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The impression I am getting is quite the opposite of what is being predicted by some on here, the attitude of a lot of the members I have seen on various places as well as alumni I know is, after getting Hopkins out, to pull together and push to not let this tear their corps apart. The members don’t deserve for this to destroy their summer and corps. Appropriate actions need to be taken and people who committed those atrocities need to be removed and punished......but I don’t think that means not fielding this summer. It’s gonna be so hard in some regards but I don’t think anyone who sees them perform this summer, me included, is gonna scoff at the site of the Cadets because of a stigma. We all know who was responsible and I am sure giving those members my full support. To me what has happened prior to this is what would push people away and not want to be a part of that organization. Now that change is happening and the times are tough it seems the opposite is happening. Of course all from someone outside looking in with a mere few connections.

Here is something I wrote specific to a forum about being female. I think it's time to share it here, with some minor edits. It's a story that I think embodies a lot of what was happening in America, including drum corps, when I was in my teens and 20's in the 1980's. It is based on my own experiences with what it was like for me and my female peers in a very male-dominated world. I certainly acknowledge that sexual harassment and abuse is not just about males targeting females, but at the moment that's what we are discussing. And so: A STORY ABOUT GIRLS AND BOYS A long time ago, in a universe kind of far away, women in certain jobs were expected to put up with certain "flirtations". If we dared to speak up or stop it we were usually told we were making a mountain out of a molehill. "Don't worry, darlin', he doesn't mean anything by it. You just keep doing what you do. You got nothin' to worry your pretty head about." Sadly, our older female mentors often recited these lines to us, and so we were taught to not rock the boat. But deep down inside we felt there was something really wrong with what was happening. We were aware that we were in a situation that was a boys game, and the boys made the rules. And the girls in the game would blow off the "flirtations" (and worse), make jokes about it, and minimize the chilling effect it had on our ability to do our jobs because we wanted to KEEP our jobs. So, a lot of us just played the game and grit our teeth as much as we could stand it, and the boys thought everything was cool. Until one day, a few decades later, something happened - the girls were speaking up and finally not being shut down. Girls could say that the boys had done a wrong thing to them and almost nobody recited the old lines, or blamed the girls for how they looked, or cast doubt on them by wondering why they didn't speak out earlier, or accuse them of luring those poor, innocent boys into their girly sex traps. (can you hear my eyes rolling?) And so a lot of girls are now telling their stories. And I'm so glad that they are. These stories are often similar: A strangely powerful club of predator-men in positions of authority used their power to openly leer at the girls, to cop a feel, to extort a sexual relationship, or worse. But the tide changed, and the members of the predator-man club were finally seen for what they actually were. The girls now say to those particular boys and the boys they ran with: your rules were crap, and you don't get to tell the girls to sit down and shut up any more. THE END. *********** (Please know that this story is just my way of expressing my gratitude for the changes in our American culture that have made it possible for these women, and so many others, to come forward and seek justice for the multitudes of wrong acts that have been perpetrated under the alluring disguise of power and success. Also know that I do not want good, honest, ethical people to go down with any single predator's ship. There are great men and women who have been allies along the way. They, too, felt powerless for far too long.)

The brass sounds sublimely beautiful this morning.

Back from camp. Happy to see the usual numbers of brass players (there do not appear to have been any withdrawals brought to my son's attention). At least one board member was present Friday evening to speak individually with parents. The new Director of Cadets was there most of the weekend. And I heard that one of the nine women from the article was also on hand for a brief time on Saturday, I imagine to show her support for the corps whose uniform she wore.

No, no, 1000 times no. That would be punishing the children (members) for the sins of the father ( GH). Regardless of who directed the corps, the kids from those years deserve to remain in the record books as DCI Champions as much as the kids from Anaheim Kingsmen, SCV, BD, Scouts, Star, Cavies, and Phantom in the years those corps won.

I’m confused by the call to sanction the current MM. George is gone and not lettting the Cadets compete does not hurt the BoD - it hurts the kids. My son is a current member - when he read the article his reaction was “I will only march if Hop resigns.” I am pretty confident that the brave women who came forward would be horrified with all this speculation about whether the kids could/should compete this summer.

