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The future of the Cadets


Would you allow yourself, your kids, or your friends to march with the Cadets after the recent events that occurred?  

180 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you allow yourself, your kids, or your friends to march with the Cadets after the recent events that occurred?

    • Yes
      135
    • No
      45


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I'm reminded of my final season in high school in the '80s.   I was the returning drum major looking forward to a great senior year, but in June as my Junior year ended, our band director handed in her notice.   With no band director and the school district having a long process to find a replacement, and the outgoing director not having made any plans for the upcoming season before leaving, everyone thought the marching program was gonna have to take the year off.   And in those days, the director was the entire staff, only having the drum major(s) to help - no assistants, techs, volunteers, etc., like today.   We didn't even have an organized booster program for parents.

In late June I chose music for the show from our library and got the sections rehearsing.  In July I went to another year at George Parks' camp, starting to design drill during the evenings.  In August we upperclassmen brought in our freshman to teach them how to march, and then the returning marchers came in for the start of our regular camp.  Two days into camp, we finally got a new director (who even had a wife with DCI color guard experience to work with our guard).   We ended up having a fine year.  I don't remember how we did in competition that season, any more than I remember how we did the prior three years. 

Moments like these can be opportunities.

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1 hour ago, Eleran said:

I'm reminded of my final season in high school in the '80s.   I was the returning drum major looking forward to a great senior year, but in June as my Junior year ended, our band director handed in her notice.   With no band director and the school district having a long process to find a replacement, and the outgoing director not having made any plans for the upcoming season before leaving, everyone thought the marching program was gonna have to take the year off.   And in those days, the director was the entire staff, only having the drum major(s) to help - no assistants, techs, volunteers, etc., like today.   We didn't even have an organized booster program for parents.

In late June I chose music for the show from our library and got the sections rehearsing.  In July I went to another year at George Parks' camp, starting to design drill during the evenings.  In August we upperclassmen brought in our freshman to teach them how to march, and then the returning marchers came in for the start of our regular camp.  Two days into camp, we finally got a new director (who even had a wife with DCI color guard experience to work with our guard).   We ended up having a fine year.  I don't remember how we did in competition that season, any more than I remember how we did the prior three years. 

Moments like these can be opportunities.

I vaguely resemble this remark. Same sort of thing happened with me going into my senior year (except it was 2 assistant band directors and then the head--and the 2 ABDs left as much to get away from the head as anything else).

We got new directors on a quicker timeframe than you did, but a few of my classmates and I handled things like instrument inventory for the two weeks where we didn't have directors.

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2 hours ago, oldsoprano said:

. I say that if they give the members a safe and complete season, and if the members finish the season with no regrets, than it was a successful season no matter the competitive outcome.

That is very true. However, the members and staff will be fighting for every tenth all season long to do the very best that they can. I think that is part of what being a Cadet (or Scout...or Vanguard or Mandarin or Crusader or.....) is all about. The people who choose to participate in drum corps do so because they have a high degree of passion and love for what they do.

You see many Cadet alums sign their posts with FHNSAB...we know that we are all part and parcel of a long line of Cadets going back to 1934. It isn't  bad thing, as Cowtown tries to paint it, but it is a way to make sure that no matter who you are or when you marched, we are one with all other members through our long history. 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, MikeD said:

That is very true. However, the members and staff will be fighting for every tenth all season long to do the very best that they can. I think that is part of what being a Cadet (or Scout...or Vanguard or Mandarin or Crusader or.....) is all about. The people who choose to participate in drum corps do so because they have a high degree of passion and love for what they do.

You see many Cadet alums sign their posts with FHNSAB...we know that we are all part and parcel of a long line of Cadets going back to 1934. It isn't  bad thing, as Cowtown tries to paint it, but it is a way to make sure that no matter who you are or when you marched, we are one with all other members through our long history. 

 

 

What bugs me is when I see people who didn’t march there using that acronym. 

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16 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

What bugs me is when I see people who didn’t march there using that acronym. 

Yes, I agree. Only Cadet alums should use it. To be fair...I think the motives of some non-alums who use it are good, even if it is not something they should be doing. 

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3 hours ago, 2000Cadet said:

 

 

It's pretty much pointless to try reasoning with him. Cowtown has always shown his bias against Cadets so it's nothing new. It's funny how one can sit anonymously and judge others because they chose to become part of an organization with which he disagrees. 

Regardless of what GH did to these people, he neither defines Cadets nor does he define the people who marched, instructed, volunteered, and donated to the corps. To sit behind the comfort of anonymity and judge us, call us "borg" or whatever Cowtown wants to do, because we love that organization does nothing but bleeds judgment and sanctimony, in which case, doesn't even deserve the time wasted on even reading that post.

I wonder how many Harvey Weinstein movies Cowtown has seen. I wonder how many politicians for whom he has voted who have done the same thing. I wonder how many Kevin Spacey movies he has watched. I wonder if he still "supports our troops." The sad fact is, this problem of sexual assault/harassment is pervasive throughout many sectors of our society. Cowtown wants to imply that anyone who has ever been associated with the Cadets are complicit; I hope he is willing to look himself in the mirror and ask if HE is complicit given his constant commenting on Cadets threads. Cowtown's moral superiority is irrelevant since I'm sure there is at least one organization he has supported in which this crime has been committed. 

 I marched Cadets and I am PROUD of it. I am not going to get bent out of shape  because some random internet person wants to judge me for it. He's never marched Cadets so he does not have first hand knowledge of what it is like to be part of that organization. Regardless of what GH has done,  I will never regret my decision to march there and will never be ashamed of it, Cowtown's judgment notwithstanding. 

To answer the poll, if this story had come out while I was of marching age, I would only march there if they made the necessary changes to ensure they were trying to prevent this from happening again. I am sure my parents would definitely have a say in it. They would probably have their qualms about it, but they have never prevented me from following my dreams. And although they would be more involved if they had this information, they would have still allowed me to march there. 

GH is gone. The old YEA board is gone. Cadets are rebuilding. I am looking forward to see what happens with them in the future. 

Well said sir! Thank you.

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Regarding the question would I let my kids march the Cadets (if I had any) the answer is a resounding yes. The Cadets have a great history in DCI. 

That being said let's face some reality. My drum corps experience was not with the Cadets with the exception of competing against them. I always found the members and staff to be pretty friendly. I think the question of "will the Cadets survive" is multi faceted. In an organization as large and long lasting as DCI, it's unfortunate to think this, but honestly, something of this nature had a high potential to happen just based on probability. Thousands of kids over 40+ years have had the amazing experience of marching. 

The Cadets are simply one example of a severely imbalanced hierarchical management system. In the corporate world, that creates one of the main pillars in which a culture of "bad behavior" becomes prevalent. Members would rarely know that something shady is going on behind the wizards curtain. Most likely not even staff would know. 

The survival of the Cadets (though it could have happened to ANY of our beloved corps and we would be remiss to forget that,) depends on how the management responds, how the kids respond to their trust being violated, how DCI responds and to large extent how WE, the family of Drum and Bugle Corps respond. In my opinion, we should be turning our attention to helping the existing membership cope and heal. I will be pulling extra hard for the Cadets this year and I hope that others will take the high road as well. Everything I have heard of the supposed "culture of the Cadets" over the last 30 years is unproven as far as I can tell. The membership that came forward with the allegations have only spoken in the articles I've read about the sexual misconduct itself. 

Edited by Weaklefthand4ever
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