IllianaLancerContra

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Someone has posted on Battalion's Facebook page regarding this.

Here is a video

So I would hope you promptly looked into it & took necessary action. When the process works the way it is supposed to we don’t hear about it. I wonder if DCI should publish a statistic that says ‘this many allegations were investigated and resolved to the satisfaction of the accuser’? But that would beg the question ‘Why were there all these allegations in the first place’?

At what point do we go over to Battalion's Facebook page and start asking the questions there?

Star Wars by North Star

Well stated.

I don't know - might be because when the situation is happening they feel isolated; Corps leadership won't listen to them, & they may fear that police will side with Corps management. They are afraid what might happen to them once the police leave.

The drugging, sexual, & physical assaults/harassments described are nothing short of criminal. That Battalion leadership could ignore this makes me question whether they should be in charge of a youth activity. DCI (in general) & Battalion (specifically) - what is your response to these serious allegations (It has been some time since they were first posted - plenty of time to respond)? If my child wanted to march at Battalion & I knew this kind of stuff was happening and apparently condoned by Battalion leadership there would be no way I would allow them to march there. Hopefully parents are doing due diligence and will find these posts.

Yes - we do.

This is the post the member made re Battalion: *** Others have inspired me to speak out, so here i what i experienced being associated with the battalion the last few years. trigger warnings for sexual assault/rape, sexual assault/rape of a minor, pedophilia, racism, antisemitism and transphobia i was contracted for the 2018 battalion season as a high school junior-turned-senior (was about 16-17 years old at the time) where i had met both (redacted #1) and an older BTAL member. i couldn’t march in 2018 for personal reasons, but was close friends with (R1) and was dating this member (who was 19+ at the time). in this relationship with unnamed adult, he gave me 3 10mg edibles when i was at his apartment (where he was roommates with multiple battalion members) where he would later on **** me while i was barely conscious. this man, mind you, was literally 2.5 years older than me and in college, and i hadn’t even graduated high school yet. i would like to add that later on in the 2019 season he was in a relationship/cuddling with a minor (i think she was 16/17 at the time and he was a literal age out)! anyways that ended shortly after and (R1) and i became better friends. he would ask me how my day was, console me when i would speak about bad things happening to me, and then ask for sexual favors or nudes. as i was easily manipulated giving past circumstances, i was manipulated into sending these photos. those later stopped for several months while he was off social media because of being charged and/or investigated for sexual assault of someone else. i was contracted for the 2019 battalion season and actually went along with it this time, where he then masturbated next to me when he though i was asleep. all of my spring training roommates were all sick and sleeping in the same room in our dorms one night for “fun” for context. after this happened, we went on tour. there was another member, named (redacted #2), who had been reported to the battalion for blackmailing and soliciting a nonmember, and nothing was done. on our seattle free day (7/7/19), (R2) had been hitting on me all day (i was in her free day group because i had no one else to go with) and later on violently groped me in a store in front of total strangers. she would talk about how she was later going to send me nudes, and would continue to hit on me (despite being in a relationship herself). this harassment would continue for the rest of the season, and i would be forced to shower with her (we were both trans so we had separate shower times than the cis member, and she insisted!) several times despite my protests. she would make unsolicited comments on my body and appearance during these showers. during this season i had received violent transphobic, antisemitic, and racist comments. a member would talk about how he was a “nazi” and would make holocaust jokes and antisemitic jokes anytime i was near him, making it a point to tell me that his “people” out “my people” in ovens during the holocaust. i was also called a k*ke (antisemitic slur for jews) multiple times. another member would make it a point to tell me how feminine i sounded and looked, would tell me i would never be a “real” man, and i would be taunted by groups of guys in the corps for not having a #####, having breasts, and having a separate shower time from the rest. the percussionists watching the showers for me would also make these comments. another group of members found out my deadname and birth gender the first week of spring training and made it a point to call me those the rest of the season. i would get invasive questions about my genitalia almost daily from so many members that i can’t even remember their names because it was so much. the showers for trans people here, btw, were a nightmare. i would never have enough time to clean my horn due to only being able to shower the last 5 minutes of EPL, and when i WASN’T forced to shower with my assaulter, i would have other members SCREAM at me for “taking too long” or have staff or members literally walk in on me while i was showering. on our last show of the 2019 season i was forced to shower in the womens lockerroom before all of the women and could hear them SCREAMING at me and saying horrible things, so i literally took a one minute shower in freezing cold temps just so i wouldn’t be called awful things again. i reported this to the director of battalion (november 2019), even having a phone call with her, where she stated that she would make a decision to either blacklist her or not and let me know. (R2) would follow me around at the BEX clinic (november 2019) and the BTAL colorado auditions (january 2020) trying to talk to me (where the director and other staff members and leadership knew about what she did to me). i would get emails upon emails from administration every time i spoke out about this abuse, telling me to retell my story so they could “fix” it despite me reporting this multiple times. during this time, (R1) was harassing me for nude photos and sexual favors again. every time i would be upset, he would console me, and yet again the conversations would turn sexual. in august 2021 i told him flat out to apologize to me and the others he had hurt, and he did (poorly) and then later continued to ask and harass girls for nudes and sexual favors. battalion needs a serious wake up call. too many members, past or present, actively participate in rape culture whether you like it or not. it is not “wholesome” or “safe” or “welcoming”. you guys allow way too much racism and queerphobia and bigotry in this corps to call yourselves a safe space for minorities. thank you to the others on this subreddit for making me feel comfortable posting this. edit: if you’re a trans member and you are worried about how corps will accommodate for you (as a trans person) you should ALWAYS email the corps! if they get offended or beat around the bush trying to accommodate for you, that isn’t the corps for you! i have plenty of resources for many corps that i’ve asked around for so always feel free to dm me :)💕🏳️‍⚧️

