DCI Petitioner
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Posts posted by DCI Petitioner
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I'm not sure these arguments are helping the issue anymore. Sharing the petition on social media will be a better use of everyone's time. If someone doesn't like the petition, that's fine. They don't have to sign it.
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28 minutes ago, skevinp said:
I think anyone with the goal of the petition being considered by DCI can be confident now that it will be. Some organizations might discount less than a huge number of signatures, but I don't think DCI is such an organization.
I also think DCI will respond correctly.
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1 hour ago, dagenh said:
Why was that particular picture used on the petition? Did you ask those guys? They’re not all dead.
Just tried to pick a pretty neutral picture of a drum & bugle corps. I don't want to use anything too current, or of a specific corps, because that will make people think I'm focused on that single corps.
I'll consider suggestions for a different picture if you've got some. -
Please don't confuse my next statement to mean that I feel attacked by you.
I'm not going to ID myself, because then I won't have any ability to turn off any flames or personal attacks that result from people saying I'm just a trouble maker, I should keep quiet, etc. I'm not going to do it. If the fact that I am anonymous is used as an excuse to not create stronger protections for students, then for me that means people's priorities are misplaced.
Personal attacks over this issue are unhelpful. People attacking each other over the internet is a short sighted mistake. Those same cross-ways attacks for me serve as justification for staying anonymous. Heck, the FIRST reply to my post was rude.
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Narrowed the list of names since it seems that was more distraction than benefit.
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On 11/1/2017 at 4:34 PM, garfield said:
See this is the problem. What, exactly, is being objected to that justifies using an ounce of the very important energy of DCI staff and executives addressing a non-existent problem, the potential for which is addressed by the boards of directors of the individual corps, WHERE THE KIDS ARE!
So as a specific example, there was a corps competing in 2017 that hired an instructor who had surrendered their teaching license in a plea agreement after some misconduct.
Because of the nature of the plea, the individual isn't a registered sex offender. They were never convicted of any crime. But this individual can't teach in a public school anymore. But there is no such barrier to teaching in DCI.
I understand your frustration with my anonymity and my broad petition. I'm anonymous for reasons I think are easy to figure out. My petition is broad because I specifically wanted to avoid naming any names. Yes, there has been a lot of uproar about specific instructors lately. But I don't want to make the petition about one person or one corps. This has to be a team effort.
Here's an analogy. There were four major egg producers in the country at one point. Three of them followed all the laws and regulations to a T. Their products were great. One company didn't, and had a huge bacterial outbreak on their eggs.
There's no way to tell which farm your eggs came from at the grocery store. So people just stopped buying eggs. One business behaving badly hurt everyone else in the industry.-
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On 11/1/2017 at 6:38 AM, garfield said:
The OP's concern can easily be addressed by contacting each drum corps' BoD and asking to see the policy. Some corps, two I know of, post their policies on their websites.
DCI's mission is NOT to address this, and it's just this type of suggestion on which DCI pushes back very hard. Of COURSE DCI, and its staff and volunteers, are in favor of the highest standards of assurance that the kids are not harmed.
But it is the member corps, not DCI, that are responsible for having a policy that they actively follow. Having DCI, the org, be some watch-dog for social policy is exactly not the type of central control that the member corps want to endow in DCI or its staff.
Each corps survives and thrives on their own, independently. DCI's role is to organize the tour and promote the activity. If the OP has a particular concern with a particular corps, it should be addressed first at the corps. Not on DCP or in DCI.
Either the OP is attempting to create a movement for change of something that's not now a problem, or he/she is too lazy to do the work to contact the corps directly.
This is a black-eye post no matter how it's sliced. I've never known a more progressive activity than performance art and it's true of DCI as well.
OP, there's nothing to see. The petition is for DCi and the member corps to do, WHAT, exactly? And Dan Potter - what's his role in your contention for change?
You clearly haven't thought this through and are likely simply a rabble-rouser trying to make smoke where there's no fire.
IMO, and with all due respect.
I totally, completely, 100% understand how the DCI BoD works.
DCI's mission is to promote and facilitate the activity. It is an extension of the will of the directors of the member corps. If those directors choose, they can require ALL corps to have a satisfactory policy on sexual harassment or be barred from participation.
You're partly right on one thing. I am trying to create a movement for change.-
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On 11/1/2017 at 3:05 AM, garfield said:
Every org I've ever been involved with has a policy addressing this issue.
OP needs to understand who makes decisions in DCI (hint: it's not Dan Potter).
Straw men arguments on this subject are not acceptable. Present your concerns directly to the BoD of the org you're referencing.
I'm 100% aware of how DCI actually works. Dan Potter and Tim Hinton were tagged to try to draw visibility, since petitions work via lots of public pressure.
It's not enough for one corps to get it right and others to get it wrong. It's also not enough for one corps to fire a problem staffer and that person just works at another corps.
