Musical Theater Students & Alums File Lawsuits Against Pace University and Former Head of MT Program
Sixteen current and former students of Pace University’s School of Performing Arts have filed individual lawsuits in hopes of forcing the school to address allegations of systemic racism within its musical theatre program. Named in the lawsuits are not only Pace University but also its former head of the musical theatre program, Amy Rogers.
In a video posted by the group “See Our Truths”, which was created as an outlet for students to come forward with their claims of racism and discrimination against the program, Pace alum Alexander Sanders breaks down the claims and charges within the lawsuit. He also discusses the process in which these lawsuits came to be. You can watch the entire video below.
The legal claims against the school and Rogers include:
Discriminatory deployment of education opportunities.
Deliberate indifference to racial harassment.
Creating and sustaining a hostile educational environment.
Discriminatory deployment of facially racially natural policies.
Retaliation.
For the past year, See Our Truths have been publishing videos detailing the alleged abuse BIPOC students endured while in the program, much of which Amy Rogers was apparently responsible for. The first videos were posted in Aug 2020. By the time the school year had begun, Rogers was no longer head of the musical theatre program. She is currently listed on the site as a professor teaching musical theater technique.
In October, a protest was organized in front of the School of Performing Arts building where both current and former students spoke about the treatment they encountered.
According to Sanders, the lawsuits call for actions such as reparations for the sixteen students, for the school to create and maintain new anti-racist policies and practices, and a full-scale investigation into the Pace University. that Sanders hopes “will uncover the long and treacherous 15-year history of Pace University and its discriminatory practices.”
Representatives for the school, nor Rogers, have released any statement. But the school did release a statement last year regarding the allegations. It read:
“Pace University has a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination. Whenever we receive a discrimination complaint, we thoroughly investigate and take remedial action if warranted by the findings. This is consistent both with our legal obligations and our belief in fair process for all. If any current students or former students believe that they have been subjected to discriminatory treatment in our Performing Arts Program or any other program or service provided by the University, we will investigate if they provide the details of their allegations to our Institutional Equity Officer and Title IX Coordinator, who is the University Officer authorized to initiate investigations under our discrimination policies. Equity in all of our programs is central to the mission of Pace to create an open and inclusive environment for all of our students.”
No information or documents of the lawsuit have been made available at this time. We will be following this story and will provide more info as it develops.