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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/03/2018 in all areas

  1. I will put this here also since it is getting buried in the issue thread and is pertinent to the 2018 Cadets
    7 points
  2. The guy resigned he was with them during this winters camps glad he’s gone glad Hopkins is gone glad the BOD is gone glad we can begin go move on
    6 points
  3. This is unfortunately often true in this type of situation, in my experience. If YEA gives GH a cause of action, I would expect him to sue. Wrongful termination or defamation are probably the two most likely complaints - after all, GH has not been charged with or convicted of any crime to this point. I'd certainly expect that the new BoD's counsel is advising them very carefully on what they can and cannot say. So far, all of their public statements have been well-vetted, and they should definitely continue that way.
    5 points
  4. I think it’s more fun to not know.
    4 points
  5. Here we go again. He hid a camera in a space where kids were known to change. Is there any dispute of this statement? That, alone, is enough for me. Tell me how I misrepresent the situation in this one sentence of mine in this post.
    4 points
  6. I am not disagreeing with people who do not think this man should have been given a second chance, quite the opposite. My comments are for those who are claiming that since he was not found guilty on more serious charges, he should be given a second chance at a similar job. There are enough reasons at a minimum to question his judgment and reasons why he should not work with minors. I also do not recall saying or implying “ignorance of the law.” Ideal teachers are lifelong learners, have probably had to sit through school law seminars, and if they have not, great resources are available on line.
    4 points
  7. He hasn't attacked anyone. He has simply clarified and supplied a fuller set of facts so that fair-minded people can draw their own conclusions. And defended himself from the attacks of others.
    4 points
  8. I think the most spectacular example of keeping a show theme under wraps and absolutely wowing fans on opening night in Indy was the 2016 Bluecoats. I had no idea what they were going to do and it was about the most fun I’ve ever had watching a show. I said to Jim nobody is beating that. I think BD did a couple of times but they won on the last night.
    3 points
  9. After the 71 season, Garfield fired our marvelous drum instructor George Tuthill, at which point a good portion of the drumline quit and joined the Cabs, where George was also the drum guy. None of us were aged out of Garfield...not even close, actually, I was 18 in the fall of 71. I left with them and checked out the Cabs. George had me slated to play double conga, along with at least one other Garfield tri-tom player who came along. In fact the Cabs did a Giant 1/2-time at Yankee Stadium (the Giant's home at the time) that fall, and I got to march the show (71 show) and carry around the congas. We sat on folding chairs out near the monuments in center field. I decided that with my college music ed classes and other stuff, I would rather stay in Garfield, so I went back and picked up baritone. Don Angelica was our primary brass instructor. I decided not to play drums for the new guy who Don had hired to be Bergenfeld HS's band director. Don was Bergenfield's personnel director at the time, which made the job placement of this new guy easy. I mean, who would want to play in a drumline taught by this new guy Fred Sanford?
    3 points
  10. This thread has run its course for the moment. We will be cleaning it up shortly.
    3 points
  11. Agree on this looking bad. And it may represent a potential problem that either Dan Acheson or Tricia Nadolny knows but hasn't come out yet. Or maybe it's relatively innocent, that he just wasn't able to talk about the rule and policy changes adopted this week. It doesn't seem they'd been officially announced at time of Trisha Nadolny's post. But by saying, or having a DCI spokesperson say, NO, submit questions in writing, it makes it look like he's ducking something. You don't have to take a reporter's questions if you don't want to be on the record about whatever's asked. The better way to handle that, if you must decline, is to just not take the call or return the message. You don't say, NO, submit your questions in writing. Of course she's going to report that response, and it looks bad.
