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Marching band in dark on Michigan incident
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So what exactly happened in Michigan that has Chancellor John Wiley primed to dismember entire sections of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band?
No one in the band seems to know, and the administrators who do aren't saying much.
"I think no one in the entire band knows what happened in Michigan," UW sophomore and band member Kevin Hart said after practice yesterday. "There weren't any arrests; there wasn't any serious injury. I have no idea what spurred it at all."
But Provost Patrick Farrell, second in command to Wiley in the UW administration, told The Badger Herald there was at least one incident on the bus trip back from Ann Arbor Sep. 24, which he described as "somewhat more serious" than hazing.
"I think [Wiley] has tried to avoid being too specific about the events because there are individuals involved in which they probably could be easily identified if you say exactly what the events were," Farrell said. "So there's some reluctance to sort of say, 'This is precisely what happened.'"
Whatever happened in Michigan — or on the bus trip back to Madison — it was significant enough for Wiley to personally reprimand the band in a private meeting Oct. 5, in which band members said he addressed both hazing and inappropriate nicknames. According to band member Beth Hestad, a UW senior, Wiley also threatened to "gut the band" and "start over from scratch."
Wiley's special assistant Casey Nagy said the Michigan incident was similar to cases previously brought to the administration's attention over the past few years. He also said university administration has had several conversations with the band and with Director Michael Leckrone over the past several years as different reports of misconduct have come to their attention.
Those meetings have caused the band to institute various measures to address such inappropriate behavior, Nagy said. But after the Michigan incident, he added, it became "obvious" that such measures were not working.
"The line's been drawn," he said. "There will be no more conversation about what is acceptable and what is not acceptable."
But according to Hestad, not everyone present at the meeting feels the line is quite so clear.
Hestad said Wiley refused to identify even to them what happened in Michigan, a trip she said was one of the calmest and most laid back of her four years with the band.
"To me and a lot of people, [Wiley] made it sound like we're not even allowed to go to the bars together anymore," Hestad said. "I think people would be less upset and confused if he could tell us why he was down on us."
Leckrone would not shed any light on the controversy when reached by phone Tuesday evening, and said any comment about the incident in question would be inappropriate.
"We try to uphold what we say we're going to do," said Leckrone, who is also a tenured faculty member in the School of Music. "Our conduct is not what we think it should be."
Although Leckrone said he and Wiley are on "exactly" the same page, one band member speaking on the condition of anonymity said Leckrone himself is in the dark and does not know what event UW administrators are citing.
Meanwhile, Wiley's threats and the press coverage the band has received have taken a toll on some members. UW junior and band member Missy Kieffer said she hopes people will not think less of the band despite any pending disciplinary action.
"Ninety-nine percent of the people that I know in band are not even close to fitting the description that Wiley is putting on us," Kieffer said. "It just makes me upset to see all this publicity about it and having everyone down-talk the band."
At this juncture, Nagy said the university is not pursuing disciplinary action against any students for the incident.
—Andriy Pazuniak contributed to this report
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I think it’s disgusting that Wiley is going after the band. His entire tenure as Chancellor has been full of failure and embarassment for the University. Paul Barrows, anyone?
I’m not sure what caused this entire situation, but I’ll back the Marching Band over Wiley any day. Their contribution to the University dwarfs his.
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What the hell are they talking about?
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Whatever. They’re still all band nerds.
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His statement to “gut the band" and "start over from scratch" are equivilent to the parent that tells their kid, “I’ll turn this car right around!” These scare tactics and empty threats make Wiley look my father after I’ve kicked his seat one too many times.
This is the same guy that thinks the SSFC giving funding to the Catholics is Establishment of Religion. Everyone is complaining about Barrett and this is the guy running our school?
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gerbils anyone? I heard they liked phone books
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Band nerds? I think your stereotype will change if you watch just one of our practices. Especially when we’re up to our knees in mud and getting pelted with snow like today. Chances are we’re more bad-ass than any sports team you’ve ever been on.
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How many sexual assaults, criminal charges, and disorderly conduct citations does it take for Wiley to address the football team and place them on probation? How many arrests and ejections from Camp Randall on gameday does it take for Wiley to place the student section on probation? And how many streetcorner rapes and muggings does it take for all of downtown Madison to be placed on probation? I guess these people are dealt with on an individual basis rather than criminalizing the larger group and spouting threats of ‘gutting’ the entire group. Or maybe they just aren’t taken seriously, because criminal charges, rapes, and muggings aren’t anywhere near as serious as what alledgedly happened on a marching band bus from Michigan.
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1) How big of an ego does he have, thinking that he can replace 300+ experienced band members easily? His school isn’t the only one around, you know, and band people have a choice where they go to.
2) Are people ACTUALLY naive enough to think that sports teams don’t have hazing or “inappropriate festivities” that wouldn’t be PC when announced like this?
3) The band can police themselves if there’s a problem. There is no reason to involve administration.
4) Publically announcing this is a joke, and an obvious suspicious administrative action. There is an agenda being pursued here, and the administration had better think twice about it, before their sports programs get looked into closely to ensure no “offensive vulgar displays.”
I am a complete outsider, who read this in on the net today - there’s no reason why I ever should have heard about this.
It makes me think that people are shocked and scared that kids that are perceived as nerds can gasp have fun, comraderie, and get into sexual hijinks. It’s COLLEGE, man! If the band members aren’t complaining, than STFU and let the kids have their fun program, just like you’ve let countless sports programs do the same stuff for centuries.
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If anything really serious happened on the Michigan trip, does anybody think it could be kept so quiet? I personally beleive there is a rift between Wiley and Leckrone. Who has done more for the University? I think that is a fairly easy call!
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“Chances are we’re more bad-ass than any sports team you’ve ever been on.”
Yeah, you might be tough, but you’re still a band nerd.
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The band has had way too many incidents that shed light on them in a negative way. Maybe it’s about time something is done to fix the problem.
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Band nerds?! Ever watched the double or triple session workouts in the summer??
Admittedly I was in the UW Band 30 years ago…but I did get up at 5:30 every day this past New Year’s vacation in Orlando to watch THE Band practice for the bowl game and it struck me that the band is still populated more by jocks and engineers than “music majors” (no offense) many of whom probably would have played college sports had they gone to anyplace smaller than UW, but wanted to be at the best and the Band was an amazing outlet. Many of UW Band members never even marched in HS because we played sports all year long. At any rate, most band members could kick your ass, even,(no, maybe especially) many of the women…so better watch out!
All that said…I am really sorry to read all of the crap that is coming out, and hope that Mike and the senior leadership of the Band can get this cleared up before an incredible legacy is tarnished any worse beyond the news of this week. Leave Wiley and the bureaucrats out of it, the Band should be capable of policing their own…or shame on them!