Reform the band

[78pony]

Couch 'em is right on the mark. But, the bottom line is simple. The band was significantly better when it was all guys playing and a doll twirling.

Would be interesting to see how Aggie band would be with female composition at percentage levels of ours.

[gostangs]

It wouldnt be much different - all they really do is follow the leader anyway. They play great marches - but the aggie band is not a tough marching gig.

[couch 'em]

They probably wouldn't get away with all the bizarre hazing gags they do anymore.

[The Spaz]

Wow, really?!? We're really going to publically blame women for the problem with band?
Well, why don't we just get down to it and admit that the band was WAY better when it was All-White?

Sorry you can't "fart" anymore, idiots, but this is the f***ing 21st century. Welcome to it. There are pansy lazy dudes that are holding the recent bands back just as much, if not more, than anyone else. I've heard plenty of dudes complain and whine about being yelled at or "hazed," and I know more than a few hard [deleted] girls in band that were telling them to suck it up and get their knees up

I feel sorry for any of your wives, girlfriends, sisters, or mothers.

I think your quest for PC outrage made you miss their point entirely - if you have a culture founded on all-male dick-waving and oneupmanship that comes from an all-male environment, mixing in females changes it. Guys and girls become more focused on things that result from a mixed-gender environment: trying to get laid. This changes the dynamic.

Their point wasn't that girls aren't capable of participating in a marching band, their point was that you cannot maintain an all-male culture in a mixed-sex environment. You have to make a conscious effort to change to the new culture. Simply maintaining the mindset of what was under the old culture just leads to a watered down version.

The problem here is a matter of being able to handpick your band members. By saying that you only pick males, you make the selection process easier, but you are hurting yourself and the organization by deleting potentially helpful members quickly and easily. Beyond the simple of idea of equal and fair, this is why we have opened our doors to people of all races and genders. To increase our talent pool. It's not just a matter of saying "Everyone can do everything," which is a sentiment I absolutely HATE, but it's a matter of opening your doors to other useful people to the organization.

I know a bunch of you are going to pull the "PC" card here, claiming that I'm just being politically correct and a bleeding heart liberal. This is not the case. While I do believe that any person has the potential to do anything they want, I honestly believe the biggest problem in our culture right now is the belief that we should make everything easier and more accessible so that everyone CAN do everything. THAT is what has watered down so many organizations over the past 20 years. The idea that it's good enough to have tried. That's not true. It's great that people try to do new things, but sometime you have to realize that you're just no damn good at something and move onto something you are good at. Find another avenue for your talent (in this case playing instruments).

Dropping people into gender roles is a quick and easy "solution" to the problem, when a more metered and thought out one is needed. Additionally, you'll be reducing the size of an already small band, which is one of our issues.

First, we need to get the band bigger. We've done that. Give it a little time, then we'll be able to be more choosy in our selection of who's in it, and people will have to PROVE how spirited they are.

Any of you Mustang Band ladies wanna help a brother out here?

[SMU Cyclist]

Taking a cue from the FC Dallas ads, what we can't allow is having the band do all of the noisemaking. Due to rules regarding the band hindering opponents signal calling, we need to supplement the excitement the band provides with our crowd actually cheering....crazily, uninhibited, and without concern for decorum, especially when the opponents are trying to set their plays. Until we get 30,000 plus at football games, it is important that all of us do our part. Even embarrasing my son and daughters and losing my voice is worth it for the cause.

At the Tulane game I was in the DISD replacement section (223), where SMU's defense had a key 3rd down to stop Tulane. We were able to get the crowd in the section to go crazy during the play, and I swear it looked like the offense looked confused, couldn't hear and the play was a failure for them (and a success for us) because of the crowd noise. After high fiving the Junior High football team (the Rams) that were in attendance we had that perceived sense of accomplishment that we actually changed the game, which is a rarity at our games.

I implore all of you to discard the "Dallas decorum" that hinders our enjoyment of games. Let others stare at you, until they too join in the fun!

