This week Stanford University announced the results of its investigation into the university's marching band. At issue was a climate of sexual hostility marked by harassment of members, especially upon initiation. In addition there were violations of hazing and alcohol policies. This has all resulted in a ban on the band's travel to away events next year. They will perform at home events and other unnamed non-athletic events.
We had not heard of this situation; it certainly has not made headlines like the OSU band scandal. (Though apparently the band has a reputation and have a history of rude behavior at schools.) The descriptions--admittedly vague--of the incidents suggest common issues among bands (and probably other college groups): alcohol, initiation rituals based on public humiliation, and sexual harassment/assault. What is interesting is the way these problems are framed when the group in question is a college marching band. The Dean of Residential Education commented on the findings and punishment: "The university's objective is to ensure a safe and harassment-free
environment while honoring the band's traditions and its unique,
irreverent identity." So band hazing/harassment is because they are quirky? When sports teams do this it's about team camaraderie. When fraternities and sororities do it, it's about loyalty to the organization.
It's all a form of violence. The commonality is that students largely think these things are fine and they are "part of the culture."
The band has the option of appealing their partial suspension.
A few weeks ago we heard about another problematic culture within a university group: the swim team at Western Kentucky. Their investigation was more explicitly Title IX focused as it looked into numerous accounts of hazing. The punishment at WKU was far more extensive: three fired coaches, a 5-year suspension, and at least one athlete who will face criminal charges.
Again, the exact events that occurred within the Stanford marching band and the WKU swim team are unknown and comparing is impossible. However...there was no discussion of adult leadership in the Stanford case. I find this curious. Where were the university employees in all this? There are, of course, numerous cases of hazing within intercollegiate athletics where coaches claim they had no idea what was going on. But that excuse that the non-student adults are really oblivious as to what their charges are up to is not as readily accepted anymore as evidenced in the WKU case and of course in the OSU band case where the director was fired.
Hazing and harassment cases call for a greater questioning of the practices of any group culture and also inquiring into how that culture has been created and perpetuated. Did this really happen at Stanford?
Showing posts with label band. Show all posts
Showing posts with label band. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
OSU Band Situation
It's been a busy semester for us, so we have not always kept up with the latest Title IX happenings. I am actually looking right now at a white board of my things to do which includes a list of posts I want to write.
One of those is the Ohio State band situation that made headlines this past summer. OSU plays rivals Michigan this Thanksgiving weekend, so I figured it was as good a time as any to do an update post.
What has happened in the wake of band director Jonathan Waters's firing has made less news than the original story and the subsequent protests of his firing, but as the OSU band has marched on (yes, intended) there have been developments in this story.
In September, Waters began a lawsuit against the university seeking reinstatement (plus a million dollars in damages) and--ironically--used Title IX as part of his defense saying he was discriminated against because of his gender. OSU did not seem to blink saying that such a claim was invalid given that he is a member of the male majority. They also responded that because Waters was an at-will employee, they could fire him at any time. (He had claimed lack of due process in his dismissal.) They also claimed that he hid aspects of and misled investigators about the climate in the band; the climate that seemed to promote sexual harassment and assault and which was brought to the attention of the administration last spring by a mother of a band member. He was also accused of mishandling complaints of sexual harassment and assault that were brought to him during his tenure. Notably, as this was happening, the university entered into an agreement with OCR to end the investigation into the university's mishandling of sexual assault cases.The investigation did not stem from the complaints about the band.
Most recently, an independent task force created specifically to investigate the band culture and headed by former attorney general Betty Montgomery issued a nearly 100-page report based on interviews with almost 200 people that included many recommendations about how to change the culture. The task force, though, was committed to maintaining some of the band's longstanding traditions (though it recommended elimination of the most egregious ones) just altering them to make less problematic.The report did not discuss Waters's dismissal, only his role as the leader of the organization and an instructor. The report did not limit itself only to the culture under Waters. Waters has responded to the report saying that he agrees with the report and its recommendations and says that these are things that he was trying to accomplish when he was fired. (video here) He said that he was "the solution to the problems they were having." And he still wants his job back.
