IllianaLancerContra

For those of us who don’t have Instagram you explain what this is? I see a photo claiming to be Bluecoat’s snare line but can’t read comments w/o account. Really hope it isn’t yet another scandal brewing

If you click on ‘poster’ (of the diatribe) & see what he has there as his recent posts it is even worse. Possibly illegal.

Not just ‘off the rails.’ OFF. THE. RAILS.

For one reason or another, the individual I am thinking of has totally disappeared from the activity.

I would think it depends on: (1) Their ability to excise the culture that enabled the abuse, as well as removing the abusers. (2) Their ability to meet any financial obligations. (3) Assuming they succeed at 1 &2, their ability to attract members for the 2023 season. Some, perhaps most members will be marching elsewhere in 2022. I have seen (on reddit) Academy, Troopers, & CorpsVets reaching out to SoA members for the 2022 season (there may be others). How many of these members will stay with their new Corps in 2023 vs go back to SoA is a big unknown. This won't be popular, but I can envision them going Open Class for a year with the more limited touring as they get back on their feet.

I'm not comfortable naming names if I don't have first-hand knowledge. I have no first-hand knowledge but have heard rumors (the rumors a lot of us have heard). Others will know more & may be able to clarify. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” - attributed to both Edmund Burke & John Stuart Mill in 18th-19th Century respectively

At some point there will be a lawsuit regarding sexual assault / harassment / abuse in Drum Corps. Maybe this year, maybe next, maybe further out. But it will happen unless DCI / Corps surgically remove the cancer that is sexual assault / harassment / abuse. It will be painful for DCI to do this. But it has to be done, and soon - or the pain of not removing offenders / enablers is going to exceed the pain of keeping them on. I have been to depositions. What will the DCI Executive Director or a Corps Director is asked, under oath (& therefor at risk of Perjury, a felony): "When did you become aware that Instructor X at Corps A was sexually abusing members?" When you become aware that Instructor X at Corps A was sexually abusing members why didn't you remove them from the activity?" "Why was Instructor X allowed to teach youth at Corps B when DCI knew there were credible accusations during their tenure at Corps A?" Discovery will be interesting as well.

I think regionals are hosted by DCI.

It is tradition (& perhaps a requirement) for each DCI Corps to host a show. I would expect SoA to have been hosting at least one (non-regional) show somewhere in the southeast; there are several on the schedule that could be theirs. They may decide to remain on the schedule and use the show as a fund-raising event.

IMO part of the problem is that we don't have any Sie Luryes these days.

FYI - this is what a zero-tolerance policy looks like. In this case, the first response by management is removal of offending posts & a stern warning to all. Watch & learn DCI. Watch & learn.

We will never be able to prevent all inappropriate behavior or abuse in Drum Corps unless the activity completely goes away. But what we CAN do with a zero tolerance policy is (1) make sure the victims are taken seriously, with processes & procedures in place to address any incident, & (2) discipline (to potentially include a lifetime ban from the activity as well as being reported to law enforcement) any members &/or staff who engage, enable, or ignore inappropriate behavior.

Except they show Cheerleading championships on ESPN. All we get is Flo.

I wasn't trying to be narcissistic; the computer I am on doesn't like it when I have 2 different URLs in the same post. Concerning your blackball statement, I agree 100%. But the mistake you are making is to apply logic to a highly illogical situation.

https://www.scvanguard.org/rebecca-compton-allen-appointed-as-new-director-of-scv/

DCI CEO, in post on dci.org has stated: "We want nothing less than their return to the field with a healthier organization and thriving environment for future success in the service to young adults,” said Dan Acheson, CEO of Drum Corps International. "We are committed to assisting them and all corps to ensure a safe, enriching and worthwhile experience for every participant, educator, administrator and volunteer in their charge." OK Dan, what is DCI doing about recent (last week) member allegations in: Raiders Battalion Blue Devils and apparently concerning new SCV director (see below - this appears to have happened in 2018 when w/ Shadow (not mentioned by name, but said to be female & now director of a top-5 Corps, I believe SCV is only Corps with a female director, plus recently new at SCV)

Remember, we have your back.

I am impressed that you had the courage and resolve to do the right thing. I fear that a lot of anger will now be coming your way, esp. from members who had planned to march in 2022 - keep in mind that, again, you did the right thing - it was the response from SoA that led to the demise of the 2022 season. A bigger issue is whether SoA (in particular) or DCI/other Corps (in general) will finally get it through their collective skulls that they need to once and for all cut out the cancer that is member abuse. I hope the answer is yes, but, based on previous incidents the answer will be no.

I'm afraid you may be correct. A family that has the cash to send a kid to DCI could have the cash to lawyer-up. And before I get yelled at - I know that many marchers & their families scramble to find a way to afford DCI. But not all of them - some members com from situations where money for DCI isn't an issue.

In addition to the (IMO required) legalese, Include a very blunt phrase like 'Don’t report a crime you are aware of and charges can be brought against you.' And make everyone sign a notarized version of this page. Another thought - they (staff/instructors/whomever) are required to report the incident, not investigate the incident. Leave the investigation to those whose job is to investigate. I think part of the current problem is that staff/instructors/whomever was told of an incident decided to investigate it on their own, & then made the decision to not report the incident. So, the above-mentioned legalese & blunt page also needs to spell out the report, don't investigate side of this.

From a legal standpoint there is quite a difference between a 17yr, 364days old and a 18yr, 0day old.

When someone is accused of a crime, they may be put in jail while awaiting trial. If they post bail, one of the conditions of bail is that they have no contact with victim. And, depending on the crime, those who enabled the offender, may be charged as well.

Here is an example of an abuser tracker on the website 'bishop-accountability.org'. This site was started in the Boston area, where the Catholic Church clergy-abuse scandal started (the abuse didn't start there - that is where it hit the news big-time). It has a searchable database showing name, accusation, parishes assignments, etc. and now covers all US dioceses as well as some that are non-USA. There is another part of the website that lists archive collections of accused priest file pdf from several dioceses; I believe these became public due to various legal actions. https://www.bishop-accountability.org/accused/ Keep in mind that: (1) This database took a lot of work over years and decades; and (2) Some of the individuals in the database are now deceased, some have been convicted, some fired (laicised), and others only publicly accused (note - it has been church policy for some years now to publish the names of clergy that are credibly accused. These accused clergy are usually given assignments where they will not come into contact with minors (or other potential victims)while their case is being adjudicated through the church legal and state legal system (DCI - are you paying attention here - the Catholic Church publishes the names of accused clergy and separates from any possible victims while the case is being adjudicated). It is a sad commentary on society that this had to happen.

There were 2 different incidents that OP posted - Rookie Talent Night (RTN) and a fellow members harassing/assaulting her. It is my understanding that the 'SoA RTN ringmaster (a trumpet)' was contracted by BD. I also read somewhere (in one of the the multiple threads on DCP & reddit) that they were recently released from BD. I have no idea if any of that is factual, other than someone posted it. The SOA individual who was sexually harassing / assaulting members was a baritone. Also - keep in mind that there are other standing allegations (see floodgates thread) concerning Battalion, Raiders, & a sexual assault several years back at BD. Let's not forget these, regardless of the fact that some of these are Open Class Corps. These are in addition to other incidents at Troopers, Crossmen, Phantom, Mandarins, Oregon Crusaders, Cavaliers, Shadow, & maybe more since the 2018 Cadets GH-meltdown. How many more times will this happen before The Activity/Corps/DCI take whatever painful steps are needed for member protection? There are not isolated incidents. This is a pattern of behavior observed multiple times over the last 4 seasons.

I have a vision that it went down something like this...