    3 points
  12. Just to clarify, it appears that his conviction was set aside as a matter of legal procedure, not lack of evidence or merit. Specifically, CA code 1203.4. As I read it (admittedly, from a very lay point of view), if you’re convicted of this type of misdemeanor, serve out your sentence (in this case, 30 days in jail, minus 1 days credit, plus 3 years of probation, to have begun in June of 2004, if I’m reading it correctly), and don’t screw up any more, you can later petition to have it set aside. Which was done in 2016 in this case. [Again, I’m not a lawyer, so I may not have all the exact details correct, but I believe I have the gist of it right. If not, I welcome any corrections] Some see what he was convicted for as an innocuous mistake, others not so much. edit: I’m not sure if the original sentence, including probation, was carried out. (If the linked court documents mentioned it, I missed it.) re-edit: Fixed one link to make it less confusing, added another
    3 points
  13. So, as the OP, I get emails when replied to. Incredible. I think some folks are at an impasse. Maybe take it to PM?
    3 points
  14. I picked the wrong day to start sniffing glue again
    3 points
  15. My post was essentially quoting a Reddit post by another person. That said, I was stunned and in awe by what I heard and saw! I may have said it before, but I have no clue what the theme is...and at this point don't really care because what I heard has a life-blood of it's own. It didn't just come from the brass-line either! The front ensemble was super engaging & percussion killed it! I can't wait to see how they tie in whatever the theme is. Until then, I'll just enjoy the memories of what I heard & look forward to tour premiere!!
    3 points
  16. It’s a little interesting to sit back and watch the mob response to some of these important topics. As illustrated in the 2017 Boston Crusaders program, trial by mob is never a “best practice” I am also drawn to Kanye’s recent comments about mob think and the left silencing/shutting down opposing viewpoints. A lot of both suddenly going on in this thread imo
    3 points
  17. No one solicited my support. I just believe in truth, fairness, and being rational. This issue is too important to forsake those things. And I believe this discussion should be about solutions, helping the victims, preventing future problems and so forth rather than demonizing others on DCP.
    3 points
  18. I don't get the impression from Nadolny's tweet that she expected Acheson to be available to talk immediately: rather, it read to me as if she asked to schedule an interview, and he said no, and that he would only respond to written questions.
    3 points
  19. Here on page 455, after reading over & over the actual confirmation of this scripture: "Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!" - it seems to me that all of us have had to examine our hearts. That's the good and the hard thing. And it is a good time to repent, if needed - turn and run the other way! Repentance no longer justifies wrong and evil, it just says "this was wrong, this was evil" - and THEN repentance sets about trying to rectify the damage that was done to another, if that is at all possible, and to work on the restoration of all who were harmed. So now that we are admitting to decades of "nodding & winking" or worse at bad and evil behavior, after "coming clean" we can work at a new era where gentlemanly and gracious behavior is expected and is the norm, where the strong protect the weak, where we bite our tongues before talking dirty, where we look down instead of leering, and where we regularly examine our hearts to make sure we are contributing good to society and to this awesome activity.
    3 points
  20. GH isn’t a convicted sex offender either. So if we subscribe to your criteria, he should still be executive director of YEA.
