Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/University of Missouri School of Music/archive2

University of Missouri School of Music

 * Nominator(s): Grey Wanderer (talk) 22:34, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

This article on the University of Missouri School of Music was nominated and failed about a year ago. Despite my improvements, it failed to garner a prose review. The School of Music is at the University of Missouri, a large public University in the Midwestern United States. Although the school is not particularly notable, it has played a significant role in the study of music in Missouri, generated a number of prominent alumni, and is one of the primary academic divisions of a major University. The school recently (2017) celebrated its centennial and the publication of a book by musicologist and historian Michael J. Budds provided enough high quality source material for an article. I have attempted to diversify sources as best as possible. Article has been stable for a year now, although I recently updated the new facilities. Thanks. Grey Wanderer (talk) 22:34, 17 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Comment
 * In 21 citations you reference the Budds book without providing a page number. This is not verifiable. I would also recommend using some form of short reference (such as WP:CITESHORT) to avoid duplication and inconsistency in how you are referring to this source (Is the publisher "MU School of Music" or "University of Missouri School of Music"?) buidhe 07:46, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * That is an issue. Therapyisgood (talk) 23:59, 18 June 2020 (UTC)
 * @Buidhe and @Therapyisgood. I have added page numbers to all 21 citations and have converted all Budds citations to short references. Grey Wanderer (talk) 03:35, 22 June 2020 (UTC)

Support Comments from Hog Farm
(Will be claimed for the WikiCup)

There's 53 citations in the article. Including the Budds book, which was published by the Mizzou School of Music, I counted 33 citations being from the Mizzou School of Music (counting the 21 from Budds with no page number as 1). (I may have miscounted) Even more refs are affiliated with Mizzou and are of doubtful independence since they're from an organization that it the parent university of the article subject. Of the 53 refs, ref 5, 6, 7, 11, 21, 26, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 53 are the only ones not affiliated with Mizzou. That's 12 out of 53, and when you count the 21 as 21, not one, you get 61 of 73 refs, or over 83.5%, are affiliated with Mizzou. Mizzou's reliable, but it's not an independent source when it's talking about itself. Too much reliance on sources that lack independence for me to support this right now. (Ref numbers from this revision). Hog Farm (talk) 03:38, 21 June 2020 (UTC)

