A suggestion that University of Houston student actors wear neon vests was rescinded this week, a faculty recommendation that was made after campus police drew a gun on a Black student rehearsing a scene last semester.
Theater department faculty developed the plan for students to wear bright safety vests while rehearsing in outdoor public spaces, according to Andrew Davis, dean of Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. The idea aimed to identify working actors after a University of Houston police officer drew a gun on a graduate student who was rehearsing a scene on campus.
Graduate students received vests last semester, and undergraduate students received them in January, according to the Houston Chronicle, which first reported the story.
The faculty suggestion was rescinded this week.
“Among other concerns, vests do not address the issue of providing our students safe and appropriate rehearsal spaces, especially for scenes involving purported criminal activity or violence,” Davis said. “Therefore, the School of Theatre and Dance has retracted this proposal and will not ask students to wear vests.”
The University of Houston confirmed the decision came from the College of Arts and Letters and was not a campuswide policy. The request to wear vests was “not the right course of action, nor was it vetted or approved by Police Chief Ceaser Moore,” the university said.
“McGovern College leadership is taking the necessary steps to review protocols to ensure that student actors are provided with appropriate rehearsal space and safety protocols, especially for scenes of purported criminal activity or violence that could cause public alarm or confusion,” the university said in a statement.
Rehearsal gone wrong
On Nov. 4, a student reported that a Black man with tattoos was grabbing a woman and covering her mouth in an alley between two campus buildings. The student, who was not identified, said he had heard the woman scream for help.
“Listen, does…
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