Furd's band was already in hot water before that
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Band gets three-year suspension
By Shirin Sharif
Desk Editor
Monday, March 29, 2004
last updated March 29, 2004 2:54 AM
The Band has been placed on a three-year alcohol suspension through winter quarter 2006-2007 for destruction of private property, violating University policy and state law for underage alcohol consumption and violating University travel policy.
The charges stem from a Los Angeles road trip the Band took on Oct. 10 of last year for a football game against the University of Southern California. The travel bus was left in improper condition, with broken equipment and vomit left in the bathroom sink.
The Organizational Conduct Board and Dean of Students Greg Boardman placed additional sanctions on the Band including a one-year travel probation, 1,500 hours of community service of which no more than 750 hours can be musical performances and a ban from traveling to or performing at the Oct. 31 football game in Los Angeles this year.
The “harshness” and volume of the sanctions surprised the Band because of the proactive steps the management had taken after the road trip to prevent similar incidents, according to senior Dan Bentley, the Band public relations director. The Band plans to appeal some of the sanctions in the upcoming weeks.
“We made it clear after the trip that we saw a problem and we wanted to change,” Bentley said.
As soon as Band management learned of the incidents from the bus company, they implemented measures specifying that Band members going on bus trips would have to sign a document that stated the Band’s travel policy and the Fundamental Standard. Alcohol was prohibited on buses after the incident, and Band staff members were present in the ratio of one staff member for every 10 Band members.
After a meeting with the Athletic Department on Oct. 24, University officials added that all Band travel had to be cleared through the Athletic Department and that a department staff member would accompany the Band on buses indefinitely.
“We don’t take great pleasure in any of the things that happened,” Bentley said. “We want to improve.”
In accordance with the three-year alcohol suspension, all alcohol is to be completely removed from the Band Shak, and there will be no alcohol at any Band events or activities, either on- or off-campus.
Bentley attributed what he called the “over-reactionary” sanctions, specifically sanctions concerning the alcohol suspension, to University efforts to raise the bar for voluntary student organizations and for organizations to take responsibility for their members’ actions.
“It’s unfortunate that the actions of a couple of people will have such a large impact on generations of Band members to come,” Bentley said. “They [the University] are just killing off three generations.”
Bentley said he also disagreed with the means that the University is using to achieve its ends. If the University wants to change the Band, it should institute less probation and more actual changes like the ones that the Band has already introduced, he said.
“If the University wants to change our culture, their methods aren’t really effective,” Bentley said. “Our methods do a better job of this. Three years from now, we’ll be band alums. We want to make sure that the attitude then is the attitude now.”
In response to the sanction regarding community service, Bentley noted that the stipulation that the majority of the project hours involve providing support to University-wide events and other University special projects, as “the Band provides a service to the Stanford community every time it plays.”
The one-year travel probation from April 6 to April 5 next year limits the Band to 15 off-campus Athletic Department-sponsored events and 25 off-campus non-Athletic Department-sponsored events.
The Band must also establish a written set of criteria for establishing full-participatory membership in the group and develop an alcohol and other substance abuse program, a comprehensive leadership-training program and party and trip planning guidelines.
“It would take a lot of our teams doing really well in the NCAAs for us to really be affected by this,” Bentley said. “But this is technically what we want.”
The OCB hearing was held Feb. 27 and the Band learned the results of the hearing from Boardman on March 9.
At the time, an internal band e-mail obtained by The Daily warned Band members not to widely disclose the results.
“Though the rest of the student body will eventually find out, I assert to you that it is better if they find out at a time that falls after ASSU special fees elections than before,” the e-mail said.
Boardman said he has been pleased with the Band management since his arrival.
“I have been impressed with the current Band leadership throughout this process,” Boardman said. “I hope and trust this is a sign of good things to come. That said, I urge the Band to seize this opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the values and principles of good citizenship by complying with institutional standards and policies applicable to all registered volunteer student organizations.”