    3 points
  21. You mean people slip by and get back into the activity? WOW!
    3 points
  22. The fact the victim was not present in the appeal process, and that as a result, the guilty verdict was expunged, does not mean such a person is fit to be rehired in a setting that involves minors in the future... especially one that involves presumably school shower facilities on tour. The fact that other Corps/MB's likewise hired this guy only bolsters how safety lax the activity had really become, imo. Shockingly so, imo We don't have to debate whether it was legal or not for schools to expose other people's children to a person found guilty of secretly videotaping a female minor in a school shower. The sad thing is that the laws of California allowed such expungement. So it was legal. But thats not whats at stake here, nor the question. The fact is that this guy never should have been hired ever again in settings similar to what had him become untrustworthy before in those settings. Why ? Because such a guy with a checkered past does not belong around female minors in organizations that embark on 9 week summer tours, thats why. Its interesting to note that when the info came to light on his hire, he was let go . Why was he let go ? It reportedly was not because he could not perform his duties. It was because people found out about this hire, and pressure was brought to bear on the guy that hired him, George Hopkins, to let him go. George Hopkins complied and terminated him. Had the info on this hire become public knowledge in Drum Corps circles before, its likely that this guy would not have been allowed to work in environments where he most egregiously violated a parents trust by violating their child's right to shower without that trusted adult acting so shamelessly in a shameful act of what can only be called deviant, despicable, and a betrayal of the parent and the public's trust. Its indefensible the act. The fact that he found his way back to youthful settings similar in some respects to the one he broke the law on is equally indefensible, imo... even if his shameful hire was deemed " legal " and it " all checked out ". No. I don't think such a guy gets a 2nd chance with minors. When its minors, the threshold is much higher, imo... as they are our most vulnerable. Such guys who do deviant things like this, should not be allowed around Drum Corps ever again, imo. Let them go work in some adult office some where, or whatever. Keep them forevermore away from working with youth groups/ schools ever again. Lord knows , organizations can find good, decent, honorable, young talent that won't abuse their trusted position like this creepy guy did. And... look who found and hired the guy.... George Hopkins.... and finally, to equate what this guy did to something like " filming a custodian in a school without their permission " is beyond the pale. MikeD.. You are better than this. You are a good poster on DCP. But the analogy to what this guy was initially found guilty of in a trail jury with that of the filming of an adult " school custodian going about their duties in a school " is shockingly insensitive to the female minor that he violated in her moment of expected privacy in a school shower by videotaping her there. The Jury did not find this former school employee guilty of using a camera to videotape an adult school custodian going about their duties one day. Com'on MikeD. You are far, far better than this.
    3 points
  23. June of 1975 at some high school field in the greater Boston area at a CYO Circuit show is when I first saw a live drum corps show. Of course that was prior to show themes and as a young kid who was about to finish 6th grade, show themes would have gone above my head. I just loved the experience. That has not changed, and while show themes are interesting and can entice me, they are rarely what I expect, more often than not I am pleasantly surprised, so if I hear about a show announcement, great. If I don’t, no big deal. I’ll still be in the stands and have a great time.
    2 points
  24. To quote Obi Wan, “you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” I think I’ve seen some that here, on both sides. It seems like there’s also been a concerted effort by some to completely dismiss his past history as irrelevant, based on the fact that he petitioned after-the-fact to have it dismissed. But, as I mentioned earlier, it was not for lack of merit, but simply a statutory relief available to anyone convicted of this type of misdemeanor. Were his motives nefarious? I don’t know. But I don’t think it’s crazy to want to discuss the matter when someone works in a teaching position. If he were a brick layer, maybe not so much. But he was in a very public position, teaching. In that view, I don’t think discussion was entirely without merit. Does it matter so much now, in this thread? I don’t know. Maybe you have a point— he resigned, Hop was fired, the board is gone, let’s move on. Okay. But I don’t completely understand the immediate pushback that the discussion received. (Unless it was simply the approach. Or one glaring factual inaccuracy, which I do get.)
    2 points
  25. 2 points
  26. Still waiting for my defamation subpoena too. Guy was over huggy with teenage females at the church youth group where he volunteered. He got told to stop it and he went ballistic. My biggest problem was his mom knew my mom. So got THE phone call from mom wanting to know what was going on. Told her I couldn't say anything and that's when I heard about potential lawsuit. My response was good.. if he does sue then I can tell you.
    2 points
  27. Not to mention the counter suit. That shut them up.
    2 points
  28. Something here gave you the impression to the contrary, and I don't think it was me. I think it was other posters twisting my words into appearing I'm on the other side of this discussion from you. I'm not. But I will insist - FOREVER - that our laws are not bastardized by personal opinion that's not backed by law. When that breaks down, we are doomed.
    2 points
  29. For what it's worth, there is that saying just because one is found "Not Guilty" in a court, it doesn't mean they're necessarily innocent of committing that crime. The justice system can be imperfect. How one handles those things afterwards, that's well, kind of what is being hashed out here, I guess. No real perfect answers, unfortunately.
    2 points
  30. There's a difference between mob mentality and a majority of people disagreeing with an opinion. If you think 2+2=5 don't be suprised when you get called out on it.
