On Friday, Oct. 3, UW Band director Mike Leckrone and Dean of Students Lori Berquam announced the suspension of the band amidst hazing allegations. Six days later allegations were confirmed, and the suspension was lifted, under the provision that the band would not travel for the time being,"" according to Berquam. Six days later, that restriction was lifted as well. See a pattern emerging?
On Wednesday, Lecrone announced that the band will travel to Lambeau field in Green Bay for Sunday's Packers-Colts game. Leckrone believes the band is going in a new direction and the road trip will give band members a chance to take a step in a new direction.
After learning the hazing was the result of only a handful of students, the existing members of the band deserve to travel to Lambeau and represent a unit that has had it's name dragged through the mud over the past few weeks. What is not acceptable, though, is the frequent flip-flopping by administrators attempting to discipline a few students acting outside the interests of their peers.
In response to the initial allegations, this university has since seen a home game at camp Randall without the band - breaking over 40 years of tradition - and an entire group scrutinized nationally for the ill actions by a small group of immature students, only to have any serious consequences completely negated in two weeks' time.
Among all of the consequences, those that remain are the implementation of a ""staff member to work with band members to promote positive culture changes"" and a new travel policy that calls for randomly assigned seats on the bus. What kind of a message do these slaps on the hand send, other than the university administrators behind the incident have no confidence in the band to act like adults?
This editorial board doesn't necessarily believe the actions of a few band members were or were not worthy of stern consequences such as suspension, but it does believe the situation deserves a more professional, well-communicated and concrete approach to addressing problems of this nature. Making radical decisions and revoking them in less than a weeks' time only reflects poorly on the students that attend this university and those employed by it.
After the initial allegations, Leckrone stated the hazing incident in 2006 was a ""learning process"" and that he was ""going to teach [the band] the right way to go on this thing."" After fumbling through this incident, Leckrone is out of excuses. The learning curve had better be quick should another incident like this occur in the near future, as the band alone will not be held accountable for any misdeeds that occur under his tutelage.
