I had to re-read the email several times as it’s quite lengthy and jumps all over the place at times.
it’s quite lengthy because some of the information contained in it has nothing to do with her or her son situation. There is a half page of quotes from the cadets about their commitment to member safety and adhering to the policies etc. etc. and her feelings about those statements as it pertained to her son.
however it’s important to point out that those quotes were in reference to a completely different type of situation involving members and staff’s, not 2 minor members and were taken out of context.
I also want to point out some twisting of words that were used and i can DEFINITELY see where one could have different perspectives on the interpretations . At one point in the email the mother writes that she received a response from YEA that “child protective in Indiana would be handling all further communication and investigation”. The mother then writes, the worker told her that they did not request there not be contact and check ins on them.
i need to point out these are two very different things.
One is an organizational approach and looking at the legality of the total situation and allegations being lodged against them versus the mothers opinion that the organization should’ve reached out to her and provided aftercare. It’s clear from the response that she got that they did not wish to have direct communications with them and I could be entirely wrong in my quick assumption that this would be to avoid direct communication with persons alleging they had a part in this minor/minor offense.
I also would support the director not disclosing to their staff this child’s incident/situation for the Feb. audition. This child is still a minor and relaying information such as that can also have legal consequences.
I do feel it’s important to point out that the mother requested a settlement. In her emails she states they received a small cash settlement along with a nondisclosure agreement . does it matter the amount of the settlement?
I again would like to point out that settlements and nondisclosure agreements are used very often. Settlements and nondisclosure agreements offer a way to resolve an issue without assigning blame. From what I can tell the cadets felt they handled the situation appropriately ( and from what i can tell with this one sided amount of info, they did).
but given the controversy they have already gone through I can see why they may have agreed to the settlement.
I need to thoroughly state that her child went through a nightmare ordeal and every parents worst nightmare. The authorities have the information regarding the alleged perpetrator. But it’s important to remember that, that action is separate from what she’s trying to hold cadets responsible for.
I personally feel that her making every detail including her sons first name, where he’s marching, every action that happened during the incident and making it public to the entire drum corp community could potential make any anxiety and PTSD that he has more significant and i feel so badly for him.
as a parent of a marcher, I have kept a close eye on these boards over the past 18 months. I would say that I am on here at least twice a week during active seasons. I’m familiar with a lot of the bantering, opinions of some versus others, so while i may be posting for first time- I just felt it was important to point out the things that I’ve noticed before the lynch mob attacked, as that could potentially lead the activity, that’s already been through a lot of negatives,further downward.
it’s just when persons are emotional and feel a certain way about the situation, that’s when perceptions actually can be different and then interpreted in their own way. what happened to her son is absolutely horrible. would it have been nice for cadets admin‘s to reach out over the months and see how he was doing? yes. obligated too when there are looming legal threats? no.
But the cadets did report the situation to all authorities promptly and can not be held accountable for members actions against other members.
( and no, i am not a cadets fantastical, lol. nor does my child march the cadets.)