I won’t expect my refund check any time soon.

oh wait.

It’s an organization open to all students, regardless of educational or musical background, major, or experience… If that’s not cultural advancement, I don’t know what is.

And neither do I. My reference was to the criterion introduced by a previous ASUO administration to justify defunding the OC: sure, y’all are fine with the people who show up to participate in your program, or who partake in the finished product, but what are you doing for the folks who don’t show up?

The irony is that I would find that argument very persuasive if it were applied consistently. Of course, it isn’t: student gov’t just figures they can shut down the band because nobody on the Exec is in the band. That’s government for you.

In my opinion, the Marching Band situation is being way overplayed at the expense of the stunning lack of diversity in the appointments that the Executive has made. Maybe Jared needs to look up the word diversity in the dictionary, because packing members of a single student group into every open position does not fit most commonly accepted definitions of diversity. Then again, maybe he has lost control of his executive, and what we’re seeing is a coalition being overrun by a single aggressive faction. Either way, there is no possible way that the most qualified candidates for all three positions just happened to all be members of MeChA.

I realize that the traditional response to charges of cronyism in the ASUO is no response at all. If Senators Guzman and Lleras are willing to play shocked when the suggestion arose at the senate meeting, I have no doubt that the executive is prepared to simply ignore the concerns of this publication. The students of this school deserve better.

It’s an organization open to all students, regardless of educational or musical background, major, or experience. It also serves a practical purpose for those SOM students majoring in music performance and music education. Only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the band is comprised of music majors; there are students from almost every department in the band. It really does make for an interesting mix of people: freaks, dorks, musical geniuses, stoners, frat guys and sorority bitches, international students, punks, drunks and everyone else. If that’s not cultural advancement, I don’t knwo what is. I joined because I like playing music and I like to party. Laugh if you will, but my decision to come to the U of O was largely based on the reputation of its band being one of the best in the country, and I know I’m not the only one. Was it the smartest choise academically? Probably not, but I grew as a musician, learned a lot from my peers and my involvement with the group was the most positive experience of my years at the university.

As far as visibility goes, there’s the obvious: they’re at all the football games. They’re even at most of the basketball games and some volleyball games. The OMB itself and its sub-groups (the Green Garter Band, dance team, winter and spring programs) serve as huge recruitment tools for the university. From year to year, membership fluctuates between 150 to 250 or so; I’d find it hard to believe that the band is any less visible than any other campus group. Seems like de-funding this group would piss more than just a couple people off.

How does the ASUO define “cultural advancement”? Is it really possible for a campus group to reach all students? Students give about as much of a crap about one campus group to the next unless they happen to be involved with it.

If the Exec actually issued that ridiculous memo and it says what the ODE says it does, then it’s a legit story. (And if the memo was leaked, then good for whoever leaked it.) I suppose you could make the case that the story is sensationalistic, but one of my longstanding quibbles with the ODE is that it’s usually not sensationalistic enough - except for when its own ass (or the OC’s, in all fairness) is on the line.

Case in point: this story allows the ODE to alert its readership to the fact that this year’s Exec is apparently in the mood to go headhunting for certain programs’ entire budgets. This is very useful information that otherwise might not have come to light.

“And unlike so many of the groups that receive funding from the incidental fee, the band actually serves a purpose.”

That’s what they all say. The question is, does the marching band contribute to the “cultural advancement” of students? Think before you answer: depending on who’s chairing the meeting, you may have to account for all students, including those who are not aware that the UO even has a marching band.

I left my number…

Liz
OMB ‘00-’04