Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Safety

[KVG_DC]

I remember that 'living color' but seeing that title makes me thing of this one.
 

 

[scheherazadesghost]

On 3/31/2022 at 12:45 PM, TenHut said:

Drum Corps is no better or worse than any industry. There are bad apples in all walks of life. We tend to think it's worse when it is our industry, but every industry has these issues. I never once saw abuse or racism when I marched and taught, but I realize that doesn't mean that it didn't occur. 

Every industry has these issues and some are handling it better than others. There are minimal standards that most organizations still don't have in place that would begin to chip away at issues related to discrimination in its many forms, bullying, and abuse.

My own racialized experience in corps really messed with me for a long time. I've heard board testimony to the same effect in the last several years at my home corps. It's out there. It hurts. And corps have to do better if they don't want to keep shrinking their talent pools minimally. And another, more significant benefit to adopting this work is that more (ideally all) marching members are safer. When they're safer, they have more fun.

[Weaklefthand4ever]

16 hours ago, scheherazadesghost said:

Every industry has these issues and some are handling it better than others. There are minimal standards that most organizations still don't have in place that would begin to chip away at issues related to discrimination in its many forms, bullying, and abuse.

My own racialized experience in corps really messed with me for a long time. I've heard board testimony to the same effect in the last several years at my home corps. It's out there. It hurts. And corps have to do better if they don't want to keep shrinking their talent pools minimally. And another, more significant benefit to adopting this work is that more (ideally all) marching members are safer. When they're safer, they have more fun.

Good points. I think it would be naïve to believe that we are doing anything more than chipping away as you stated. Every year, I rebrand and rewrite policies on topics like sexual harassment prevention for clients. What never ceases to amaze me is that: 

1. I have to track the yearly results for compliance in both completion and testing and it's AMAZING how many people speed through 4 hours of content in 35 minutes and then fail the testing and have to re-take. The &%%& is serious. Take it seriously.

2. The newer generations of managerial and even front line workers have literally NO CONCEPT that some of these rules exist. It's...staggering and quite disturbing. Maybe I am the naïve one at this point because I almost look at it as common sense on a lot of these subjects. 

The statement that safer students have more fun is exactly what we need. We need todays participants to have fun, learn skills and concepts of leadership, working towards a common goal and accepting failures and successes equally. 

[scheherazadesghost]

1 hour ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

Good points. I think it would be naïve to believe that we are doing anything more than chipping away as you stated. Every year, I rebrand and rewrite policies on topics like sexual harassment prevention for clients. What never ceases to amaze me is that: 

1. I have to track the yearly results for compliance in both completion and testing and it's AMAZING how many people speed through 4 hours of content in 35 minutes and then fail the testing and have to re-take. The &%%& is serious. Take it seriously.

2. The newer generations of managerial and even front line workers have literally NO CONCEPT that some of these rules exist. It's...staggering and quite disturbing. Maybe I am the naïve one at this point because I almost look at it as common sense on a lot of these subjects. 

The statement that safer students have more fun is exactly what we need. We need todays participants to have fun, learn skills and concepts of leadership, working towards a common goal and accepting failures and successes equally. 

We are entirely on the same page and it I encourage you (if you have the capacity) to reach out to some corps and offer your experience and knowledge. I'm trying to do the same but I can't volunteer any more of my time than I currently am without it impacting my finances and self worth. (I've tried so many times to help my corps to no avail.) Certainly no pressure, but you know how to resolve exactly the issues that corps seem to be so helplessly confused by. I can only imagine how it must feel to have your knowledge-base and then watch drum corps crumble in the face of this challenge. As I've reconnected in the last month or so, prompted by one of my closest alumni friends, it's been very discouraging.

And make no mistake, the powers that be that allow/turn a blind eye to/enable sexual predators in this activity are the same powers that be that enabled my abuse and neglect when I marched nearly 20 years ago. I don't necessarily mean the same people (although that is partially the case). I mean the mindset that sees marching members as expendable. Even if unspoken.

To your points, I can confirm that people speed through the trainings. I've watched it too throughout my career. We are totally only chipping away at this problem, as the recommendations I've made so far to the activity start with: "require training and don't hire people who refuse this minimal standard." It's truly a tiny bandage for corps to set this minimum benchmark for protection. Others are in the Bill of Rights I published for marching members to begin to protect themselves.

Listen, I agree on your second point too. I made it through 7 combined years in marching band and drum corps, nearly 10 years teaching in the activity, PLUS another 10 years of dance education training/experience before I got trained up on mandated reporting. That's embarrassing for me and both activities. What's worse, I only came about it because a student disclosed their experience to me. I was at a loss at the time, had no idea what to do. This is so beyond unacceptable.