PM sent

On page 7 of the ‘What if DCI went away’ the Battalion member who posted on Reddit has stated that Battalion has not responded to the allegations. So, what can we do to help this individual?

I am sorry that happened to you. Edit- I have posted on the ‘Floodgates’ thread that you had not heard from Battalion.

In military we had a saying ‘This is where we are, so this is where we start’.

Now I have ZZ Top running through my head.

One of my favorite Drum Corps memories was At DCI Midwest 1982. Thunderstorm rolled through about an hour before step-off. After it passed, but was still misty 27 was playing ‘Danny Boy’ in the distance. Absolutely magical.

Agree overage members is far down the list (yet is the one thing DCI actually enforces (except 89 SCV)). But look at the animosity that happened due to overage members. People still argue where the 75 'chachos would have placed. And I have heard stories of Bridgemen in fisticuffs with members of Phantom, & trying to overturn one of their busses (which took more than just a few members). If a Corps was on the cusp of making finals (or some other DCI level that leads to different performance fees for the next season) would some be motivated to make spurious accusations against a higher-placing Corps? I would hope the answer is no, but my experience with human nature says otherwise.

There is precedent in DCI for this. Ask 75 'chachos & '78 Bridgemen.

All true - this will need to be settled by the courts. I hope the organizations involved have a contingency fund set aside for attorney fees. Because if (when) this gets hashed out by the courts, the only real certainty is that the lawyers will be paid. Hopefully DCI is monitoring the situation with the SBC & once the courts have settled the issue will make any organizational changes necessary.

This is very true for both Drum Corps (to be specific) as well as for society (in general). We see how it has changed Drum Corps; Consider how Social Media has changed politics, relationships, health care (imagine the pandemic without social media), and entertainment. It boils down to what I teach my biology students. When faced with new conditions, one has three choices: Adapt, Migrate, or Die. DCI can adapt to the new social media reality where it is harder to sweep things under the rug by putting actual (vs lip service) procedures in place and actually using them when necessary; or Drum Corps can migrate to a new overarching organization (I see Varsity mentioned a lot); or die. Die is always an option.

Absolutely questionable things BITD. But my point is that a strong leader takes care of a problem immediately & nips it in the bud, rather than letting it fester & come out 7-months later on Reddit, Facebook, & DCP. And perhaps this is happening at some Corps, & that is why we don't hear about troubles in their organizations. But it seems that the collective consciousness of DCP suggests that there is more abuse going on out there that is being swept under the rug so to speak. Not every abused member is willing to go public & has parents willing to retain a law firm (as happened w/ SoA). Heck, there are standing allegations on Reddit concerning Raiders, Battalion, & the new SCV Director. And neither HQ DCI, nor the Corps involved, have said anything. And, unfortunately, that speaks volumes. This is why some on this thread are suggesting the replacement or reorganization of DCI with an organization that will actively discipline the individual Corps if the Corps won't do it themselves. No one here wants Drum Corps to go away. But, there are only a limited number of times member abuse scandals can happen for the activity to survive. And some of that number have been used up.

I wonder how the SoA 2021 situation(s) would have been handled had Jones or Warren been in charge of the Corps. I know former members of Cavaliers who shuddered if Don Warren saw them causing trouble & said 'Misbehaving member, come over here, we need to have a little talk...' (they still tell these stories 40 years later).

In 1970-72 there were leaders in the activity such as George Bonfiglio, Don Warren, & esp Jim Jones (to name a few) who were willing to lay it all on the line; say 'The current situation just isn't working for us'; & then actually do something about it. I do not see leaders like that in the activity today.