[couch 'em]

First, we need to get the band bigger. We've done that. Give it a little time, then we'll be able to be more choosy in our selection of who's in it, and people will have to PROVE how spirited they are.

Any of you Mustang Band ladies wanna help a brother out here?

I don't think anyone is advocating going to an all-male band, but I do agree with your sentiment that it isn't females that are the problem, it is the related baggage that came in with females. Mainly, as you pointed out, the PC feeling that it is OK for everyone to do everything. You must let EVERYONE participate even if they suck at playing, suck at marching, have a bad attitude, or just plain don't give a damn if the band is any good and are just there for BS reasons.

[San Antonio Mustang]

I am interested in exactly what the NCAA rules are regarding when the Band plays. The continuous playing during a drive did have a positive effect on the team. It fires up the players and helps with their energy. I still get fired up every time I hear Peruna. Does anyone have access to the rules and can print the exact rule that governs the Band's playing?

[bubba pony]

In 1968 I was a freshman at SMU. One of my dorm floor mates ended up being one of my best friends for 4 years. He had a full tuition paid scholarship for being in the Mustang Band and Orchestra. He was not a music major but got his degree in math. I hold in my hand an invoice for SMU’s next semester tuition which is $15,600 or $31,200 for the year. Plus room/board/fees. I also have a small credit because of my child’s band participation. It’s about 5% of the tuition not 100%. Her participation in the band is money lost to my family. We have to book air fare on the band’s schedule, arrive 2 weeks earlier in the summer before the rest of the kids to march and practice. This year we cut Thanksgiving 2 days earlier. If SHE dropped out of the band I would save money and I’ve told her so. I have surveyed the on campus jobs and she could make the same money on an hourly wage as she gets to participate in the band but would get real life job experience to improve on her job resume. SHE wants none of it, but is dedicated to the Mustang Band. I must confess it is a bit hurtful and angers me to read the people that post that woman have diluted the quality of the band. I will argue that this crop of kids is more committed than the past simply by looking at the financial disparities. Add to this the incentive to perform before a much larger crowd participation and bitter rivalries with all members of the old SWC, compared to today’s much smaller crowd.

I discovered last year that after all you folks go to the tavern to celebrate or cry, the band stays behind and plays ½ dozen songs to a zero crowd except for a handful of parents. In the rain, in the cold and they do it without complaints. The last song is Varsity and they all sing it and they walk back to the band hall to the accolades of no one.

[Peruna_Ate_My_Rolex]

I am interested in exactly what the NCAA rules are regarding when the Band plays. The continuous playing during a drive did have a positive effect on the team. It fires up the players and helps with their energy. I still get fired up every time I hear Peruna. Does anyone have access to the rules and can print the exact rule that governs the Band's playing?

Go back to page two on this thread.

[peruna81]

while I too remember the Mustang Band playing throughout drives, staying well after games playing et al, NCAA rules do get brought into play, and limit the band's options.

Best example of 'old school' MB attitude/influence was the 20-6 win in Austin...a friend of mine who was playing at Texas as an OL said that they could not hear the coaches on the SIDELINE because of the 'incessant' noise and song that our band continued to make...from across the field.

I think he was just looking for an excuse, myself.

With the renewed interest in all things SMU football, maybe the Hub of SMU spirit will be up for a retro-retool.

[Diamond Girl]

I decided I was going to be in the Mustang Band when I was in the 7th grade. At that time, the band was all male, and I wanted to be the first girl. My senior year in high school, my mother really wanted me to go to college at a small university in San Antonio. I stood my ground and ended up at SMU. I wasn't the first woman, but I was the 3rd. It was no easy job being part of an organization that had been all male for a couple decades. We went through the same things the guys did as well as having to endure all the stuff people have to endure when they're not wanted. Because of this, I've become a more loyal, hard-working, perserverant person that I may have been without this experience. And I wouldn't change anything about this.

A lot of things have changed since then, the two most important being the PCing of this country and high school bands being as drum corp oriented as they are. The band and its directors do what they can, within the limits they're allowed and with the resources they have, and they do a great job. The band being half female has minimal, if any, bearing on the quality of the band's performance.