Crossmen have no housing in Madison

[Tekneek]

But part of the problems is the behavior of some corps members and staffs who either don't feel like they have to abide by the rules set by the schools, or just don't care how they behave in schools.

I can see that being an issue. I could even say I've seen that happening.

As an example, Saturday in Atlanta, DCI's housing guy got a call from the band director at a school that was housing one of the corps. It seems that the drain in the girl's shower got clogged by hair (maybe some of the members were cutting hair in the shower, I don't know). Anyway, it was not a clogged drain pipe, but a simple problem of hair collecting around the drain. But because none of the girls cared enough about the facility to simply reach down and scoop up the hair, the shower overflowed out of the locker room, into the hallway, down the hallway and into the athletic department offices, soaking boxes of new team uniforms that were sitting on the floor.

That was strike one.

The principal came to the school because of the flooding. First thing he finds is someone smoking on his campus, which was clearly marked as a non-smoking facility.

Strike two.

Then, the principal finds an empty rum bottle in one of the classrooms being used by the corps for staff sleeping.

That's strike three folks, and we're out as far as EVER using that facility again for corps housing.

THAT, my friend, is INEXCUSABLE.

And those are all things that could have easily been prevented. I sure hope that particular corps has been informed about the long-term, possibly even permanent, damage they have done to the activity and its reputation. That corps director should be willing to try and make it right with that school to repair the situation as best as possible, instead of leaving the rest of the activity holding the bag for them.

Edited July 31, 2006 by Tekneek

[GeorgiaGirl]

OldSoprano is right. We ran three shows this summer, and had to come up with a total of 19 housing sites. Started the week after New Year's, and finished after the season had started. Yes, it is that hard. DCI's housing guy is one of the hardest-working, stand-up gentlemen it is ever been our pleasure to meet. If you don't know him, and only have about .05% of the information necessary for a clear understanding of how tough drum corps housing is... :sshh:

I am furious with the corps that ruined the housing site that's only about a 15 minute drive from our house. It was a school where this particular corps had several alumni on the band staff, even!

People, you have no idea exactly what a threat the ever-dwindling amount of housing sites is to this activity. It's the knife at drum corps' throat.

If housing goes, you won't have amps or anything else you perceive as some unspeakable danger to drum corps to complain about, because it'll just be gone. Game over :(

I'll be even more specific: You may be young and/or a little light in the bank account, but the best thing you can do to make sure you've got drum corps to watch next year, and in the future, is helping your local show secure a housing site. In my book, it's as good as a thousand-dollar donation to your favorite corps.

Edited July 31, 2006 by GeorgiaGirl

[Tekneek]

Sigh......doesn't anyone know the term "Stealth" anymore? It is an essential lesson that must be taught to avoid these issues.

How about just showing respect for the rules and the property of others? That's the simple lesson that would have prevented any problems. It didn't happen because they weren't sneaky enough. It happened because they didn't care about the school's property.

[siuehist]

from what i hear it's getting worse.

between major renovation projects that can really only be done in the summer, to increased liability, etc. many schools are just saying "we're not available for use".

Many schools have zero tolerance rules regarding adults on school property for any reason...insurance, liability, decreased state funding...etc

...let me clarify...adults interacting with minors on their property without a background check. It's a stupid world we live in.

Edited July 31, 2006 by siuehist

[bearz]

A VERY easy way to rectify a situation like that is to make the offending corps who trashed a housing site pay for their own housing in hotels for the rest of the season. Hit 'em where it hurts...in the pocket...and hit 'em HARD! Also, the offending corps should reimburse that housing site 200% for any damages, send letters of apology, and the CORPS DIRECTOR should have to personally clean up any messes his members made before they leave the site. I guarantee you this would never, ever happen again with this corps.

The DCI governing body needs to enforce this to the letter, or they are cutting their own throats.

