hazing/misconduct

[2000Cadet]

5 hours ago, FTNK said:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/drumcorps/comments/91e03h/some_things_off_my_chest_reposted/

My first reaction was "yea this was par for the course when I marched (2004-2005 Capital Regiment, 2006 Cadets)" Maybe not the most extreme stuff, but a lot of it. Especially at Cap Reg we were constantly berated as a corps by the drum caption head and told "there's no crying in drum corps." My rookie year I was next to the same guy for a lot of the show, and every mistake I made he would scream "YOU ####### ######!" Also in 2004 we had a tuba who had a bad attitude, and the rest of the hornline attacked him with mouthpieces in socks, Full Metal Jacket style. The admin at least put an end to that. In 2005 we had a trumpet who struggled and the snareline dumped Gold Bond on him in the shower. Hopkins constantly told us we were the worst Cadets he'd ever seen, and in general whether you were healthy enough to march a show was the caption head's decision, not yours. We had a lot of Latinos in 2006 and Sully would yell racist things like "your head is bobbing around like you're going to the ####in' taco stand." 

The point is that this was all considered normal

One redditor summed up my thoughts exactly: "the older I get the more I want to distance myself from the activity."

This is a tough thing to read, but it's not surprising. Drum corps is overdue for its reckoning. GH was 1st. Who will be next? This is part of the reason I left Crossmen after the 1998 season. They consistently told the hornline on tour that we were terrible, and they were all a bunch of hypocrites. I remember one instance when we were in Colorado where the staff was telling the hornline about things we could not do while we were on tour, and meanwhile, IN THAT MEETING, there were staff members who were visibly drunk. Back then, I wasn't the type to say anything. I just did my job and marched, but at the end of the season, instead of speaking up, I left Crossmen and went to Cadets. So many people were shocked that I left. But there was no way I was gonna put up with that BS. I almost didn't go back to Cadets because of the problems we had in 1999. 

[luv4corps]

I may or may not remember an MM in my own family being so inebriated at the age out ceremony after semis that he/she almost fell down several rows of seats while attempting to catch whatever object the age outs were tossing about.  Beach ball?  Can't remember.  

From afar, I prayed for his/her safety.

To this day I don't know how he/she made it onto the field.  

Edited July 27, 2018 by luv4corps

[year1buick]

I never saw anything even remotely this extreme. But echoes of it? Yeah, on occasion. Thankfully, it wasn’t the norm or part of our culture. I think that sometimes, when you have relatively isolated groups like these, working in such close quarters, and in such extreme conditions, you have to be on guard for Lord of the Flies sociological tendencies from creeping in. It can be a real playground for bullies if not kept in check. I’d like to think that most groups work hard to do this. I know the topic of sexual assault and harassment has in the foreground recently but, obviously, it’s not the only type of abuse that can occur. Hopefully corps have codified rules against this type of behavior as well.

[Jim Schehr]

shocking predictable

[Lance]

i never marched dci, but this sounds similar to basic training.

We had 5 DI's for 30 of us in our platoon, and the lead DI was a power-hungry turd who went after the weakest with constant dehumanization, with both words and physical attacks, and if he was in a really bad mood, he'd just go after anybody. The other 4 tried to protect us all from him.  Don't get me wrong, the other 4 were not exactly kind to us because they had limited time to teach us a bunch of skills to stay alive, but most of the time, we knew they were just doing their job.  Without them to protect us from the lead DI, I don't know what would've happened, though I have a good idea.

I've heard from other military people who had 4 or 5 DI's ALL like our jerk, and some of them were just short of tortured from what they've told me. They thought it was normal. 

So there are some parallels there.

Maybe people marching in corps will read this, and find it within themselves to stand up to the instructors who are only breaking down without every attempting to build up themselves or other other members of their sections.  It's hard for 21 year-old kids to avoid group/mob mentality, but it can be done. I'm sure some people on here could tell stories of times they or others have mentored kids who are being treated as less than their fellow marchers. I hope so, anyway. 

 

Edited July 24, 2018 by Lance

[Terri Schehr]

It’s alternately sickening and infuriating to read what happened to this young person. 

There needs to be an independent member advocate who isn’t beholden to anyone. Someone whose only interest is the safety and welfare of the members. 

[JimF-LowBari]

5 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

It’s alternately sickening and infuriating to read what happened to this young person. 

There needs to be an independent member advocate who isn’t beholden to anyone. Someone whose only interest is the safety and welfare of the members. 

Should group this with the person who members or staff should go to in case of sexual harassment or assault.

[Terri Schehr]

10 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Should group this with the person who members or staff should go to in case of sexual harassment or assault.

Yes.  It has to be someone who is absolutely independent and they are comfortable with sharing.  This is very tough for young people.  They feel isolated and alone.  Even not so young people experience this feeling of isolation.  

Someone needs to be their voice. .

Edited July 24, 2018 by Terri Schehr

[BradF]

I’m truly saddened by what I read last night about this person’s experience at the Blue Stars. The bottom line is it is our goal to provide every person on our tour with an amazing drum corps experience. It seems we have fallen short with the OP. For that I’m truly sorry. 

 

Unfortunately, I can’t go back in time and change this situation. I can only examine how we operate today and make sure it can’t happen again. Do the conditions exist for it to occur? Are our staff teaching in a positive manner? Do we have people looking for individuals that may be struggling in silence? Are our reporting mechanisms in place and do we take reports seriously?

I can unequivocally state yes to all of those questions when compared to when the OP marched. But we still strive to be better every day and every season. 

 

I give this message to our entire organization every season: we can’t fix what we don’t know. You don’t have to suffer in silence. We’re there to help. There are reporting mechanisms that include anonymous avenues to get your issues heard and addressed. We have and will take swift action against anyone (staff, member, or volunteer) that doesn’t live up to our values.

 

That not only applies to the Blue Stars, but anyone in the activity. Being on tour with a drum corps is an extremely hard and challenging environment, but it should never be abusive (mentally or physically). If you’re having an issue, please tell someone immediately. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out about a negative situation after the season. 

 

Finally, our alternate program was completely revamped after the 2015 season, in large part based on the experience of the 2015 alternates, including the person that posted here. While no alternate program will ever be ideal (everybody wants to be on the field), our program is now built on transparency about a member’s position, their options as an alternate, and their inclusion as a full-fledged member of the organization (that was always the case, but we try very hard to make sure that fact is known to all).

 

Sincerely,

Brad Furlano

Executive Director

Blue Stars

[Lance]

2 minutes ago, BradF said:

I give this message to our entire organization every season: we can’t fix what we don’t know. You don’t have to suffer in silence. We’re there to help. There are reporting mechanisms that include anonymous avenues to get your issues heard and addressed. We have and will take swift action against anyone (staff, member, or volunteer) that doesn’t live up to our values.

 

That not only applies to the Blue Stars, but anyone in the activity. Being on tour with a drum corps is an extremely hard and challenging environment, but it should never be abusive (mentally or physically). If you’re having an issue, please tell someone immediately. Nothing is more frustrating than finding out about a negative situation after the season. 

 

 

It is unfair to put the entire onus on members. You and your staff need to be proactive, not just reactive. I'm sure you are, but the phrasing of this part of your statement is a little troublesome. 

The rest of your statement is great to see, and it's great to see a corps director taking it so seriously.