We might all argue over a lot but when it comes down to something that truly matters we are more similar than we would have ever thought.

No doubt. All 13 of them... 9 of them on record.... stated that their " agenda " was to remove this apparent sexual deviant from a Drum Corps each of them stated they cherished. Since these woman marched in different eras with the Cadets, we can assume until we learn otherwise, that these woman perhaps only knew one another from a distance, What brought them together was their shared experiences of sexual abuse. Whether their coming forth was organized or not by forces connected to the Cadets that disliked Hopkins for other reasons seems irrelevant here, imo. It could be that this is part of a refreshing national mood where woman feel more comfortable now more than ever before to come forward to say that " no, this is not alright ", But even that is secondary. What is primary here, imo, is that these brave woman did come forth, and as a result, this apparent sexual deviant was removed from his position, and it has spurred a redoubling of efforts by every other DCI Corps ( as well as DCI itself ) to shore up policies and procedures so that from here on out, no victim of sexual abuse will have to say: " I saw no channels in the organization that I loved that would help me that were not already controlled by the perpetrator (s) ( or their enablers ) themselves."

The woman... one victim in particular mentioned this.... stated that there was no way forward for them, as in their opinion, George Hopkins ( one's words ) " controlled all the channels " both within the Cadets as well as YEA. To many outsiders, that certainly seems believable, as Hopkins himself selects each for the BOD. He recruits them himself. Even Cadeters say that they essentially rubber stamp all his decisions and policies. These 9 woman, spanned decades, some unknown to one another, only bonded by the Corps they marched with, and the apparent sexual assaults they claim he committed on them. As an aside, Mister A.... I'm assuming you are a male..... you appear a bit skeptical that these woman were assaulted, and apparently their motives. I ask you... are they asking for money ? Money can be a motivation for a lot of things. But as far as we know, they're not asking for a dime. Also, did you listen and watch the videos ? If so, did you see the anguish, the tears flowing ? What was that all about ? Acting ? Or was it genuine, believable, credible hurt and pain ? Are you aware that originally, according to reports, there were apparently 13 woman that stated they were sexually abused in some manner ? 9 came forth to be interviewed on the record by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Do you know what the mathamatical odds are that all 9 of these woman claiming sexual abuse ( one rape ) are lying ? Its approx. 40 trillion to 1. How many sexual abuse incidents are too many for you ?...7 ? ... 5 ? ... 3 ? ... how about 1 ? would that be too many for you ? Or maybe you just need a little more time to think this all thru a little more clearly... a little more time to rewatch the tape again of the woman in tears to determine if it was all just fake news, or if it was real woman, brave women, with a believable and credible , gutwretching story of betrayal, pain, loss. If after you rewatch the tape, if their interviews did not seem credible and believable to you, then I really don't know what more to tell you, my friend, other than I feel sorry for you.

I have just seen a camp video and I must proclaim, through my tears, that THIS CORPS IS GOING TO SURVIVE Stronger, deeper, the same Cadets tradition, and better. My tears are now turning to tears of joy. You should see those kids! If trying times make stout characters, these kids are tough little nuggets.

Dci May very well be waiting to see what else is out there. My hunch is YEAs problems are just starting

There's never a wrong time to start doing the right thing.

Yes. I don't understand the talk about removing the board or firing them or voting them out, etc. I want to know why they haven't all resigned. No firing or voting out should be required. They should all step down. Yesterday. Shame!

Happy to announce that I'll be back with The Cadets this year once again as part of their media team! After only spending half of the season with them last year I'm excited to be with them for the whole summer this time around. Like last season, I'll try to keep up a Flickr gallery of show photos.

We're not communicating again... Let's drop it to not derail the thread. The power that DCI has and chooses to use, if any, will be known by all soon enough.

According to some here that happens now

At the risk of being redundant, I guess the thing that is sticking in my craw the most right now, is why is the Board of Directors still in place? I’m sure there are outstanding alumni and other leaders in our little world who would step forward. Especially now. It seems to me this is not a good step toward the healing process.

