By IRA ROSENBLUM

The votes are in … our readers have spoken! Some 700 Juilliard Journal readers took the survey that we conducted in March. What did they say about us?

"The Journal is my Bible! Don't change a thing. You are doing a great job!"

"It's all a bit serious and bourgeois."

"It sometimes sounds like a propaganda newspaper."

"The scholarly articles are great; they help to provide the school with a much needed intellectual thrust."

"I would like to read more scholarly and musicological articles!"

"A snooze—like the interior of the building."

"Your entire publication is superb! Well planned and most informative."

So, there you have it. The old adages are right: For every up there's a down … You can't please everybody … But, I am happy to report, we seem to be pleasing many people—the overwhelming majority of survey respondents gave us very high marks (and that, in turn, pleases us).

We are making a few small changes to the paper this year, based at least in part on what our readers had to say. Two columns—Shrink Rap (an advice column for students) and Words Without Songs (poetry and fiction by students)—are being discontinued. It seems that, in the words of one reader, "Shrink Rap is absolutely unnecessary, particularly for alumni, staff, faculty, and donors. Perhaps it should be placed in a separate, student-only publication, along with Voice Box and Words Without Songs." (We agree with you on two out of three—for now, Voice Box stays!)

We will also be introducing a new alumni Q&A column ("More alumni and faculty interviews," one reader beseeched). We also hope to increase the number of scholarly articles that appear.

As for those who asked for color … that's on our wish list, too! (And thanks to those who praised our special color issue in May.) For now, it's going to stay black and white.

Thank you to everyone who took the survey. But you don't have to wait for a survey to express your opinions. We love hearing from our readers. Write to us at journal@juilliard.edu.