By Mark Riechers
the daily cardinal
""It's not what actually happens, it's what public perception is."" These words, repeated by senior drum major Adam Gill, represent a concise understanding of how public relations works, something University of Wisconsin Marching Band Director Michael Leckrone has imparted to his band members frequently in the past.
While it is apparent from the storied history of the band's ""sexual hazing culture"" that a select few members of his flock may not have grasped the point of this lesson, it is clear that Chancellor John Wiley understands the concept thoroughly.
After all, if he didn't, he would not have the insight to use actions of the less apt pupils of Leckrone as leverage against the entire institution. He has used this leverage, in concert with threats on Leckrone, to assure that few in the band would be willing to speak out against the accusations or ""microscope"" that the band has been placed under.
Wiley may have never intended to employ tactics of manipulation in the public eye, as evidenced by the level of secrecy in which he met Leckrone, and eventually with the entire band, about the recent incidents in Michigan and the larger picture of complaints lodged with the band.
But when the story broke with the press, Wiley's hand was forced and he needed an airtight line of reasoning in the public eye.
Enter Thursday's press release citing numerous and often graphic instances of band members' raunchy behavior. In concert with the initial and apparent reluctance on the part of Wiley in giving out any details, the release of this explicit list held an air of shock and awe.
The initial secrecy and the ensuing shocking accusations in the press release created the public atmosphere for Wiley to justify his previous actions without public reproach. Wiley had no choice but to take actions to mend this culture of ""sexual hazing.""
Along with his mandates on sensitivity training for the band, Wiley took his striking blow in the public release of the letter he wrote to Leckrone regarding the incident.
In the letter he assured his position in the public eye would remain unassailable by threatening to seek ""wholesale changes in the leadership of the band"" or ""face virtual extinction [of the band] for a significant period of time"" unless all complaints of anything construed as inappropriate cease.
The disclosure of the accusations cast a dark shadow over the entire band, looming over everything they said and did.
Therefore, it is not surprising that few band members were willing to speak out against the allegations or anything said by Wiley due to the threat of their beloved leader's termination—or worse, the band's dissolution—brooding on the horizon. After all, why push it and risk appearing too out of control for Leckrone to handle, further jeopardizing his job?
Band members who care for their leader were offered one choice: conformity. It does not matter that none of the charges came with dates and thus could be spread throughout the band's history, or that the few band members who have talked claim that the band's behavior ""has been getting tame as the years go on.""
The public has seen an ugly sexual hazing culture, and the band members have been forced to accept it by Wiley's manipulation of the band in the eyes of the public.
In speaking to the band, Wiley reportedly suggested that it was unfair to make freshmen feel like they were forced to do things they were uncomfortable with just to maintain their position in the band.
This may be true, but perhaps Wiley should consider that he is forcing band members to hold their tongues, something that they are very uncomfortable with, in order to keep their position in the UW Marching Band.
