Should DCI have rules to protect kids from themselves?

[CuriousMe]

I know you are right about the trained medical staff. There are, however, frequently situations in which the trained medical staff and the corps instructional staff are at odds. Members are often given appropriate medical advice by a trainer only to have staff members suggest the trainer is taking caution to the extreme. Pressure is created by suggesting they will lose their spot if they are out of training for any notable length of time (in corps they have alternates on tour).

Jason

This doesn't sound like pressure, but reality. If someone will be out for a large portion of the season, there likely will be an alternate put in their spot. That's why there are alternates on tour. Injuries suck, and corps are a lot better at helping members prevent them...but the realities around injuries just suck.

[CuriousMe]

True. And I think it's also good to point out that, to get the necessary amount of vitamin D, all one has to do is go outside 20 minutes per week. Obviously this is not the equivalent of corps rehearsals, in which a person is outside for anywhere from eight to 12 hours a day, seven days a week, all summer long. Overexposure to UV rays is not the equivalent of a healthy dose of vitamin D from sunlight, and should not be mistaken as such.

Is that the amount recommended for your skin tone? What about folks with darker skin tones?

This is the problem with blanket recommendations, they tend to be closer to the "one size fits some" variety....but are bandied about like gospel.

[treadstone]

This doesn't sound like pressure, but reality. If someone will be out for a large portion of the season, there likely will be an alternate put in their spot. That's why there are alternates on tour. Injuries suck, and corps are a lot better at helping members prevent them...but the realities around injuries just suck.

Yes they do!

Jason

[byline]

Is that the amount recommended for your skin tone? What about folks with darker skin tones?

This is the problem with blanket recommendations, they tend to be closer to the "one size fits some" variety....but are bandied about like gospel.

Well, that's why there are generally blanket recommendations for young people. That which protects the minority, in the end, protects the majority. And in an activity which makes outdoor rehearsals mandatory, in the highest UV conditions possible, I think that's wise.

[dapperpoet]

Is that the amount recommended for your skin tone? What about folks with darker skin tones?

This is the problem with blanket recommendations, they tend to be closer to the "one size fits some" variety....but are bandied about like gospel.

Look, you're obviously both smart and clever. But, as I'm sure you're aware, I am certain you're on the wrong side of this argument. Many of your objections have been answered here- if high schools, the military, and other institutions can figure out what it means to wear a t-shirt and hat, I'm comfortable DCI can as well. Why wouldn't you want to be on the side of protecting kids who are either not mature enough (irrespective of their ages) or who do not have enough life perspective to know what is harmful to them, especially in a culture where it's not "cool" to do so? Using your argument, we should allow children of any age to drink, see violent and sexual movies, drive, buy cigarettes, not attend school if they choose, and on and on. Society lives with these kind of "blanket recommendations" all the time. I am interested in who here who has standing in the actual professional DCI activity would be willing to join with me to petition the board of directors about this? Although this is way over the top, I want to share something beautiful I read yesterday on the wall of the Civil Rights Memorial (located on the grounds of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, AL). It's about the small things that we can do as individuals to make the world a better place, and comes from a speech Robert F. Kennedy gave in South Africa two years before he was killed:

"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

I believe that working to keep kids from endangering themselves, and future PREVENTABLE heartbreak for the former members, their spouses and kids, and is something worth standing up for.

Edited June 27, 2011 by dapperpoet

[soccerguy315]

dapperpoet... you should start a campaign for DCI to shutdown DCI. Then, and only then, will such children be subject to the sun for an entire summer.

Are you going to request long sleeve shirts and long pants? If not, why?

[dapperpoet]

dapperpoet... you should start a campaign for DCI to shutdown DCI. Then, and only then, will such children be subject to the sun for an entire summer.

Are you going to request long sleeve shirts and long pants? If not, why?

You know, I really want to be positive, but sometimes it's hard. This arguing to catastrophic ends instead of thinking that it might be a problem worth looking into is something that's been said many, many times in this thread. Asking kids to wear t-shirts and hats does not equal the end of DCI, any more than laws requiring people to wear seatbelts ended driving or laws against smoking in public closed the restaurant and bars that were sure no one would come if they couldn't share their second hand smoke with others.

Make a reasonable argument about how ANYTHING I have said in any of my responses would lead to the end of drum corps. Indeed, I think you could make a much stronger argument that not having such a policy could realistically lead to such crippling lawsuits that DCI might shut down.

[garfield]

Drum Corps is often a very contradictory environment regarding members. Corps and staff who claim to go to lengths to look out for the members quickly abandon caution if it gets in the way of day-to-day operations and/or is unpopular with members. It is very likely only a matter of time until some individual who ends up having a medically catastrophic situation decides to sue and drum corps and/or DCI. Of course, many groups have "hold harmless" language in member agreements/contracts, but such is often impotent when a case is brought before civil court.

Another area is the way in which members are treated when they are ill or injured. There are select staff members who tend to pressure ill and injured members into training contrary to what is best for the welfare of the member. This happens with sprains, tendinitis, concussions, upper-respiratory and other conditions. There is also very little trust given members by staff when the member shares that they are having issues. Ironically the staff themselves are quick to want understanding from the corps director when THEY have issues. Of course, there are members who "bluff" about their physical condition, and those members end up making it hard for many others.

I am sure there have been civil suits that no one has heard about - yet it is really only a matter of time until such a situation becomes infamous and hurts an entire corps and DCI.

Jason

It seems to me that this post is one, long straw man argument.

Who are these staff members that you generalize about?

Is your meaning that, in general, staff members don't look out for the best interest of the MM's?

[HockeyDad]

dapperpoet... you should start a campaign for DCI to shutdown DCI. Then, and only then, will such children be subject to the sun for an entire summer.

Are you going to request long sleeve shirts and long pants? If not, why?

That's correct. Wearing shirts would destroy dci.

[HockeyDad]

Why wouldn't you want to be on the side of protecting kids who are either not mature enough (irrespective of their ages) or who do not have enough life perspective to know what is harmful to them, especially in a culture where it's not "cool" to do so?

Don't let it get to you, dapper. In the end, the decision is made individually within each family. One reason we discouraged our red-haired fair skinned daughter from marching a "G8" corps was just this issue. I have been around drum corps since the '70's. I know what goes on. Kids don't wear shirts, they don't apply sunscreen, there's peer pressure, etc. etc. For us, it simply wasn't worth it. So, in a way, I'll agree with those here who say, let each individual decide for themself. Just like smoking I guess. Or drinking. Or driving a motorcyle without a helmet. Or riding in a car without a seatbelt. But just don't pretend that there's no health risk, because you are kidding yourselves. You are suffering skin damage. Period. Ours is one family who didn't have a child march, in part, because the staffs do NOT take measures to ensure the kids are protected from the sun. Is that "fair"? I'm not going down that road. Good luck to you all, I hope you live long and healthy and productive lives, and God Bless You all for entertaining the crap out of me each summer.