He is, though, looking for another job in the meantime. His lawyer reports that he has not received any offers since his firing. This is not surprising. Unless there is solid evidence that Waters did not do what OSU is alleging he did, any university hiring him would be incurring some liability. Though Waters has received a tremendous amount of support from the OSU community (well outside of administration), I do not think that those a step removed from the situation see things the same way.
One of those is the Ohio State band situation that made headlines this past summer. OSU plays rivals Michigan this Thanksgiving weekend, so I figured it was as good a time as any to do an update post.
What has happened in the wake of band director Jonathan Waters's firing has made less news than the original story and the subsequent protests of his firing, but as the OSU band has marched on (yes, intended) there have been developments in this story.
In September, Waters began a lawsuit against the university seeking reinstatement (plus a million dollars in damages) and--ironically--used Title IX as part of his defense saying he was discriminated against because of his gender. OSU did not seem to blink saying that such a claim was invalid given that he is a member of the male majority. They also responded that because Waters was an at-will employee, they could fire him at any time. (He had claimed lack of due process in his dismissal.) They also claimed that he hid aspects of and misled investigators about the climate in the band; the climate that seemed to promote sexual harassment and assault and which was brought to the attention of the administration last spring by a mother of a band member. He was also accused of mishandling complaints of sexual harassment and assault that were brought to him during his tenure. Notably, as this was happening, the university entered into an agreement with OCR to end the investigation into the university's mishandling of sexual assault cases.The investigation did not stem from the complaints about the band.
Most recently, an independent task force created specifically to investigate the band culture and headed by former attorney general Betty Montgomery issued a nearly 100-page report based on interviews with almost 200 people that included many recommendations about how to change the culture. The task force, though, was committed to maintaining some of the band's longstanding traditions (though it recommended elimination of the most egregious ones) just altering them to make less problematic.The report did not discuss Waters's dismissal, only his role as the leader of the organization and an instructor. The report did not limit itself only to the culture under Waters. Waters has responded to the report saying that he agrees with the report and its recommendations and says that these are things that he was trying to accomplish when he was fired. (video here) He said that he was "the solution to the problems they were having." And he still wants his job back.
He is, though, looking for another job in the meantime. His lawyer reports that he has not received any offers since his firing. This is not surprising. Unless there is solid evidence that Waters did not do what OSU is alleging he did, any university hiring him would be incurring some liability. Though Waters has received a tremendous amount of support from the OSU community (well outside of administration), I do not think that those a step removed from the situation see things the same way.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Ohio State Marching Band Director Fired Over Sexual Harassment
Today it was reported that Jonathan Waters, the director of Ohio State University's marching band, was fired for tolerating sexual harassment among the students in the band. In response to a parent's complaint about the band's secretive and sexualized atmosphere, the University conducted an internal investigation into the matter and produced a report detailing its findings. Among them, the investigation revealed that Waters and other staff members supervised an annual tradition that involved students marching into the football stadium in their underwear at midnight. Another set of findings involved the sexualized nicknames assigned to band rookies by the upperclassment, which Waters knew about and sometimes used. The findings also detailed sexualized content in band newsletters, songs, and various tests, challenges required of rookies that Waters knew or should have known was going on.
OSU concluded based on these findings that the band consisted of a sexualized and hostile environment, that Waters knew about and did not take adequate steps to prevent. Acknowledging its duty under university policy and Title IX, the university terminated Waters and vowed to realigm the band with the University's mission through stronger oversight, policies and procedures. This seems to be a good example of proactive behavior on the part of a university to uncover and respond to Title IX problems.
OSU concluded based on these findings that the band consisted of a sexualized and hostile environment, that Waters knew about and did not take adequate steps to prevent. Acknowledging its duty under university policy and Title IX, the university terminated Waters and vowed to realigm the band with the University's mission through stronger oversight, policies and procedures. This seems to be a good example of proactive behavior on the part of a university to uncover and respond to Title IX problems.
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