The Winds of Freedom turn to an Intermittent Breeze

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In May 2015, The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band was placed on social suspension by Stanford's Title IX office and the Organizational Conduct Board of the Office of Community Standards.

Below is a statement from LSJUMB.

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Reports of our death are greatly exaggerated.

Regardless of what you may have read on Yik Yak or heard from sources with incomplete information, the Stanford Band is not suspended. Yesterday, we at last received the results of a Title IX investigation, which has resulted in an alcohol probation of at least one year, as well as a list of measures with which we are expected to comply, effective immediately. As it stands now, the Band will not travel with any Stanford sports team in the next year, and we will be foregoing several of our traditional events. We will continue our extensive charitable work (yes, we do do that) and intend to remain a presence at home games and across campus.

There are aspects of Band culture which are no longer in line with our values, and we accept that, despite tremendous growth, we have further to go. The results of this investigation are valuable, and they give us further opportunity to create a safe space on campus for students to express themselves freely. We are your Band, and we welcome your questions, as well as your thoughts. You will certainly be hearing ours.

Many of the punitive measures that have been placed on the Band are a result of allegations rooted in the 2011-2012 school year, a time when most current Band members were still in high school. We are incredibly proud of the measurable progress that we have made in these past three years, and the Band of today is a very different organization.

The Shak and Band community offer a space to act out, to explore, to play poorly - in general, Band strives to counter the pressures and normalizing forces of college life by providing a space to be free. We understand the fear that our probation will make this community less of a home. To anyone who expects that this will silence us, you haven’t gotten the memo. We believe that we can and must continue to improve our culture without censoring ourselves or conforming to the polished standards of polite silence. You can expect more rallies, more noise, and more surprises. We are still the Stanford Band, and we believe in our mission to bring funk to the funkless. We won’t go away, and we won’t stop being weird.

In the recent past, we have too often conflated growing more inclusive with avoiding controversy. Being in line with this community’s values demands that we return ourselves to the winds of freedom, which in recent years have subsided to an intermittent breeze. We won’t confuse ridding our culture of intolerance with sanitizing our culture of its adventurous character. We hope you’ll stand with us in finding this line.

At our best, the Band challenges the status quo, inspires our audiences to consider new ideas, and stands a symbol of the daring freedom that once attracted us all to Stanford. Across this community, people are struggling to express themselves and to find that freedom. We will continue to be ourselves, and that means remaining independent, loud, and unpredictable, expressive of all the wild and challenging ideas that make this a place of learning and productive discomfort. We know that we sometimes fall short of the mark, but with your help, we’re going to keep trying.

With great love (and absolutely no alcohol),

RTFO
Your Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band