That might be kinda cool, going back to picking the winner the night before the show!!!

It’s a problem because the post I quoted comes off as Fox News scoffing at the victims as if they conspired together to put the screws to him. anf you can claim what you want about the organization but he set it up so over time he had absolute control. Even the board had no say. Don’t like his budget and disagree? Gone. Think working 70 hours a week for 30 grand and never getting promised OT is miserable? See ya. Don’t like that his show design became preach snf out dated? Bye. It was his way or no way on all matters. No one could ever have control but him

You bring up some excellent points, especially how early it is in the process of healing. I know nothing of what revelations come forward beginning today, but I am starting to think the group most negatively impacted is the organization labeled Youth Education in the Arts. Drum Corps International can endure this, I'm sure. I believe the division labeled Cadets will also be fine after removing most, if not all, of the managers. I am particularly concerned about the future of Cadets2. Surprising to many would be how young that ensemble really is. I would like to see Youth Education in the Arts go away entirely. That brand has been severely damaged. Of course, YEA does many good works despite the past connection with the accused. Still, all of the non-Cadets functions can be parceled out and survive so far as we can tell now. It's important for a highly visible change to take place. In my mind, that would be erasing the name Youth Education in the Arts and discovering new vehicles to assume its current offerings. All of the affiliated high school bands aren't going anywhere. The Cadets2 component is really not essential, and there are several Allentown Area groups in place to absorb the rest of what happens locally. I just can't stop thinking about this situation but feel confident DCI, and even the Cadets, will be around for a very long time going forward. Different, perhaps.

Yes

As I said earlier today, the dislike for Hopkins is so widespread and well-known that it will protect him in some people's eyes. Thank you for proving my point. Here's the thing. As in most such cases, this matter is very unlikely to ever see a courtroom. You're probably going to have to make up your mind about Hopkins's culpability based on not much more than one or two articles, which like all writing anywhere is not going to answer all your questions. Hopkins is not on trial. You don't have to decide "beyond a reasonable doubt". Just ask yourself: if you had a kid in Cadets or Cadets2, and this article came out, and Hopkins was still there, would you let your kid stay in the corps?

And that's a major centerpoint of the whole issue. Even if they can credibly claim ignorance of the unsavory sexual details (doubtful), it is really a stretch to claim that no one noticed the consistent pattern of abuse of power over decades. There has been so much hard evidence, from the Glassdoor YEA reviews and constant office turnover/searches for new employees, abrupt firing of instructional staff, mass exodus of longtime and extremely well-regarded design staff, press releases written by the Director (referring to himself in the third person) while launching barbs at those who have left, etc. etc. It all painted a picture of an individual who had too few checks and balances and way too much autonomy and freedom to act on whims. Extremely dangerous and it is hard to see how the Board can make a case of ignorance of that. Hopkins may have committed the acts (allegedly), but the Board created the environment in which he operated. There is no fixing that without complete replacement and starting on unsoiled linens.

I agree. I want to give the BOD some level of respect. I do not believe they intended to allow someone to continue a pattern of sexual abuse, and perhaps they really didn't know this was going on until January. But they enabled GH by giving him too much control and power. That is never a good approach and DCI will be better off now because of the lessons learned from this horrific episode alone. From this point forward I doubt any director of a corps will have this kind of power ever again. More to the point, as much as I believe the BOD are good people who would never want such horrible things to happen to these young ladies, the bottom line is the news broke while they were in control. In the end, that is enough to have them step down and allow for a new BOD to move the organization in a new direction. Those are the breaks for people in charge. In an indirect way they were enablers. They didn't mean for this sort of thing to happen, and we all hope they didn't know about this until January. Now, if any of them did have prior knowledge of these criminal actions by GH before January -- and rumors have suggested that some did -- then they are guilty of not blowing the whistle on a sexual predator. That is serious stuff and most certainly calls for stepping down and potentially could lead to law suits. I hope for their sake this is not true.

Well, like mjoakes said, that would require some integrity.

That's actually about $20.00 worth. Most non-profit boards of the 501c3 variety are exactly like that. For YEA!, board member removal would more likely result from the kind of external pressure that makes continuing untenable. Or, even better, members reconnecting with something called integrity.