So no. I'm not taking it to one single organization.-
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On 10/31/2017 at 3:02 PM, George Dixon said:
Oh look a nameless person and their first post
Hey nameless agenda person, do some research before you write a “petition” on a topic you clearly know zero about
Hi,
I basically don't use DCP because it can get really ugly around here and I have better things to do.
I'm anonymous so that I don't get a bunch of personal attacks and bitter remarks thrown at me. Case in point...
I know plenty about the topic. I know a corps executive director who had sex with an age-out. I know of male staff members who solicited nudes from male performers.
Doesn't matter if they were over 18. Sexual harassment is still unacceptable.-
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Also, triple thank-yous to the mods on this. I don't typically get on the forums because of certain types of behavior that occurred in this thread (and others). I appreciate you guys trying to keep things civilized around here. :)
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10 hours ago, Fran Haring said:
I still don't get why Dan Potter's name and the other gentleman's name are on the petition. Seems like just a random "toss out a couple of names" thing here.
My personal opinion... this petition would have much more credibility if it were directed solely at the DCI front office (Dan Acheson and the crew) and the DCI board of directors.
I don't think either Dan Potter or the other gentleman are in a position to change any rules. Can't speak for them, of course.
Hey... I've worked many DCA events for more than 30 years. I guess you could say that, as a show announcer for that circuit for many years, I've been "visible." Like Dan Potter or Brandt are "visible" on the DCI side. Associated with the circuit, if you will.
But I would be quite puzzled (and honestly, more than a bit annoyed if this happened without my permission) if I were named in any petition having anything to do with DCA... since I have absolutely no authority, clout, inside information, pull, or whatever you want to call it, when it comes to the circuit, or its member corps, adopting or changing any rules/policies/procedures, etc.
Again, I can't speak for him... but I wonder if Dan (Potter) might be feeling the same way here. If not, my apologies for bringing up his name in this post.
Dan Potter and Tim Hinton are only listed because they have high visibility, and my goal is to try to bring visibility to the petition. You're correct they have -zero- policy making ability. I knew that from the start.
But since petitions are about applying public pressure to enact change, they are tagged to try to increase pressure. There is basically no reason to tag them except kicking the hornet's nest.
It's a petition, not a legal complaint. They are not named as defendants. I'll consider taking them off of it though if enough people think it's a distraction. -
I didn't start this petition as a passive aggressive jab at any one organization. I've been in and around the activity for a long time. I know plenty of stories from plenty of corps.
It's time for this behavior to stop.
In the interest of keep the thread and the petition going, and not starting pointless flame wars, please refrain from targeting any one individual. This is bigger than one person. Just sign the petition, and if you really believe in it, share the petition. Share it on Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, whatever.
https://www.change.org/p/dan-acheson-have-dci-protect-students-from-sex-offenders-and-sexual-misconduct-by-staff
The goal is not to "take DCI down" or bring any particular corps to justice. I don't want any organization hurt at all. The goal is for DCI and the corps which direct DCI to put strong protections in place, to protect an activity we all love. This is the responsible thing to do.
Also, I'm well aware that Dan Acheson does not set edicts for the corps to follow. I have named him (and others) for visibility. The people with the authority to make this decision are the corps directors who compromise the DCI board of directors. Likewise for Dan Potter and Tim Hinton. They don't have authority over it, they just have visibility. So that's why they are tagged, because I want people to bring the conversation to them. Because they are so visible.-
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The thread might come down but the petition won't. Also, I have zero connection to The Cadets. This is not some passive aggressive move at one organization.
https://www.change.org/p/dan-acheson-have-dci-protect-students-from-sex-offenders-and-sexual-misconduct-by-staff-
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Sign the Petition
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
I want to stress - this is not a rampant, wild, out of control problem. Parents should not assume that every student who marches drum corps WILL be assaulted and harassed. I would argue 90% of the performers have no real issues.
As for some examples besides the thoroughly discussed example at Cadets. Someone brought this up:
http://www.crossmen.org/joel-moody-bio
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-04-02/news/os-moody-sexy-student-text-messages-20100401_1_text-messages-band-director-female-student
It looks like there were never charges filed. So there's no issue with passing a criminal background check.
Pioneer also had an instructor who was a registered sex offender. His sentence did not bar him from working with young people. So maybe he got caught urinating in public and got put on the list.
I'm also aware of situations where a young-ish staffer got caught with older students. So think 19 year old student, 24 year old instructor. Should the instructor be given a life sentence? No. Should they be able to teach a different drum corps the next year? In my opinion, no.
So again, most DCI instructors are fantastic people. Send your kid off to march. I still believe it will be a great experience. And sign the petition and then ask the directors at whatever corps you kid is marching how they feel about the petition. Ask them what their policies are for sexual harassment. Ask how complaints are documented. Ask what the social media policy for instructors is. Ask about background checks.
If you and every parent of a DCI performer asked these questions, we would see some changes. These individuals that manage to slip through the cracks will find it a lot more difficult.