12-11-2016, 05:22 PM
It isn't my best piece of writing (never my strong suit), but I'm hoping it will encourage some additional writing (and no one needs to share their private correspondence):
Dear President Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Etchemendy, and incoming Provost Drell,
I am an alum from the Class of '85. Yes, I was there when the Band stormed the field at Cal before the game was over, but I didn't blame them. (His knee WAS down and there was a forward lateral. In today's video review world, we would have rightly been awarded the victory and John Elway would have gone to his only collegiate bowl game, but I digress.)
The point is, LSJUMB was a brobdingnagian reason I absolutely loved my four years at Stanford. Had I not come from a tiny international school in Japan, I would have liked to have joined it, but in any case I totally enjoyed their contributions to my Stanford experience, and they shaped my subsequent love for classic rock, which I have passed on to my son and daughter, probably by osmosis and irritating repetitive playing as background music to my life thereafter.
As mentioned, I was never in the Band, but I had many friends who were, and I even played music with a couple of them. To me, they are always an essential part of my Stanford life, even 30+ years later.
Fast forward to the present, and I have a son who is living out my dreams by actually being IN the Band. Until then, I never actually appreciated how much time, effort, sweat, and tears (I haven't yet witnessed blood so I won't mention that) were expended for our entertainment. What do they get, 1 unit of credit per quarter? Do you know how many hours are spent at rehearsal, at composing communication and coordinating activities? Have you seen how early they start on a football game day, playing for "The Walk", then at various tailgates, then pregame, halftime, and postgame? Easily an 8hr day just on Saturday, and we're talking about running, scrambling, jumping, dancing, losing pounds of sweat, and generally rocking out, all for love of music, the team, and all things Stanford. And it's not just football; there's men's and women's basketball, there's volleyball, there are appearances at community parades and charitable causes. Everywhere the Band goes, it brings an extra level of energy and joy--pure joy because of the music.
They are not doing this to receive thanks. They aren't looking for a medal. They spend a heck of a lot of their own time and effort and energy for love of Stanford and love of music. But as things now stand, that love, the support, the positive energy, won't be there for the rest of this academic year, not just for away games, when our teams could really use some friendly support, but even for home games. In fact, I fully expect that you will hear from the athletic teams about how much the support of the Band means to them. But I'll let them make their case.
I have read the letters where they have allegedly "failed" at meeting standards set forth for their continued existence. I do not wish to antagonize anyone, but as someone who has spent some 15 years in the financial world, I have to say that what is being required of the Band is almost stricter than what I see the Securities & Exchange Commission require of the hedge fund industry. The difference is, some hedge funds were trying to screw over their investors and make themselves insane amounts of money in the process. Here, a bunch of students with 15-18 unit courseloads in engineering and CS are just trying to "bring funk to the funkless."
My sincere hope is that you don't deprive the entire Stanford community (students, including musicians and athletes, and fans, and even non-fans) of an essential Stanford experience. You can't stop the music. You shouldn't stop the music. Let the winds of freedom blow.
Respectfully and Cardinal-ly yours,
Dear President Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Etchemendy, and incoming Provost Drell,
I am an alum from the Class of '85. Yes, I was there when the Band stormed the field at Cal before the game was over, but I didn't blame them. (His knee WAS down and there was a forward lateral. In today's video review world, we would have rightly been awarded the victory and John Elway would have gone to his only collegiate bowl game, but I digress.)
The point is, LSJUMB was a brobdingnagian reason I absolutely loved my four years at Stanford. Had I not come from a tiny international school in Japan, I would have liked to have joined it, but in any case I totally enjoyed their contributions to my Stanford experience, and they shaped my subsequent love for classic rock, which I have passed on to my son and daughter, probably by osmosis and irritating repetitive playing as background music to my life thereafter.
As mentioned, I was never in the Band, but I had many friends who were, and I even played music with a couple of them. To me, they are always an essential part of my Stanford life, even 30+ years later.
Fast forward to the present, and I have a son who is living out my dreams by actually being IN the Band. Until then, I never actually appreciated how much time, effort, sweat, and tears (I haven't yet witnessed blood so I won't mention that) were expended for our entertainment. What do they get, 1 unit of credit per quarter? Do you know how many hours are spent at rehearsal, at composing communication and coordinating activities? Have you seen how early they start on a football game day, playing for "The Walk", then at various tailgates, then pregame, halftime, and postgame? Easily an 8hr day just on Saturday, and we're talking about running, scrambling, jumping, dancing, losing pounds of sweat, and generally rocking out, all for love of music, the team, and all things Stanford. And it's not just football; there's men's and women's basketball, there's volleyball, there are appearances at community parades and charitable causes. Everywhere the Band goes, it brings an extra level of energy and joy--pure joy because of the music.
They are not doing this to receive thanks. They aren't looking for a medal. They spend a heck of a lot of their own time and effort and energy for love of Stanford and love of music. But as things now stand, that love, the support, the positive energy, won't be there for the rest of this academic year, not just for away games, when our teams could really use some friendly support, but even for home games. In fact, I fully expect that you will hear from the athletic teams about how much the support of the Band means to them. But I'll let them make their case.
I have read the letters where they have allegedly "failed" at meeting standards set forth for their continued existence. I do not wish to antagonize anyone, but as someone who has spent some 15 years in the financial world, I have to say that what is being required of the Band is almost stricter than what I see the Securities & Exchange Commission require of the hedge fund industry. The difference is, some hedge funds were trying to screw over their investors and make themselves insane amounts of money in the process. Here, a bunch of students with 15-18 unit courseloads in engineering and CS are just trying to "bring funk to the funkless."
My sincere hope is that you don't deprive the entire Stanford community (students, including musicians and athletes, and fans, and even non-fans) of an essential Stanford experience. You can't stop the music. You shouldn't stop the music. Let the winds of freedom blow.
Respectfully and Cardinal-ly yours,