Edited July 31, 2006 by bearz

[sdstar]

A VERY easy way to rectify a situation like that is to make the offending corps who trashed a housing site pay for their own housing in hotels for the rest of the season. Hit 'em where it hurts...in the pocket...and hit 'em HARD! Also, the offending corps should reimburse that housing site 200% for any damages, send letters of apology, and the CORPS DIRECTOR should have to personally clean up any messes his members made before they leave the site. I guarantee you this would never, ever happen again with this corps.

The DCI governing body needs to enforce this to the letter, or they are cutting their own throats.

Hear, hear!

[critter]

From my perspective, this is a huge issue that DCI really should get under control. Perhaps implementing a policy where a corps loses a certain percentage of their apperance fees if they violate the poilicies of thier host schools.

I love drum corps. I marched and taught in this activity, and I fully believe that it is the single best activity for youth. Nothing even comes close. That being said, I say no when a corps asks to be housed at my school. Last time I housed a corps one of the members was caught smoking in the locker room. That's not jsut a violation of school rules, it is a violation of state law. When my principal, the guy who controls the funding of my program and has considerable clout in getting things taken care of for my students, talked to the corps director he was given a flippant repsonse about how it really wasn't that big of a deal. What this really boils down to is that I worked to get an organization on my campus that would then not see some of this actions as a serious concern, and in the long run something like this will relfecy on me and my program.

As I said, this needs to be a DCI issue. Most, but not all, corps directors create a culture of of respect within their membership and staff. Some, however, excuse some behaviors among their staff as long as it doesn't impact the members. I have seen cases where directors would minimize drinking or smoking by staff on their grounds by saying that's what drum crops is. Well, I respect and admire this activity to think that's not what it is. It should be the most professional level of the marching arts. What would happen if an NFL coach showed up to a game in 2006 clearly intoxicated? Not excusable, yet I see it all the time at drum corps shows. If DCI truly wants to promote itself as a professional, world class organization, it must work to shed itself of some of these unprofessional attitudes that are now making it more difficult to find housing. I think the kids deserve it.

[prodigal bari]

Sigh......doesn't anyone know the term "Stealth" anymore? It is an essential lesson that must be taught to avoid these issues.

How about "MATURITY??"

And responsibility. That to me is inexcusable from any group. I can tell you one place that will NOT house another corps due to one of their members (and it had to be one of them, for they had the only access to the stadium) messing with the sprinkler timer on the side of the field; and therefore flooding it.

It is time for these groups to start tightening up on their behavior; and not thinking that they are too special (although they ARE to us) to follow the rules and actually work around limitations. I said this in another thread, and will say it again: Lack of road housing is one of the greatest threats to the touring activity. And the corps themselves hold a lot of the responsibility.

Sorry; stealth works in war. It is irresponsible in your context.

[DrumCorpsMom]

I sympathize if the school has pulled out support. I 100% agree that corps need to ensure that they look after the schools they stay in. I know the 2 years that we were associated with Crossmen, they had a rule that the school had to be left in BETTER shape than when they arrived. The kids were pretty good about following this rule and everyone was given a role to ensure it was followed. With any group of over 150 people, you are bound to have one or 2 people (and with other corps I have dealt with it was often the instructors that were the worse offenders). Crossmen have had a bumpy road this year, despite working hard and having a good attitude. Most people are not aware of some of the challenges they have faced on tour this year, and I haven't seen many of their problems published in this forum. I would like to see them get a break somewhere along the road. Time to change lanes!

[bearz]

Steath...translation...sneaky...translation...dishonest...translation...NOT DRUM CORPS QUALITY!

We are GUESTS in these facilities...and as such we must behave with respect, dignity and HONESTY. By accepting their hospitality we accept their rules and agree to live by them. Common decency, self-discipline and ingrained honesty should force us to live ABOVE the expectations of our hosts, not BELOW them. Trying to get around and break rules and be sneaky about it shows a true lack of character on the part of those members/corps.

Aren't there any written guidelines/procedures for corps as members of DCI that would deal with these issues? If not, DCI needs to get on the stick and require this as a condition of membership.