Fledderman Miller, is very well qualified. My Ballet 1 class progressed much farther in one year than Ballet 1 has ever in the past because of her teaching style. She has a great connection with students, really knows how to communicate with us, and is an active artist, choreographing pieces that are being performed around the country (which she workshopped in our dance concert this semester).

2)Safety in Decatur is questionable. There isn't any arguing that. However, I have never once felt threatened on campus. Safety and Security offers free rides after 5:00 until the sun comes up every day of the week anywhere on campus and a few houses off-campus as well. They do tend to be slow in day-to-day activities (namely getting rehearsal spaces unlocked) but I have never had any reason to doubt that they would be ready to help in a dangerous situation. Of course, that said, I have no reason to doubt the people who claim that the Safety and Security office is slow. I regularly get campus-wide e-mails from Deana Luthy, the head of safety and security, reporting any suspicious behavior, robberies, or violence in the area.

3) As far as "abusive" professors go, I have never had any experience with anything like this. As in any situation where people work together, conflicting attitudes and personalities cause dispute, and professors who are used to getting their way can make life uncomfortable for students who are used to getting their way (which really is quite often, looking at my class). I'm not in any way claiming that the report of abuse that was mentioned was made up-
what I am saying is that, yes, in classes where the students' performance is picked apart so critically in an environment where people have to work together and depend on one another, there are always going to be high tensions and the risk of disagreements or discomfort. I know that I personally have grown up a lot this year learning to deal with this.

4) I am a performance major and right now I could not recommend the performance track more highly (I don't think anyone has disputed this- I just want to reiterate.) Of course there are cuts in the musical theatre department; almost every decent program in the country has some kind of cut to keep people working hard. TZehrer mentioned earlier the hurdles at the end of Freshman year. This is the main "re-audition" that musical theatre students do, but to think that students might be allowed to pass this hurdle then do whatever they want for the next few years and graduate with a BFA in musical theatre is ridiculous. As a school who is trying to beef up their reputation for the BFA musical theatre degree, it only makes sense for them to only accept the best, hardest working students. All that said, I have heard from tech students and faculty that, for the moment at least, Millikin is not the place to come to study technical theatre. However, one of our new tech professors has stated several times that she intends to bring the tech program up to the level of the performance program.


I really hope this helps you folks- if any of you have questions or wish to discuss Millikin any further, please message me.