From: timc@diva.Berkeley.EDU (Tim Castro)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.marching.misc
Subject: Re: Censorship
Date: 22 Jan 1993 00:37:10 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: diva.berkeley.edu

In article <1993Jan20.174444.17939@Virginia.EDU> jat6h@Virginia.EDU ("Mars, 
The Bringer of War") writes:

>Greetings to all y'all out there.  I'd like to send a quick
>query out to all the people out there, and most especially to
>other scramble band mambers, (i.e. LSJUMB, YPMB, MOB, etc.)
>about a topic which is dear to our hearts here at UVa: show
>censorship.  

Well, you don't have to be a scatter band or go to a private
school to fall victim to censorship.  Even the traditional 
bands at the so-called "public" schools are subject to university 
scrutiny.

In 1987 the Cal Band put on "A Tribute to the Constitution"
show.  The songs were as "mom, flag, and apple pie" as you can get: 
Stars and Stripes Forever, You're A Grand Old Flag/I'm A Yankee 
Doodle Dandy, and Battle Hymn of the Republic (Civil War Montage).

The middle section of the Montage combines the Battle Hymn theme 
with "Dixie" in a sort of refrain and echo effect.  The charting
called for the band to be split in two, marching towards each
other from either end zone.  One would be playing Battle Hymn
and the other was playing "Dixie."  Also, an alternate was assigned 
to march alongside either band, carrying the respective Union or 
Confederate Flag (A sort of abstract recreation of the Civil War).

During our SATURDAY MORNING rehearsal, the Band was informed that
we would have to remove Battle Hymn from our halftime show.  The
Administration gave us this reason:  At our Friday afternoon rehearsal, 
an African-American woman had heard the band playing "Dixie" and saw
a waving Confederate flag.  She (mistakenly) thought that the Band was 
playing the song AT her and she took it as a racial slur (It was just
a music rehearsal going on outside the stadium).  She got on the phone 
to someone and complained (How she got in touch with anyone after 
5:00 pm on a Friday evening, I'll never know).  Anyway, the complaint 
was considered volatile enough that some administrator made the 
decision to axe our finale, WITHOUT ever consulting the Band or 
listening to our side of the story.

Well, naturally the Band was devastated.  Remember, this is a Band
that has not been censored in recent memory.  There was ABSOLUTELY 
NOTHING in the show which could be considered offensive.  It was 
a tribute to the Constitution for chrissakes!  The Cal Band is usually 
on pretty good terms with our administration, but we felt like we 
had been stabbed in the back.

Luckily, the music and charting was done in such a way that Dixie
could be removed and the Battle Hymn salvaged. (Talk about "Adapt 
and Perform!")  The Cal Band performed that day, but only under the
ugly stigma of censorship.  We all signed a petition stating our
anger and disbelief.  The Band would never purposely do anything that 
was in bad taste.  However, the University decided not to back up its 
band and took the easy way out by censoring us.  I'm sure that petition 
was just placed away in someone's circular file because we never 
heard anything else about it.

And the biggest paradox about all this: the show was a "TRIBUTE
TO THE CONSTITUTION" and all of its guaranteed freedoms.  Obviously 
here at Berkeley, the so-called home of the "Free Speech Movement," 
our administrators care very little for this right.

--Tim
Cal Band 1986-1990

>Justin Tate
>TAWVaFCI/OP(?)MPB&CSR,U!!!
>


-- 
Tim Castro		    *   "When the air becomes uranious
U.C. Berkeley               *    We will all go simultaneous
timc@diva.Berkeley.EDU      *    Yes we all will go together when we go." 
timc@ocf.Berkeley.EDU       *           --Tom Lehrer, 1958