    2 points
  31. Nothing in this thread in the slightest degree fits the definition of a mob. Making statements like this George is an exaggeration contrary to truth. Bizarrely people tend to be more popular people on DCP with their persistent rants to defend predators.
    2 points
  32. The Calif Dept of Teacher Registration and Licensing certainly disagrees with anyone out there that still harbors any thoughts that this guy did not violate a sacred trust around youth. We have their very actions themselves on whether or not this guy violated that trust in their judgment and is deemed fit to return to the public schools in the progressive state of California. Maybe they should have consulted garfield and a handful of others here on DCP first Jim before they revoked this guy's license. The State of California could have talked to George Hopkins too re. this guys fitness to work in a youth activity like DCI Drum Corps. Hopkins did vouch for the guy, then put out a press release defending the full and apparently vigorous background check George Hopkins did on the guy. Hop said the guy last year checked off all of Hop's boxes he had for the guy by passing legal muster. So at least the defenders of this hire by George have that going for them too in defense of GH's hiring/ retention of this guy in DCI Drum Corps.
    2 points
  33. Yeah, but DID he actually tape children changing? Was there videotape found with naked children on it? I honestly don't know, I'm just asking. It seems like many facts are not known, but are being assumed.
    2 points
  34. System Blue drums are built by Natal - a British company. Mike
    2 points
  35. An adult in a position of auhority that knowingly violates their sacred trust with a minor ... even once.... is not merely engaged in just a criminal isolated " incident " either. Its much more than that, imo. It reveals perhaps a major character flaw with such an individual. it asks us to consider if he has done these despicable things before, but was simply not caught. Its not inconceivable. A serious breech of trust such as this can manifest itself in other ways too around people... adults included. It portends that this guy can not be trusted. Recall, he denied the charges altogether. He made the prosecution have to take his denial of any illegal acts to a Jury Trial. Such an individual is fundamentally untrustworthy, imo.. The fact that he apparently was brought back to Drum Corps is a mistake, imo. Additionally, The fact that he apparently did not get arrested again for misdeeds around minors may just as much be a function of luck, than redemption. He denied breaking any laws around this female minor, lest some of us might perhaps overloook here. 12 people heard the full testimony. Presumably, none of the 12 were involved in DCI Drum Corps however. Maybe that might help us understand that as far as they were concerned anyway, he was neither truthful nor believable to any of the 12 of them that listened to him in Court.
    2 points
  36. While true, Tim K, the court testimony of what this creep was found guilty of was not done in a " department store ". nor were there" posted signs " in the school setting that young and innocent female minors were going to be secretly and illegally videotaped by an adult male school teacher via a portable camcorder. A videotaping in that case that went far beyond the scope and duties of their teaching responsibility. An illegal videotaping that led to his arrest, prosecution, conviction in a Jury Trial, and subsequent permanent revocation of his Calif teaching license. Not quite sure then what this all has to do with a Kohl's Dept Store like legal cameras/ posted signs in dressing rooms and throughout their Dept store that everyone here understands has wall installed store cameras visible to all, and legally designed to protect the store against criminal " shoplifters" and the like.
    2 points
  37. Regarding the hidden camera, anyone who has worked in a department store knows there are often hidden cameras in dressing rooms. There are also signs which state there are hidden cameras. This serves two purposes. One, it deters shoplifters. Second it protects the store from charges of illegally videotaping people. Regarding the school situation: I do not know the man in question, and to the best of my knowledge the story did not hit the press in Massachusetts. The question that pops in my mind is “Did the administration know what he was doing and did he document it?” There are tons of teachers, former teachers, and retired teachers who post on this site. I know I can tell you and most teachers would probably agree, whether you teach kindergarten or you are teaching at the high school level, you need to document everything. You need to submit lesson plans and whether you met goals and objectives. You need to account for every minute in a classroom, especially instruction time. This problem could have been averted if it was documented as to where the cameras were installed and why. If you need to document “Today we turned fractions into decimals and percent” then you certainly have to document “I installed cameras in an area that is questionable to catch people vandalizing equipment.” The difference would be a wrist slap and no loss of employment to losing your job and reputation.