That's what I see from a quick run-through. I'm willing to discuss any of these, and a longer look may turn up more. Hog Farm (talk) 22:31, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "which had become too popular for the Fraternity to manage" - not sure Fraternity needs capitalized here.
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "In 1933 the Department of Music would become a member of the National Association of Schools of Music and in 1935 the University Concert Series would host pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff in front of a crowd of thousands" - Comma after 1933. Also, try to avoid use of the word "would" in contexts like this, it's just better to have "... the Department of Music became a member ... Concert Series hosted pianist ..." etc.  There's a lot of usages of would in here, it's generally best to go ahead and state it in less passive voice.
 * Wow. That might be the best feed-back I've ever received. It was awful, I've parred it down to just one "would". Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * We really need page numbers for Budds for verification. For your sake, I hope Budds has an index.  I used a book with no index at First Battle of Newtonia, not a fun time.
 * Haha yeah. Working on it. Lucky most the history section is sourced from a timeline near the beginning, that's most of the missing page numbers. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "In 1954, Bethune Bischooff became the first woman appointed to a full-time position" - I'm assuming full-time position is referring to teaching, but probably best to be explicit on that, you can also be a full-time janitor.
 * Yes that's clearly what Budds meant, but that's his wording in the book and I didn't want to stray from the sources claim. I would make the change, but would also like to stay true to the source. Any thoughts? Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Probably best to stay loyal to the source. I tried looking on Google, but even searching for "Bethune Bischoof Missou" only brought up obscure German genealogies.  Hopefully there's another source out there to clarify this.
 * "and a former Unitarian church adjacent to campus" - Link Unitarian to the article about the denomination
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "The first Jazz ensemble sponsored by the Department" - Should Jazz really be capitalized? It's lowercase in other usages.
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "In 2015, the Sinquefield's" - Not a possessive use, so drop the '
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "In 2019 the Mizzou New Music Initiative announced a 2.5 million gift from the Sinquefield's" - Comma after 2019 and drop the ' in "Sinquefield's"
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "The new Music Building opened in the Spring 2020 semester.[6]" - Is not supported by the source. The source is from 2019, so there is no way to demonstrate using that source that the opening actually happened.
 * Fixed. Reworked the last two paragraphs of the history section, new sources and updates. Grey Wanderer (talk) 01:43, 22 June 2020 (UTC)
 * In the big gallery in the facilities section, drop one of the images so they will fit all on one line (I'm assuming it gets split into two lines on more machines than just my laptop. The Marching Mizzou image is probably the least relevant for the facilities section.
 * My understanding is that we should let individual users setting determine how pics display. I tried it on several devices and got two lines of 4/4 on mobile and two line of 6/2 on my computer, so removing one may make it look nice on your device, but wouldn't do anything aesthetically for the two I use. Although if you think the gallery is too expansive for other reasons I'm open. Grey Wanderer (talk) 01:43, 22 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "who's large Skinner pipe organ" - Should be "whose", not "who's"
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "Sinquefield Music Center North entrance" - I'm not entirely sure that North should be capitalized here
 * Fixed. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * "Mini Mizzou performs at Missouri Tigers men's basketball events. Musical Theater opportunities are provided through the Department of Theater.[43]" - Mini Mizzou is not mentioned in the reference at all, and the musical theater opportunities are only mentioned obliquely in the sense that there's an announcement on the page that the Theater Department is having a musical.
 * The source for Mini Mizzou was in the prior sentence, easy fix. I found the best source I could quickly find on performance opportunities in musical theater for school of music students, does that work or should I find something less primary? Grey Wanderer (talk) 02:09, 22 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Looks acceptable to me.
 * Esterhazy Quarter is a duplink
 * Fixed. I'm curious is this a strict rule? It seems reasonable someone could take a interest in the "Ensembles" section without ever reading the "History" section and therefore miss the Esterhazy Quartet page entirely. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:49, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Some of the references would be better off having the publisher instead of the website in the citation. For instance, for "Chapter Listing: Tau Beta Sigma", giving a publisher of Tau Beta Sigma is more meaningful than having tbsigma.org as the website listed.
 * Fixed? The student groups were all cited like that, I've fixed those. Do you feel that way about citing the School of Music website (or any others) as well? Grey Wanderer (talk) 01:50, 22 June 2020 (UTC)


 * In regards to the independence of sources, if I can mange to pull it under 50% associated with the school, is that enough to garner support here? I totally understand the concern, it's quite difficult as all the most authoritative sources are published by the school itself. I'm sure I can dig up some news articles from the Columbia Daily Tribune to support some of the history independent of the Budds book. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:54, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I personally (not sure about other editors) wouldn't base it on a hard numerical line. I'd look more for balance, especially in the history section.  For like the degrees offered and the specific bands the department supports, I think leaning heavy of Mizzou is acceptable, because Mizzou is probably going to be the most definitive and up-to-date source on the program's offerings.  I think the history section could use having independent sources spliced in, for at least some of the facts.  Maybe one of the newspapers in Columbia has done a write-up of the program's history.
 * @User:Hog Farm, I made a major effort to diversify sources further. I've doubled (+50 or so) the number of sources, most of which aren't affiliated with the University or School of Music. The Budds book makes up a much smaller chunk now. Grey Wanderer (talk) 23:48, 23 June 2020 (UTC)

Further comments

Ref 43 (BNIM) - Drop bnim.com, you don't need the website when it's identical to the organization's name.
 * Done

Hunt's Black and White Justice needs a publisher
 * Both of these Hunt books might be self published. I went to the library and looked at physical copies, No publisher listed. Both are very good local history books. Should I find alternative sources or can they be made usable somehow?
 * Unless Hunt has really good credentials, I don't think they can be used in a FA.
 * Maybe Google preview will let you see the information you need in this book. McFarland & Company looks like a reliable publisher. Hog Farm (talk) 16:54, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Unsure if it meets your credentials, but he is a Professor Emeritus of English at Mizzou, and looks to have won some national awards for writing including one for the the essay above. Take a look at his bio on Amazon and Mizzou. The book you found is awesome, but I hesitated to use it as much of the author's information came from Hunt. More importantly the author is the granddaughter of Hermann Almstedt, the dude I'm trying to find a source for, so might not be the most neutral source. This is anecdotal, but I do know Hunt is considered the authority on the historical event the book is about.
 * Just to be safe I've gone ahead and removed the two sources per your objection. Grey Wanderer (talk) 20:15, 26 June 2020 (UTC)

