Ohio State band director fired for " pervasive sexualized culture"

[greenbutton]

<p><a href=“http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/24/ohio-state-band-waters.html”>http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/24/ohio-state-band-waters.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Apparently TBDBITL has some work to do outside of their iPad commercials. Good for the parents who kept complaining, and the students who quit rather than tolerate it.</p>

[Nrdsb4]

<p>WOW. Some of these practices were more than outrageous.</p>

<p>I really don’t get what the supposed benefit of hazing is.</p>

[Cardinal_Fang]

<p>

Examples of abuse include an annual midnight band practice at Ohio Stadium in which men and women were expected to march wearing only their underwear. In one recent year, a student suffered alcohol poisoning at the practice. Students led the rehearsal, but staff members, including Waters, were there, too.</p>

<p>Some other traditions: All new band members, or “rookies,” were given nicknames, many of which were sexually explicit. Rookies were forced to perform “tricks” on command. In one case, a female student was told to imitate a sexual act on the laps of other band members, including her brother.

</p>

<p>Yeah, if I were a senior official at Ohio State I’d vote to fire the guy. I’m particularly unimpressed by his claim that he couldn’t do anything about these practices.</p>

[romanigypsyeyes]

<p>I have a good friend in another Big 10 marching band. He said that pretty much everyone in marching bands around the Big 10 knew that this was going on at OSU. </p>

<p>Very sad. I’ll never understand why people feel the need to belittle and hurt others for fun. </p>

[trojanchick99]

<p>I’m shocked it went on that long. I was in a college marching band in the mid 90s, and it wasn’t even that bad. I’m not surprised the newer director didn’t change anything, given he was embedded in the system since he was an undergraduate. They will need to bring in completely new blood.</p>

[LakeWashington]

<p>What nonsense!!! These are the type of people we entrust young minds to? The band director should be horsewhipped.</p>

[Singersmom07]

<p>Unfortunately they are also going to have to be very strict and punish any students continuing the "traditions’. U:ntil it is at least 4 years in the past they cannot believe they have solved the problem with one firing. </p>

[greenbutton]

<p>As always, the comments after the article are as interesting as the article itself. Many “harmless fun” positions and many " sue the U" people. </p>

[movemetoo]

<p>I was reading the report of the investigation and it literally made me sick to my stomach. I can’t even imagine finding out my child was suffering through (or participating in) the things listed. And that’s only the things that have come out; I’m sure there is plenty more that no one wants to admit to doing. My d was in a very disciplined and well-supervised competing marching band in high school. I can only imagine what some of these kids thought when they worked so hard to get in and then had this happen to them. The apparent support and justification by alumni is also shocking to me.</p>

[mom2collegekids]

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<p>which men and women were expected to march wearing only their underwear. </p>
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<p>what? this is outrageous. guys walking around in boxers is nothing really, but making girls walk around in panties and bras? Is that what they did? </p>

<p>Seriously, how does something like this go on? </p>

[scholarme]

<p>Oh dear. And here I had just started checking out OSU as a possible safety for the kid. WTH kind of traditions are these?</p>

[intparent]

<p>Wow… I was in the marching band of their arch rival to the north, and NEVER was there a whiff of anything like this. Ugly…</p>

[movemetoo]

<p>mom2collegekids, some participated without even the underwear on. </p>

[romanigypsyeyes]

<p>

Oh dear. And here I had just started checking out OSU as a possible safety for the kid. WTH kind of traditions are these?

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<p>Off topic, but I don’t really think OSU is the kind of apolitical place you’re looking for… </p>

[scholarme]

<h1>13 Well, a good merit scholarship + good engineering program would outweigh politics. :)</h1>

<p>Edit: Although, thanks for the heads up!</p>

[intparent]

<p>^You might have said so instead of indicating that it was a top criteria and encouraging 20+ pages of posts… </p>

[soccerguy315]

<p>not sure why anyone is surprised by this… </p>

<p>it’s basically a coed fraternity with something in common (music).</p>

<p>some of these are bad (like frat culture)… some of them are idiotic (like changing clothes on the bus)</p>

<p>not sure if people are seriously upset about college students running around in their underwear or naked like that never happens anywhere else…</p>

<p>they drink alcohol and have porn!!! must be the only college kids in america doing this…</p>

[scholarme]

<h1>15 I tried to several times; people seemed disinclined to hear and kept asking why it was a factor at all.</h1>

<p>(Sorry for the OT)</p>

[Hunt]

<p>I confess I was expecting to read about much worse. This doesn’t begin to compare to hazing that goes on elsewhere, even in other marching bands. I also wonder if any of this really comes as a surprise yo anybody at the university.</p>

[megpmom]

<p>I’m not surprised that stuff like this goes on. I remember “pranks” like these from my college days. Drinking, sexual innuendo and jokes, skinny dipping, etc. What I am surprised about is that the band director was present when some of these things occurred. Bad judgement on his part. </p>

<p>But, honestly, are people really surprised that stuff like this goes on? You get a bunch of college kids (mostly male) together and you expect them to sit around knitting? </p>