    2 points
  38. How about the fact that what he was doing is wrong! Do you support this individual? Would you hire him? Would you want your daughter in the same room with this person? Or are you just slinging your typical nonsense to get a response? Perhaps you also believe that if those (11) women were not with GH nothing would have ever happen. Afterall it's their fault right?
    2 points
  39. He videotaped a place where it’s known kids change clothes. That’s bad enough
    2 points
  40. No offense but Scott was convicted for video taping an area where students are known to change clothes and be able to be seen in various states of undress. That to me is visual rape. And from an optics standpoint knowing it’s public record, regardless of legally cleared off the record or not, I don’t give a #### how good he is, he shouldn’t be allowed near kids. Would you hire him to work with your band knowing what he did?
    2 points
  41. Happy 2018, Cavies! Looks like an interesting show, and I'm excited to see where this corps can go this year. Top three, anyone? Looking forward to hearing you in Winston-Salem.
    2 points
  42. And, of course, MikeD, your attitude is contributing to the deviance in society, and you should be shunned as should the person whose rights you're trying to defend. Brasso doesn't engage with me anymore because I call him out on his embellishments ("...shower..."? WTH?), but he might listen to you.
    2 points
  43. FWIW, can definitely confirm "loud and angry." And in terms of technicality, some of their notes put Crown a step below, tbh.
    2 points
  44. Regardless of the level of legal severity, it sounds creepy as hell to me and shows extremely poor judgement and lack of common sense. That alone would keep me from hiring him.
    2 points
  45. Well, again, we are not debating " legal " here. That point was established and not in dispute. Is an adult school" Professional " that secretly videotapes a female minor without her knowledge in a school shower " a sex crime " in the eyes of most parents in the country? The normal ones ? Yes. Its " a sex crime" all right. Do people who pass " legal " muster belong in schools, youth organizations, because they pass " legal" muster ? Not on my watch, they wouldn't. The legal system has one standard. But as a hiring person in any youth activity, my standards are much higher. I don't hire any person that secretly videotaped a female minor in a shower with his camera placed behind box shelves where the young female he thought could not catch him videotapimg her. Whether it was 2 years ago, or 35 years ago. I don't care. I don't hire the guy.. No matter how " qualified " he might be, or even tha he passes a " background check " . Organizations that willingly do let such creepy people into their organization, or allow current creeps to remain in their organization, generally find eventually that such irresponsibilty becomes their ultimate undoing as an organization.. It doesn't matter if its YEA. DCI, or any Corps, or MB... Eventually such irresponsibilty will catch up to you, and things are going to almost inevitably and predictably go terribly wrong one of these days for your organization, and your youth that were exposed to such irresponsible hires and/ or retentions of personnel with checkered pasts around youths. Doesn't matter the youth organization, school, Corps, or MB either. Any outfit that hires these types of creeps are eventually setting themselves up for a fall, imo.
    2 points
  46. Oh the horror. What about the female minor that has to have what this creep did to her " follow her around forever" ? You know, I am increasingly coming around more and more to Cowtown's position that the Cadets culture has been toxic there for way too long. Trying to justify this guy's hire in any way, shape or form, really is probably part of the problem YEA/ Cadets had, imo... and perhaps other Drum Corps/ MB's too. Reading that guys like this are ok to be future around kids because..... well, it really was no big deal what he did.. just a misdemeanor... and hate to see this follow him around forever... yada yada, is pretty regrettable, and why, imo a LOT of work still remains to be done to change attitudes, clean up DCI, and make the environment much safer for Youth, and for parents who send their youth to DCI with expectations that creeps like this are not finding their way back to youthful settings like Schools, marching Bands, Drum Corps, and the like..
    2 points
  47. Its " sad " how little our country protects its young, by making such acts " a misdemeanor". That said,, the biggest crime here is that this creep was allowed back into settings that got him into a world of trouble before.
    2 points
  48. Other than 75 'chachos & 77 Bayonne.
    2 points
  49. 2 points
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