Part 1

LE: Ok, I am pleased here to speak with Ruth Ann McClain, who taught flute at Rhodes college. I was quite interested to see The New York Times article, with Blair Tindall writing, that addressed her story. I felt that there are many, many issues left out that I would like to know. I want to thank Mrs. McClain for meeting with me today and discussing these issues.

The first question I have is when were the exact years you worked at Rhodes College?

RM: I worked there from the fall of 1991until the end of the spring semester of 2003.

LE: A long time. What was you exact position with the university -- full time or part time -- and what were your teaching duties?

RM: I was adjunct. I was in charge of all of the flute students. I did flute choir and had most of the same duties as other faculty except I didn't have to go to faculty meetings.

LE: Ha ha, very much appreciated! How big was your flute studio?

RM: Well, it varied from semester to semester. It was as few as five or six to fifteen.

LE: How long were you recommending beta blockers to students for coping with symptoms associated with stage fright, and can you confirm that you required all of your students to see a doctor before utilizing medications?

RM: I can't confirm it in writing you only have my word.

LE: I believe you. Just for our listeners who may not have seen the article. I know you mentioned the article. I was just confirming it with you.

RM: First of all I would have never have been hired at Rhodes if I was stupid. I would never have been dumb enough to tell a student to use a prescription medication without a prescription. Now I pulled out my folder of all of the happenings at Rhodes, which I very carefully kept. I also sent those to Blair, because The New York Times had to be very careful about where they presented the things, as far as liability. I always suggested that they get a prescription from a physician. But as you and your friend probably know if you go outside of the United States, and it is readily available over the counter.

LE: Absolutely.

RM: I have a good friend who is Principal Flute in the São Paulo Symphony. He told me after all this happened -- he was laughing -- and he said that touring orchestras that come here, when they leave, all of the stores are wiped out of beta blockers.

LE: That is quite funny. I actually played in Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro for a year and half or so. I am originally Brazilian. So I can relate to the Saõ Paulo story quite well. Have you been recommending them [beta blockers] during your entire tenure at the Rhodes College, or did you begin part of the way through?

RM: No, the first time I used them myself, so it would have to have been after [that] … 1997. That is when I gave a recital with a friend of mine at another university.

LE: Did you have students pursue other methods of coping with stage fright before seeking medication? And, what were the most common physical complaints your students had?

RM: Absolutely, I told them to try anything before they tried beta blockers; because if you can do something that is not medical, it is better for your body. The usual: bananas, don't eat salty foods before you play, drink milk, that sort of thing. The more prevalent distress signals of this are dry mouth, shaking lip[s], shaking hands, cold sweats; and some people have all of the above to the point that they can't function.

I think the only thing I didn't suggest was hypnotism, but I didn't know anyone who could do that.

LE: Really, I have a former student on the [union] board here who specializes in that. But I have to research that more myself.

LE: To your knowledge in any given academic year how many of your students actually took beta blockers, what percentage?

RM: Well as far as Rhodes' students, to my knowledge I only had one [who] used them. She is one of the ones I think that filed the complaint. It was a political thing I am convinced. This one student had her senior recital coming up, and she had really bad performance anxiety Probably because she wasn't a really good player. Her father was a doctor, a physician. I told her about them, and I said you ask your Dad.

When she came back from Christmas vacation that year, and it would have been January 2003. She said that her Dad had gotten them for her, and she had tried them down there, hooked her up to monitors and all that. She had no side effects. She said "I don't know if it is going to work or not." I said you don't know until you are in a situation where you would otherwise be very nervous, and then you will know if they work. Which she did. She profusely thanked me. Again, it didn't make sense that everything else happened. Her Dad was at her senior recital, and he said how much it helped her, so it was just crazy.

LE: That is very interesting; thank you for sharing. Were students in other studios using beta blockers? Were other faculty recommending them?

RM: I really don't know. It was not something that was talked about.

LE: I understand. Now did Rhodes College cite any particular policy when they took action against you? How did administrators learn of your practices?

RM: Well, they learned from a student who filed a complaint saying that I encouraged her to use drugs. As I said, this was definitely a political move by a student that I had trouble with. I had reported the trouble with the student who was very disgruntled. She was very smart. I am confident that this was her way of getting even with me.

LE: Interesting.

RM: She never stopped using the beta blockers.

LE: What initial steps were taken as the issue arose? Did you do anything to contest the action against you? Did you seek legal advice?
RM: I did. This was totally out of the blue. I came in teaching one day and found a letter from the department chair saying that I was suspended from all activity at the school: teaching students and music academy students -- I had a lot of them. I could not set foot on the campus. It was a very threatening letter, and that is why I contacted the Dean and set up an appointment. I had no clues what this was all about.

LE: Really!

RM: No clue.

LE: Wow. Then as things progress, you were informed, did you then seek legal advice or did you try to contest the action?

RM: Well, I did seek legal advice. I had a former student who was a really good lawyer here in town. I contacted her pretty quickly. She put me in touch with another lawyer. This was all done as just a favor, or it could have cost me a lot of money. I mean where our legal system right today, it is really hard when you are attacked to fight them a lot of times: especially when you are dealing with a place like Rhodes College which has its own little cadre of lawyers. So I was advised by my friend and her friend that she sent me to after a lot of going back and forth and submitting my final paper or my answer to them as to the allegations. I was advised by them to just drop it because this had been such a bad experience for me that if I was to file a law suit it could not only cost me very much money, but it could be even more devastating to me as a person.

LE: That is completely understandable and very unfortunate. Now, you mentioned the political aspects of this. I am also curious; Rhodes College is a private liberal college with a religious heritage. Do you believe this context contributed to the university taking action against you?

RM: No. It is religious only... I mean if you go to the website it might say it is Presbyterian but that is as far as it goes. It is not a very religious school.

LE: So you believe that what happened to the policies, and what happened could have happen anywhere? I came up with the question because I felt that maybe an institution with a religious background might frown more upon certain kinds of medication for performance, possibly thinking that beta blockers (even though many musicians use them) because they are not FDA approved. They fall in between [the medical guidelines]. You feel that the actions that happened to you at your institution could happen anywhere.

RM:: Yes.

LE: You do, OK. Excellent.