I'm doubting the reliability of Hunt's The Lynching of James Scot. It looks rather self-published.
 * See comment above

Check on Worldcat for OCLCs for Switzler, Lockmiller, Howard, and Underwood. Olsen may be new enough it has an ISBN, but if there isn't one, check for an OCLC on that one, too.
 * Done, you were right Olsen was ISBN

For ref formatting consistency, add a publisher to ref 45 (another one of the Mizzou sites)
 * Done

The reference balance is much improved. Hog Farm (talk) 01:43, 24 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Thanks! Grey Wanderer (talk) 03:38, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

Comments from Therapyisgood
Can give this a look. Therapyisgood (talk) 15:21, 22 June 2020 (UTC)


 * I would be interested in hearing more about the partnerships, what they entail, how they are established, etc.
 * I have added more on both counts with new sources. Grey Wanderer (talk) 19:52, 27 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Lincoln Portrait needs to be in italics.
 * Fixed
 * America's Got Talent needs italics. Therapyisgood (talk) 12:56, 27 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Question: Should Beethoven's 9th Symphony be treated similarly or is that different? Grey Wanderer (talk) 22:40, 27 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Based on my reading of MOS:ITALICS Major works of art and artifice, such as albums, books, video games, films, musicals, operas, symphonies should be italicized, so yes. Therapyisgood (talk) 03:52, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Fixed
 * The students infobox label is for students, IMO not appropriate to list majors there. Therapyisgood (talk) 03:52, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I can see a case for sticking with majors. At many universities, some sort of fine arts credit is required as a graduation requirement, so most students will take a class in the music school/department at some point.  The number of music majors is probably a more relevant figure. Hog Farm Bacon 04:17, 7 July 2020 (UTC)


 * I tend to agree with Hog Farm, however, if it is the difference between your support or not I would gladly remove it. I originally added it I think because you said you thought it was odd nothing was in the field and I do agree that basic information is needed, but I don't think the University of NCES tracks anything but majors/minors. Grey Wanderer (talk) 22:58, 7 July 2020 (UTC)
 * @User:Therapyisgood, I have removed the stat per your objections. Grey Wanderer (talk) 19:52, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

Coord note
I've added this to the urgents list to hopefully gather some more reviews. Also the image and source review list for same. --Ealdgyth (talk) 14:12, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Image review—pass

 * All images are free.
 * I've removed some images. There are now only three photos in the gallery, which perhaps could be distributed to the rest of the article (or not).
 * Thanks for the trimming, I did add back the picture of Faurot Field since it is mentioned in the lead; I also added a sentence in the relevant facilities section, does that address your concern? Grey Wanderer (talk) 19:54, 27 July 2020 (UTC)
 * File:Mizzou Jesse Thumb.jpg ideally should be replaced with something a bit higher resolution. (t &#183; c)  buidhe  15:22, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
 * I have done so, does this pic look ok? Grey Wanderer (talk) 19:57, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

Source review
About time this one had a source review, working on now. Aza24 (talk) 00:10, 5 August 2020 (UTC)


 * Bibliography looks good
 * The use of locations is inconsistent, some have them and some don't. That being said it looks like, which I'm assuming was on purpose, the only uses of locations are in the books. I'm fine with using locations for books but not web/news sources, but you'd have to remove the location from ref 13 – which I believe is the only web/news source you use a location for.
 * 43 missing author and date
 * 46 missing date
 * There's also inconsistencies with the use of the web template and the news template, some news sources uses news and some use web, I would recommend changing all news sources to news, this would include refs: 36, 43, 59, 66, 83 – I may have missed some
 * Ref 41 (link) is broken
 * Use ISBN 13s in refs 18 and 24 (use the converter)
 * I think I'll have to give it a second pass after these changes but no major clean up needed by any means, you're on the right track. Aza24 (talk) 04:46, 5 August 2020 (UTC)

I hate doing this but this, but its been three weeks and still no further reviews. I can't make folks review things, although I hate doing this to nominators. I'm going to have to archive this, - do you have any suggestions on folks who might help this at a peer review and then when it returns to FAC? --Ealdgyth (talk) 14:12, 15 August 2020 (UTC)
 * If the nominator will take it to peer review, and pester my talk page with reminders ( I am busy, I forget, and I lose track of pings), I will make sure it happens. Sandy Georgia (Talk)  14:18, 15 August 2020 (UTC)