I believe I will cheer extra hard for this corps this season.

Penalties for failure to do these things are unfortunately not provided here. We can assume that DCI does not have the legal authority to specifically demand and enforce the replacement of any Corps Board of Directors. However, it seems to me that DCI has the legal authority to protect both the brand and reputation of its DCI afiliations if it is determined that any of its member Corps has violated policies and procedures regarding its membership in DCI. if true, DCI is not simply a bystander in all this, imo. They have oversight authority and a fiduciary DUTY it would seem to me to impose some sort of sanctions of some kind should ( for just one example ) the current YEA Board refuse to resign, step down. DCI has unilaterally exercised its oversight authority in the past to revoke a Corps from further participation in DCI Competition until that Corps got its internal infrastructure up to acceptable standards as determined by DCI itself. The Troopers in 2006 were informed by DCI that they were suspended from further participation in DCI World Class Competition until such time as a mandatory change in their infrastructure of their organization took place. They also needed to clear debt. Presumably, the Troopers made personnel changes inside their organization that allowed them to become in compliance with DCI's demand. The Troopers made the neccessary organizational changes, then reapplied for full evaluation of their internals. DCI went and look at their internal organization changes, and a year later, the Troopers saw the return to their full membership status for World Class Division. This was primarily of a financial nature this suspension too. Its hard to imagine that DCI would not have similar oversight authority to impose sanctions on a Corps on a much more serious set as circumstances that effect all of DCI from what was just revealed in the national media. Perhaps DCI can be sparred from having to make some rather difficult decisions here re. The Cadets, if the YEA Board there simply does what is called for here, imo. They should now follow the lead of the person that put them in that position of trust and oversight responsibility for YEA in the first place and resign. One would think they would do so if they really had the best interests of YEA at heart now anyway. As said by many others, its seems unlikely that the healing process, and the rebuilding process with the Cadets, USBAA, Schools, Housing sites, etc can proceed with a current YEA Board that seems so dysfunctional in too many ways to list.

Yeah, Big time. Another experience I had several years ago: Guy after a show with the staff looked familiar. I couldn't place him. I just knew I knew him, been a long time. Chief Judge comes to me. "You know who that is?" "I should but can't place him." "He's Mister X, the guy at Y who got canned because of relationships he had with 5 girls. They cut a deal to drop charges if he surrendered his Teaching License and paid for the counseling of his 5 victims!" THEN I remembered- it'd been over 10 years or so. He'd crossed the state border to a nearby competitor and was there on staff. My voice goes up three octaves, Dunno if Jeff has head that when I panic. I pray he hasn't. "WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!?" "Talk to the director. Now." The Chief Judge told the director what we both knew, my head moving like a bobblehead. The director told us, "It's okay, I know, I keep an eye on him." I blurted out about four octaves higher now "YOU CAN"T KEEP AN EYE ON A GUY LIKE THAT! EVER!" The chief judge says... "He's right. You can't. Either you fire him now, or we both go to your band parents and tell them everything." My head is still bobbleheading and I squeak out, "YEAH!" The guy was fired pronto, then and there. I hope and pray he never got a crack at any students. I hope my friend and I caught him in time. Man, I still panic thinking about the whole thing. I do feel good that we hopefully prevented a disaster for some young women. It does leave me wondering whether the guy is staffing programs under the radar and his name isn't announced , nor does he show up at contests for fear of being recognized. I don't know, it's chilling. One of those times I sit back and know for once... I helped do something good.

Agree so much with this. Collectively, we all love the activity, so all differences and tastes aside, when it comes down to matters to keep it alive and well, we can come together.

I agree as well. It seems most of us are on the exact same page with this one. Excise the BOD, full internal and external reviews with meaningful and clear outcomes/actions; transparency and accountability all the while taken care of the 2018 membership giving them the deserved best-possible summer

As an outsider, its inconceivable that the Cadets can really begin the healing process, and a satisfactory transitional period ,without the total replacement of that current YEA Board, imo. A " good house cleaning", just as you said seems to be not only in order, but perhaps a requirement now there.

