hazing/misconduct

[JimF-LowBari]

31 minutes ago, skevinp said:

Yeah I think he was referring back to the older stuff.  I almost missed it myself that the thread was 10 years old.

Just happened to notice it on the Forum page.. too many years of scanning for bad progamming code as notice details way too much lol

[PamahoNow]

3 minutes ago, HayleHam said:

The buddy system in uniform is a pretty common practice in corps.

And something that the adults around should know when it is not reasonable.  But for many it is "tradition".

[DCIat14]

2 hours ago, E3D said:

I have a tough time reading that reddit OP. 

And as you pointed out "the older I get the more I want to distance myself from the activity." I feel that way about DCI most of the time now , mainly because I am the old get off my lawn guy. reading that post made me feel a bit younger and that I would like to tell off the people who treated the kid that way. 

Many things I would like to say in the reddit thread but will just post it here. 

Im from the Deep Deep South and for some wild crazy decision (after seeing an add in drum corps world news paper) to try and join the Boston Crusaders. Many people that I knew including my best friend marched drum corps but they were with other corps skyriders / spirit of atlanta / Garfield. Everyone told me Boston was a tough corps and that I should probably think about my decision but I was dead set to join and I did along with another friend. 

Boston being a tough corps there were rookie things that had to be done. But never once did anyone in Boston treat my friend and I the way I was reading that posting. We were treated like family because Crusaders always stick together. It was a learning experience and I admire every person on staff there and the people we marched with. I was dirt poor and had to work in order to live and march. Times were much different. But my friend and I were from a world that was so different than Boston and yet the Crusaders allowed us to march and treated us well. 

Back in those days the Drum Major took care of every member. The blue stars seemed to have their priorities mixed up a bit. 

It is hard to understand the "alternate" marching spots that is mentioned in the reddit post. Im just too old and the concept of having someone audition and pay but never get to march seems like a rip off. 

Think about it as a parent and you have ideas that you would like for your boy or girl to march. You read something like that. I would have had a little talk with the staff / director etc if it would have been my child. 

 

 

 

This right here!! <3  Crusaders ARE family and our experience with them has been nothing more than amazing!  Now, I'm not going to say that no one in the history of DCI has ever had a bad experience - every corps is bound to have unhappy members, just as every employer is bound to have unhappy employees, by fault of their own or not.  It's crushing to read this person's story and I truly only wish the best experience for every marcher.  I agree that someone owes this MM an apology, but this may be the next step in opening our eyes to the needs of this activity.  Given the insane amount of hard work and discipline these members put it, I would think they'd want to treat each other with respect.  However, I also know that they are under a huge amount of stress, it's a hormonal cesspool (in the best way, of course), they are exhausted, as others said, staff makes a HUGE difference.  If your corps is about cutting off your partner at the knees, that corps doesn't deserve you and someone needs to know.  ...but how?  Retaliation may not be okay, but it is alive and well in some organizations.  

[Bluzes]

5 minutes ago, HayleHam said:

The buddy system in uniform is a pretty common practice in corps.

 

25 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Is that a normal drum corps thing, not to be allowed to be seen alone while in uniform? Or is it specific to Blue Stars?

Also when full retreats were common at most shows. The corps would find a space along the backfield to neatly place their instruments and one corps member would watch over them all show.

[BlueStainGlass]

Voicing my side of this. 

I think I have figured out who said reddit user is based off of some info. While I dont want to post any details about them I want to address several things from my experience. Brad and Russ were the easiest people to talk to when they weren't running around trying to run the corps.  The volunteers ,especially @TomVV , made sure EVERY person was taken care of day to day and got whatever was needed if they dodnt have it. The visual staff brought some people in during my summer and one particular person was an ########. Members brought it up to the horn sargeant, DM, and Russ and that guy was told to leave. If it happened to be the same brass caption head,he did have mood swings but he sat down with every member of the hornline during the season to make sure they were ok. He would joke around with the members but when it was serious time it was serious time. I marched another world class group and tried out at others and this group of members was the most inviting group I met.  When I got my contract it was worded that your spot is not guaranteed and can be switched with an alternate if the caption heads believe you are not carrying your weight. I even had a person brought in to fill my spot because they didnt think my knees would make it through move ins. Throughout the camps they had smartmusic playing tests and those that were not doing their jobs got moved to lower parts or switched to alternate.  I'm sorry this person as they said was in the 1% that did not have the same experience and that they had to hold it in. I just wanted to shed some light that when things were brought up they were addressed and hope people use the opportunities given to share.  

[Cappybara]

1 hour ago, skevinp said:

I think maybe he is saying we should seek to punish the individuals responsible rather than all members of the organizations they are associated with.

I was just really confused when he kept bringing up something about a party school

[IllianaLancerContra]

2 hours ago, BRASSO said:

 This marcher was traumatized during and for many years afterwards with his experience with these bullying behaviors from many of his fellow marchers there, and adult staffers and Corps Director that were seemingly toxic in their relationship with this young marcher at the time. Its makes me both sad and mad at the same time to read of such an experience. This has no place in Drum Corps. Steps need to be taken to make sure it does not happen again.  If it does, DCI HQ itself needs to step in and penalize swiftly and severely any investigation that turns up that these things went on, but either the Corps Mgt put up with it, or was so out of touch with their Corps they claim they were totally oblivious to such cruel and abusive behaviors taking place within their Corps. There is a huge difference between instilling needed proper discipline at times within the organization with youth, and that of clear abusive behaviors with youth. Adults know, or should know, the difference too.  DCI Hg should future pull the membership of any member Corps having future on going episodes such as this described taking place in the future. Such future Corps moving forward from here on in should not exist.  They should fold if this happens anymore, imo. They go against everything good that Drum Corps is supposed to represent in youth development to become stronger, better people, and better future citizens.

Need the 'Duh" button again

I don't believe "The Corps" that make up DCI have the intestinal fortitude to properly regulate themselves.  It took an investigative reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper to force a DFTK rule on DCI members.

And now we are hearing of abuse, while not rape, is certainly wrong, and may, in some cases (i.e., mouthpiece in sock beatings), be considered assault.   And in Corps who are NOT the ones implicated in the spring scandal (certainly in at least one case)

I wonder how long it will take the intrepid reporter to fire up her keyboard?

After the scandals of the spring, Drum Corps has a VERY short window of opportunity to fix this  - and the clock is ticking

[N.E. Brigand]

1 hour ago, HayleHam said:

The buddy system in uniform is a pretty common practice in corps.

Thanks.

Not generally a fan of Dilbert, but this came to mind:

[kinetic inferno11]

A supposed former marcher who marched with the original blue stars alt. Guy has responded and has said that he has skewed everything. I'd go read it. Very interesting other point of view on the issue.

[Beckham]

7 hours ago, Whiskey said:

 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. 

Not the first time I've heard that. I had a former and a current student audition for Blue Stars this year. The older one was offered a contract but he chose to decline it and is marching elsewhere, (and having a blast I might add.) They both told me that they did not like the atmosphere at the camp. No one said anything bad specifically to them but from what they told me the whole atmosphere created by the veterans and staff just didn't feel like a place they would want to call home.