NEWS: Wikipedia Falsehoods Continue Without Abatement in Article about the American Conservatory of Music

Wikipedia, a free-for-all consortium of would-be encyclopedic editors, continues unabashedly to make false statements about the American Conservatory of Music. The American Conservatory of Music calls upon the Wikimedia project to investigate the editors, orlady and eurodog for undisclosed biases they may have against the operations of the American Conservatory of Music.

All who exercise an ample level of discernment; instantly; they are able to see through the falsehood about the purported demise of the American Conservatory of Music and to see that indeed it did not cease to exist as an educational institution at any time in the past. This article will demonstrate, for all concerned, that Wikipedia exercises no discernment in policing the content of its article about the American Conservatory of Music. Even more alarming is the fact that those of ACM's august alumni who have stepped up to defend their alma mater from Wikipedia's barrage of false statements about the American Conservatory of Music have been bullied into submission by a psychological weapon known as group conformity whereupon a falsehood is embraced by a vocal majority with the intention of conforming that opinion upon the whole population by peer pressure. See Asch Conformity Experiments Video below:

For those of you who fail to see the falsehood, let us show you clearly how it is manifested in the Wikipedia Article:

"The American Conservatory of Music (ACM) was a major American school of music founded in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt (1851-1931).[1] The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It was located in Chicago until 1991 when its Board of Trustees - chaired by Frederic Wilbur Hickman (b. 1927)[2] - voted to close the institution, file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, liquidate the assets, and dissolve the corporation.[3][4]..."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Conservatory_of_Music

The portion of the article containing the falsehood points to the following references which are listed at the end of that article:

• 1. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, sixth edition, revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Collier Macmillan Publishers.
• 2. Marquis Who's Who in America, 1992-1993, 47th Edition Vol 1, A-K, pg 1547, Reed Reference Publishing Company, New Providence, New Jersey (1992)
• 3. John Richard von Rhein, Changing The Score, American Conservatory Gets Another Chance, Chicago Tribune, July 28, 1991
• 4. John Richard von Rhein, All Out Of Miracles, Century-old Music School Will Close In May, Chicago Tribune, March 09, 1991

• 1. Newspaper articles are self-authenticating, and where they were more than 20 years old, they were considered "ancient" within meaning of Rule of Evidence, so that statements contained therein were admissible into evidence. Gonzales v. North Tp. of Lake County, N.D.Ind.1992, 800 F.Supp. 676, reversed on other grounds 4 F.3d 1412. (West Key Note Category) Evidence 372(3)
• 2. Newspaper articles dealing with sinking of ship in 1857 were admissible under ancient document exception to rule against hearsay. Columbus-America Discovery Group, Inc. v. Unidentified, Wrecked and Abandoned Sailing Vessel, E.D.Va.1990, 742 F.Supp. 1327, reversed on other grounds 974 F.2d 450, certiorari denied 113 S.Ct. 1625, 507 U.S. 1000, 123 L.Ed.2d 183, on remand. (West Key Note Category) Evidence 372(1)
• 3. In action seeking injunctive and declaratory relief to restrain defendants from providing municipal services in a racially discriminatory manner, newspaper articles which were less than 20 years old, while not "ancient documents" under exception to hearsay rule, were admissible and appropriate to show how events of day were being recorded. Ammons v. Dade City, Fla., M.D.Fla.1984, 594 F.Supp. 1274, affirmed 783 F.2d 982, rehearing denied 788 F.2d 1570. (West Key Note Category) Evidence 361


Source: West Publishing Company via Westlaw. Copyright 2014 Thomson West. All Rights Reserved.

An educational institution which does not cease operations continues to exist as a matter of law even if its name has changed; its operating entity has changed; its management has changed; and especially if its former Board of Trustees has approved the continuation. See In Re Hagan's Will, 234 Iowa 1001; June 6, 1944; Supreme Court of Iowa.

The Wikipedia article about the American Conservatory of Music states, falsely, that the Board of Trustees "voted to close the institution, file for Chapter Seven Bankruptcy, liquidate the assets, and dissolve the corporation." HOWEVER, in accordance with their footnote 4 quoting to an article, published by the Chicago Tribune on March 09, 1991, announcing the closure of the American Conservatory of Music, we see the following statements which are admissible in a court of law:

• 1. "The American Conservatory of Music, once one of the most famous music schools in the Midwest, is expected to close its doors this spring after 105 years."
• 2. "In a letter dated March 1, acting President Vernon Nelson told faculty and students that the conservatory, located since 1987 in the Stevens Building, 17 N. State St., will cease operation in May, at the end of the semester."
• 3. "Nelson said that the board of directors has made ``no move at all`` as yet to liquidate the conservatory but that it is exploring the feasibility of moving segments of the school`s educational program to other Chicago music colleges."
• 4. "Earl Schub, dean of Chicago Musical College, confirmed that the college has offered contracts to many American Conservatory faculty members and that provisions will be made to allow students enrolled at the conservatory to continue their studies without interrupting their degree programs."

AND in footnote 3 quoting to an article published by the Chicago Tribune on July 28, 1991, we see the following additional statements which are admissible in a court of law establishing the factual background of the rescue of the venerable American Conservatory of Music, as follows:

• "1. "Even those administrators like Nelson who found themselves on the losing side of the ``hostile`` takeover have to concede that without Schulze`s rescue operation, the 105-year-old music school would have become another casualty of the disease that has devastated many of the nation`s smaller conservatories."
• "2. "Last week the old board voted to liquidate their corporation, clearing the way for Schulze and company to assume full control."
• "3. "Waldschmidt, who came out of retirement 2 1/2 years ago to become the conservatory`s dean and vice president of academic affairs (he retains the title of dean), says that most of the 50 to 60 teachers who were considered full-time faculty-including nine Chicago Symphony Orchestra players-will be back teaching on an adjunct basis when the fall term begins in September. He estimates the conservatory will have a degree-seeking student body of about 60."
• "4. "But Hickman points out that no businessman as smart as Schulze would have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the school ``unless he thought he could make it go. It`s his show now, and if he wants to try to save the conservatory, I`m all for it.``"

ANALYSIS: The above facts satisfy the threshold question posed in the Hagan's Will case and as a matter of law, the American Conservatory of Music did not cease to exist as an educational institution at any time in its history. Wikipedia has the resources to check the factual accuracy of their articles. However, to date, Wikipedia has failed to police this article and to maintain a neutral point of view. The American Conservatory of Music calls upon Wikipedia to stop publishing false information about this issue.

Our previous article about the Wikipedia article addresses other falsehoods promulgated by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun Times regarding the Conservatory's modes of management/operation and the extra-musical activities of the late Richard Schulze (1928-2001), Theodora Schulze, and Otto Schulze which maintained a false impression of their moral character.

NOTE: There are other areas in the two branches of the Wikipedia article containing false statements about the Conservatory. It is our hope that this will be corrected soon.

Copyright 2014, American Conservatory of Music. All Rights Reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced, copied, or stored in an information retrieval system or server without the express written permission of the copyright holder.