What's this? Agreeing with me again? Get the camera - dogs are sleeping with cats somewhere.

That's some interesting "inside information" you got there. What you'd do is revealed here. Hard to say what existing staff will do. "Looking for another gig" in April is pretty tough. Sticking with a corps through a bad situation and helping it recover some of its glory doesn't look bad on a resume, either. Don't be so sure and, if you are, please tell me if the stock market will end the day higher or lower on Monday. How about next Thursday? We can see quickly how shiny your crystal ball is, and if we should pay attention to your prognostications.

What does that even mean?

here's the problems with your post: several of us on here know some of them. We know their character. In fact one I know probably never even met some of the others. When word spread underground asking for people to come forward several people that never knew each other had similar stories. Here;s the other part....if you haven't been paying attention for at least 20 years, YEA is George and George is YEA. he made it that way. Puppet board that caved to his demands and whims, a constantly rotating cast of employees at the office...credit only to go to him, failure always went to others. so since 1979, well really 82, George was the organization.

As an outsider, one would like to give the Cadets YEA Board the initial benefit of the doubt regarding their levels of " integrity " on this. But in their first public released response statement, the YEA stated they conducted ( their words)" a professional and vigorous investigation" of these allegations of multiple episodes of sexual abuse . Sorry, but its just not at all believable that they conducted a " professional and vigorous investigation ". That YEA Board has got to go, imo. Every one of them.

How many seeds does it take? Consider Schopenhauer's Law of Entropy: A spoonful of wine in a bucket of sewage = sewage. A spoonful of sewage in a bucket of wine = sewage

The MM calling for this? This hasn’t been a part of the conversation my son and his fellow members have been having. Though others may be - I can speak to what he shares with me and at no point have I heard the kids say they won’t match unless the board resigns. For the record I believe the board should but let’s not use the current members as pawns to achieve an end. They want to compete.

Agreed!

That is a fantastic report! Thank you! Let the healing begin!

Before making any BOD changes review the bylaws. Would love to review a copy to learn how the president and other members are appointed. Would think that the organization will require a complete internal financial audit now too.

Emotions are running HIGH. I've given a pass to a few posts that I felt were over the top.

"Independent counsel Carlo Gambino today announced that the entire YEA board was persuaded to resign after he held a closed-door meeting with the board members. 'It took about five minutes,' Gambino said. 'Once I laid out their options, which included the possibility of spending the rest of their time on this planet either above or below the surface level of the Schuykill River, the board members decided to step aside.'"

I assume by your screen name that you are a man. To say you know what you would have done is completely irrelevant. You CANNOT know how these women felt in these situations.

One of those posts was mine, collating posts by six other people all referencing the same prominent individual. I do not object in the least to the deletion. It's completely understandable that DCP does not wish to be sued for defamation. But I will repeat the message I imparted yesterday: if you know something, now is the time to speak up--just not here. Contact DCI, contact the specific corps in question, contact a reporter. Do not assume that what you know is known to those who are going to have to deal with it. Even if a corps let someone go, it's quite possible that the people who knew the circumstances are not there anymore and will not be prepared to answer journalist's questions.

Either way the corps must go forward. On with the show.

To the women who have so bravely come forward, as I read your stories you were saying my own words. Not in drum corps and not at the Cadets, but my words at 18yrs old in a similar situation. Thank you for your bravery. Because you have come forward some young girl may not have to experience the initial blaming of herself, or the years of self shame after. She will know when to call it what it is quickly and loudly and eventually abusive behavior will not be allowed to continue for decades as has happened. You are my heros.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. If others are guilty they may quit before allegations ever surface, saving a lot of grief for all. I'm not sure the Cadets members will leave, as long as they see that change has been instituted. I think, also, that the good people who have come through the ranks of the Cadets over the years will pull together to fill in any gaps needed as transitions occur. This corps goes back to 1934 with an alumni list longer than probably any other corps out there. I think few are ready to throw in the towel, but they are ready for a good cleansing of the "soul" of the corps.

Yes, of course most thinking people would.