Cavaliers Cell Phone Question

[Pioneer Dad]

I have a question for any current Cavaliers, alumni, or parents. My son wants to be a Cavalier more than anything and wants to audition this year. As a parent, I have a question about not allowing members to carry cell phones during the summer. It states that parents can email or call to communicate with their sons but how do the members communicate back to their families over the summer? I know it is different from the '80s when I marched when we had to wait in lines at a pay phone to call home, but pay phones are not readily available anymore. How easy is it for current members to contact their families? Also, anybody have any idea why this rule of no cell phone came about? In this day and age, I would think this would be common practice to allow members to carry phones.

Any help would be appreciated!

[soccerguy315]

Also, anybody have any idea why this rule of no cell phone came about? In this day and age, I would think this would be common practice to allow members to carry phones.

They think it helps them underachieve. Without cell phones, the members can focus as much as possible as being a shadow of what their predecessors were.

[garfield]

They think it helps them underachieve. Without cell phones, the members can focus as much as possible as being a shadow of what their predecessors were.

Wow, great sentence.

But, you're presuming that being a shadow is, in fact, a goal to today's staffs. I'm not so sure. Seems respect for tradition is pretty hard to find in corps these days, with all the avant-garde thinking and "edgy" show production. Apparently, kids don't want to play like, or look like, old dead white guys.

I, rather, think they believe that they definitely need to do everything they can to keep the kid's attention to be good enough to follow the leader down the enlightened path. I'm not at all convinced that they're reaching for anything in their corps' past.

[Stu]

Irrespective of your questioning, it is their rule so just deal with it; in fact I personally like the rule for many, many reasons. However if you are concerned about your son not being able to call mommy when he wants with a cell phone, and your son is upset that he would not be able to text his girlfriend every five min, there are 22 other WC corps and 19 OC corps in which your son can audition.

[Pioneer Dad]

Thanks for your perspective. I am taking it that you are not a parent!!!! My son has no qualms with the no cell phone thank you very much! It is me, AS A PARENT, that is asking the question. All I was asking for was a little perspective!

Irrespective of your questioning, it is their rule so just deal with it; in fact I personally like the rule for many, many reasons. However if you are concerned about your son not being able to call mommy when he wants with a cell phone, and your son is upset that he would not be able to text his girlfriend every five min, there are 22 other WC corps and 19 OC corps in which your son can audition.

[Michael Boo]

Thanks for your perspective. I am taking it that you are not a parent!!!! My son has no qualms with the no cell phone thank you very much! It is me, AS A PARENT, that is asking the question. All I was asking for was a little perspective!

Here's some perspective you may find of interest. The rule had been set aside for—I don't remember how long, but I think a couple—years. It was re-instituted this past year...not by the decision of the management or staff but at the request of the members. That's right...the "junior officers" of the corps...the members who are the leaders among the membership, asked the management to reinstate the rule. (I found out how that transpired in a pre-season message sent out to corps alums.)

[Pioneer Dad]

Here's some perspective you may find of interest. The rule had been set aside for—I don't remember how long, but I think a couple—years. It was re-instituted this past year...not by the decision of the management or staff but at the request of the members. That's right...the "junior officers" of the corps...the members who are the leaders among the membership, asked the management to reinstate the rule. (I found out how that transpired in a pre-season message sent out to corps alums.)

Thanks Michael! I find that really interesting! My son is a diehard Cavaliers fan and having some idea what to expect before auditioning is obviously important to his mother and I.

[Stu]

Thanks for your perspective. I am taking it that you are not a parent!!!! My son has no qualms with the no cell phone thank you very much! It is me, AS A PARENT, that is asking the question. All I was asking for was a little perspective!

I am a parent; one who believes that if my child is old enough to travel 'on his own' the entire summer with 149 mostly college-age youth, and another 30 - 40 very responsible adults, he is old enough not to have to check-in with me or his mom with a cell phone. In fact, my children have attended a few summer camps where they were away from technology such as mp3s, cell phones, DVD's, computers, video games, TV, and away from 'us', for nearly a month; and if they needed to contact us it would be done through a hard-line phone in the camp office. Moreover, they never have called us while at those camps and both my wife and I are fine with that. Why? Because: a) We trust the adults they are with; b) We trust our children with ever expanding independence as they grow in maturity and do not want them to become attached at the hip to us, his parents; c) We want them to learn how to deal with situations without the ability to 'easily' call for mom and dad to bail them out; and d) If they do get into real trouble, the adults at the camps will contact us immediately.

[Geoff]

Irrespective of your questioning, it is their rule so just deal with it; in fact I personally like the rule for many, many reasons. However if you are concerned about your son not being able to call mommy when he wants with a cell phone, and your son is upset that he would not be able to text his girlfriend every five min, there are 22 other WC corps and 19 OC corps in which your son can audition.

You must be a lot of fun at parties.

[Stu]

You must be a lot of fun at parties.

This type of discussion would never arise at the parties my wife and I attend; and now that our kids range from teenage to mid twenties our kids would not even want to be around us at those parties. Also, most of the adults who attend the parties we attend would agree that taking cell phones and other technology away from youth while they were at an extended outdoor summer camp experience ran by adults we placed in charge of our kids, or as in this case an environment like a DCI corps, would be a rather good thing. Most of the adults that we engage with believe that as a our children grow enough to be away from us for a long period of time, allowing them them to learn how to deal with things 'without' calling us frequently is just as valuable as us being available to them if something serious did arise. So, yeah, we do have a lot of fun at parties.