I'm tired of chipping away at this. I've brought my sledgehammer and jackhammer. Young people are still being harmed. And this marching generation has already been through more in their young lives than anything like most of us that are alum. They deserve so much more to keep them safe.

[njthundrrd]

On 4/5/2022 at 11:18 PM, Jeff Ream said:

you have a very nice drum corps

$0.02 to George Zingali!

[Newseditor44]

Change is inevitable. This activity has changed dramatically over the past 60-70 years, and what were witnessing today is one of the most impactful changes we've ever seen. It's really the perfect storm. But I think to blame all of it on diversity, inclusion, and misconduct would be inaccurate. Yes, I think those reasons are part of it, but there are other factors at play, including:

The economy and the rising costs of membership fees. You wanna march with a top tier corps and have A-List designers and instructors, you're going to pay$5-$7k, Back in the 80's you could march with a top 12 corps for $250 a season.

The pandemic. The world has changed more in the past two years than maybe in anytime in recent history. I really think the pandemic has forced a lot of people to rethink many things in their lives, and it also gave us the opportunity to live for a few years without drum corps. We've essentially missed two entire seasons of competition, and getting those kids back that didn't march those two years is proving to be more problematic than though. The students are not rushing back to be part of the activity, and it could take a few years to gain momentum.

The increase to 160+ Competitors. You have to wonder if DCI was still at 128 competitors per unit, if we would be seeing the same issues filling up corps rosters. It could be that the numbers aren't as bad as we think, rather, we're just being too ambitious.

Abuse incidents, reputation, mismanagement, etc. While this is something that has had an impact, I don't know if its had the impact that a lot of us think it has. I do think its going to take a few more years for us to really know how much this has impacted the activity, but my guess is this would push students who want to march to other organizations, not necessarily keep them away.

[Tenoris4Jazz]

2 minutes ago, Newseditor44 said:

Change is inevitable. This activity has changed dramatically over the past 60-70 years, and what were witnessing today is one of the most impactful changes we've ever seen. It's really the perfect storm. But I think to blame all of it on diversity, inclusion, and misconduct would be inaccurate. Yes, I think those reasons are part of it, but there are other factors at play, including:

The economy and the rising costs of membership fees. You wanna march with a top tier corps and have A-List designers and instructors, you're going to pay$5-$7k, Back in the 80's you could march with a top 12 corps for $250 a season.

The pandemic. The world has changed more in the past two years than maybe in anytime in recent history. I really think the pandemic has forced a lot of people to rethink many things in their lives, and it also gave us the opportunity to live for a few years without drum corps. We've essentially missed two entire seasons of competition, and getting those kids back that didn't march those two years is proving to be more problematic than though. The students are not rushing back to be part of the activity, and it could take a few years to gain momentum.

The increase to 160+ Competitors. You have to wonder if DCI was still at 128 competitors per unit, if we would be seeing the same issues filling up corps rosters. It could be that the numbers aren't as bad as we think, rather, we're just being too ambitious.

Abuse incidents, reputation, mismanagement, etc. While this is something that has had an impact, I don't know if its had the impact that a lot of us think it has. I do think its going to take a few more years for us to really know how much this has impacted the activity, but my guess is this would push students who want to march to other organizations, not necessarily keep them away.

If I had a kid considering marching, these two would make me have to say "No".  That $5k would be a downpayment on a house by the time they were ready to buy, and... well, unless they're allowed to carry a taser with them the entire time they're with the corps, that's another reason they're not going.

[jjeffeory]

1 hour ago, Tenoris4Jazz said:

If I had a kid considering marching, these two would make me have to say "No".  That $5k would be a downpayment on a house by the time they were ready to buy, and... well, unless they're allowed to carry a taser with them the entire time they're with the corps, that's another reason they're not going.

$5k isn't a downpayment on too much of a house.

[Tenoris4Jazz]

45 minutes ago, jjeffeory said:

$5k isn't a downpayment on too much of a house.

18 year old invests $5k and gets a 15% annual return.  That's a 5% downpayment on a $400k house at age 28.

Now that I look at that, that's a lousy investment.  Better to go to Vegas for a weekend! 

[jjeffeory]

4 minutes ago, Tenoris4Jazz said:

18 year old invests $5k and gets a 15% annual return.  That's a 5% downpayment on a $400k house at age 28.

Now that I look at that, that's a lousy investment.  Better to go to Vegas for a weekend! 

15%! lol 12% is considered excellent, and you are aiming for 15%. Not likely, especially in the current environment. Sometimes it's better to have the life experiences, especially when you're young, but I do appreciate the value of saving as well. I just think this is the wrong time in the world to be thinking 15% annual returns are going to happen.

Edited April 19, 2022 by jjeffeory