hazing/misconduct

[karuna]

20 minutes ago, Lance said:

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. 

Amen.  Providing "reporting mechanisms" is no substitute for actively engaging the members.  I've always admired staff who make it their business to get to know the kids they're teaching.   So many big things start out as very small things which -- if caught early -- were never really an issue at all.  

[ThirdValvesAreForWimps]

Stop badgering the University of Wisconsin.

[BradF]

2 minutes ago, karuna said:

Amen.  Providing "reporting mechanisms" is no substitute for actively engaging the members.  I've always admired staff who make it their business to get to know the kids they're teaching.   So many big things start out as very small things which -- if caught early -- were never really an issue at all.  

Of course we are always looking for issues and trying to head things off before little things become big. Our entire staff is instructed to report if they know or even suspect there is a member in distress.

The point is sometimes someone can be having an issue that is not apparent. They don't have to suffer in silence. 

[JimF-LowBari]

29 minutes ago, karuna said:

Amen.  Providing "reporting mechanisms" is no substitute for actively engaging the members.  I've always admired staff who make it their business to get to know the kids they're teaching.   So many big things start out as very small things which -- if caught early -- were never really an issue at all.  

Need a good bit of both. Along with members/staff knowing who they can go to and what is not allowed. At least my yearly training sez so....

[Bluzes]

Is the Administration of U of W justing finding out they have been rated the biggest partying school, nationally for ages? It was so much fun to show these partiers what real parting is when the crew I hung/hang out with at dci went to town in Madison. Even they said at the time "you guys are crazy" we always like to rise to the occasion. Of course, we are a lot older now and wonder how we survived all the fun that comes about at dci.

Edited July 24, 2018 by Bluzes
typo

[Terri Schehr]

39 minutes ago, ThirdValvesAreForWimps said:

Stop badgering the University of Wisconsin.

Never.  

[xandandl]

I have been involved with DCI since the very first year and was part of the field crew for the very first championships at Whitewater, Wisconsin back in the early seventies (last century.)

Since that time I know of not one corps who has a mandatory pre-Spring Training educational review for all techs and faculties where day to day protocols, language, attitudes, and expectations are reviewed, renewed, and underscored just as any school or school district would have these meetings for their department and institution before the new semester.

Yes, in recent years DCI has made available a Janual meeting, usually Indianapolis with a few lectures. But for the techs it is treated as a weekend away, a time to network with the big names, a time to move your personal brand, and more often than not bar hopping of the first order. What we need is something similar to what Gene Monterestelli and Dr. Chris Castille (former Cadets' DM) have assembled for the podium people today. We need something in-house, local and focused: what are the unique values of this corps?, how do we support that?, how do I/we teach that? [Of course, we'd like to presume that everyone hired is capable of the higher road, but even old timers get worn out, stuck in habits, and need reminding. Techs only repeat what the way they have been taught.]

Kudo to The Cavaliers who delayed ST this year until both mms and faculty and others spent 3 full days reviewing respecting one another 24/7. Cadets did something similar although in a slightly different way.  BAC last season re-pivoted its approaches as part of the larger review and renewal of its organizational goals and benchmarks; those not up to the task were not returned. ALL CORPS (mms, techs, faculty, volunteers, and admin) have to go through this each year.  Does a volunteer or tech know how to spot signs for depression, suicide, mental illness? If yelling is your only way of correcting are you really teaching? If all you are concerned about is ticks and rings, should you really be here? How are you helping the mms?

Just as DCI will have to re-examine its touring flow in light of global warming and the temps and locales of the past few summers, it's time to shake the house and re-evaluate what we are doing in this corps with these kids for these weeks. Human lives deserve no less.

Edited July 25, 2018 by xandandl

[Whiskey]

22 minutes ago, mingusmonk said:

Not to say Brad is off the hook (he is the boss, after all) but at Blue Stars there is a Corps Director and an Executive director. Reddit OP references the corps director, not Executive Director (Brad).

Great point out.  The members who posted were not referring to Brad.  It sounds like the Corps Director, who is unfortunately still there.  Of course we should not make assumptions but the attitudes and actions of the corps reflect on this director and their staff.  Reading the additional responses from others, one potential member even mentions this year's audition process as being a turn-off for them due to attitudes of veteran members.  The director and staff create this culture by their actions or non-action.  I hope action is taken this off-season and I'm glad others are not afraid to share what has been the closet of skeletons we hide in our activity.  If it were adults I would just chalk it up as dysfunctional, but since the activity deals with underage youth, I find it completely unacceptable. 

[Tim K]

 

 

Drum corps always had an air of superiority, probably more so back in the day when there were so many. As many people know, the Boston area had music circuits and two of them had drum corps, bands, and drill teams. In each category there were great units and miserable ones. It's no secret that many of the drum corps looked down on the bands and the drill teams, including some corps whose members could not march and did not read music (this is the late 70's, not the 50's and 60's, reading music was the norm in most drum corps at that point). It's also no secret that when it came to recruiting, the top drum corps often went to the bands and drill teams which irked some of the smaller corps. Looking back, I wonder how much of the superiority was masking inferiority.

Fast forward to today: we no longer have circuits of drum corps, bands, and drill teams, and most kinds who march come from the band world, does this superiority still exist? Well, how many times have we read on threads that kids who are offered contracts become impossible cases for high school and college band directors. How many times do we read about band directors who do not encourage drum corps because it "changes" the kids involved? My guess is this is a small percentage of the kids involved, but it happens.

My general observation of kids who march today is first, they are extraordinarily talented musicians, or if they are in the color guard, are adept at many things. If you look at the colleges some attend, they are among the top colleges. The kids also have to be in top physical condition, and the higher scoring the corps, chances are the more competitive it was to be offered a contract. In the world of drum corps, they are superstars. Superstars can also have egos, and if you have a case where the superstar in a drum corps is on the lower rung on the ladder outside of drum corps, that can make matters worse. This is where leadership is essential.

I have watched rehearsals where corps members are treated with respect by staff. They are corrected, often in no uncertain terms, and rehearsals are anything but a picnic, but there is a feeling of teamwork. Often you hear positive things about these corps from marching members and alums. I wonder of the attitude of respect by the staff found its way to corps members. Two corps I have watched who have this atmosphere have won titles. I have also seen the opposite, and again this includes two corps who have won titles.  I felt that in one case the behavior was humiliating and beyond abusive. With a corps (not a DCI champion) I saw rehearse about five years ago, I was told by a parent that the obnoxious attitude of the staff trickled down to the marching members. Staff needs to set the tone, and create an atmosphere of mutual respect. 

I don't know enough about Blue Stars staff and corps dynamics past and present to comment on the authenticity of what was posted in Reddit, but I am willing to bet if I watched  rehearsal or two, I could guess where situations like that reported in Reddit would occur and where it would be less likely.

[Bluzes]

Why did this social justice initiative leave so many innocent victims? What about the students that we're being hazed or those in the band that didn't drink or haze. Will they be reimbursed for the education they already paid for, no? Will the professors receive their full stipend, most certainly? Why does a nationally ranked football team that teams with the band for an emotional boost to work up the crowd and themselves be denied? Call me crazy but this hurts more than it gains. Why not pick out the culprits and fill the band others? Why because they can get away with it for the band but would hurt their pocketbook if they did this to the football team. A rush to social justice is just as bad as not having any at all. For years when their school has the distinction of being the biggest partying school now they decide now to take it out on the band, shortsighted and unfair anything but justice. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by Bluzes
typo