UW Band suspended, will not be at Ohio State game

[owbc]

According to the Badger Herald. I wonder what they did to get suspended, it must have been something really bad because this is quite a shock.

 

 

The University of Wisconsin Marching Band has been suspended from performing until further notice - including Saturday's football against Ohio State - due to hazing allegations, UW officials said Friday.

Band Director Mike Leckrone said the allegations come from last week's trip to the University of Michigan. The hazing is alcohol-related and involves "inappropriate sexual behavior," he said.

Vince Sweeney, senior associate athletic director, said plans for the half-time show have not yet been finalized and will be set Saturday morning.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam said UW is investigating the issue, which seems to involve violation of UW System codes 17 and 18 that involve student and staff behavior at the university.

According to Leckrone, this is the first time in 40 years that the band will not perform in a home game.

[hawing]

Geez. Well, that explains why they weren't playing at UW volleyball this evening.

[dadofandrew]

The band members on here have openly discussed hazing, though I do not recall if it involved booze or gender inappropriate stuff.

 

That stuff went out with b&w TV. It's now harassment or assault, and has no place in a campus sponsored organization. Good for the UW to try and end this once and for all.

[PeaveyFury]

The last problem they had a few years ago the band was punished and took all the bad press, when a month or two later it came out that it was actually behavior on their trip by the assistant director that eventually got him fired. Hopefully it's not a situation where the students are made to pay for UW Employees' behavior this time around.

[bullox]

or gender inappropriate stuff.

I understood it as the other definition of sex.

[homer]

I blame political correctness.

[RockCoCougars]

I couldn't care less. I go to watch the game, not the band. I'm always en route to the nearest watering hole before the 5th quarter even gets underway.

[BuckyTuba]

I've tried to contact the few band members that I know (I actually know a lot of them since I went back to play the first game of the season), and they're under a gag order. I'm really peeved that it came to this for a nationally televised game.

[RU Rah Rah]

This is disappointing on several fronts. There were similar problems in 2006, and I think Leckrone got off easy because of his status as a legend -- and his promise to clean things up. Apparently, that did not happen, and now the university is going to have to endure a prolonged embarrassment.

[JimH5]

. . .they're under a gag order.

 

Well that's absurd. Who's running the show, Kim Jong-Il?

 

Why can't the innocents talk? What are they trying to cover up? Why do they feel the need to corral in the band?

 

Either crimes were committed or they weren't. There's no place in a free society to demand that people be silent.

[homer]

There's no place in a free society to demand that people be silent.

Unless they're on a jury in an on going court case.

[JimH5]

Unless they're on a jury in an on going court case.

 

Ha! Whenever I make these stupid, over-the-top declarative statements, I can rest assured someone on this site will kick the soapbox out from under me. Thanks, homer. . .

[homer]

No worries. I should have put a smiley face next to my post. I knew what you were getting at.

[Thurston Fluff]

Why does the line "one time at band camp" pop into my mind reading this? Sad to see it come to this but college kids, sex and alcohol are not always best when combined.

[marquettefan13]

I found it kind of ironic when I flipped to the Badgers game during a Brewers game commercial and they had a commercial for UW on that prominently featured the band.

[PeaveyFury]

Camp Randall sounds very flat tonight, despite the fact that they're tied with Ohio State.

[burniebrewer]

Oh, if only the Badgers had a passable QB...

[iluvlamp]

Badgers lost because the band wasn't there. That band is a guaranteed 3 wins per season.

[BraunROY]

This is complete hearsay, but I was told that the incident occurred on the band's trip to the Michigan game last week. On the bus some of the new band members were forced to drink and girls were forced to kiss each other. I was told there were a couple other things too, but they slipped my mind right now. Hopefully that is just a rumor, but if its not they definitely deserve to be suspended. The game definitely was not the same with out them last night though.

[RU Rah Rah]

This is complete hearsay, but I was told that the incident occurred on the band's trip to the Michigan game last week. On the bus some of the new band members were forced to drink and girls were forced to kiss each other. I was told there were a couple other things too, but they slipped my mind right now. Hopefully that is just a rumor, but if its not they definitely deserve to be suspended. The game definitely was not the same with out them last night though.

Isn't this pretty much what happened in 2006? Inexcusable, if true.

[PeaveyFury]

Here's a fairly interesting article on the issue:

 

http://www.badgerbeat.com/news/article/id/307875

[LouisEly]

I think Leckrone got off easy because of his status as a legend -- and his promise to clean things up

Right, becasue it is his job to to be physically present with roughly 100 college students 24/7 on a road trip.

I highly doubt that Leckrone is the instigator or is encouraging this behavior. While I oppose forcing people to do things they don't want to do (hazing), I also oppose punishing everyone (in this case, 80,000 fans including some who travel a long way to get there) because of the actions of a few. I think there are other means of punishment that would have been more fair to the innocent band members and the general public.

On a side note, I think last night could very well have been the first time in history that everyone left the stadium at the same time.

[dadofandrew]

I can't believe alcohol would ever be allowed on a campus bus. That seems to be problem #1.

[Roscoe Chill]

I can't believe alcohol would ever be allowed on a campus bus. That seems to be problem #1.

 

I can't believe kids under 21 are allowed to drink alcohol. Wait, they aren't allowed to, but it still happens. I think that's kind of the point Al.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I think keeping alcohol off a bus is a touch easier than making sure no kids anywhere, ever, drink.