Banned Badgers

This past weekend the University of Wisconsin marching band was thrust into the spotlight, not for their amazing performance at the first Big 10 football game against none other than Ohio State, but for serious accusations of hazing within the band. On October 3, 2008, the band was suspended indefinitely by the director, Mike Leckrone. However, this is not the first time allegations similar to this one have been reported. In 2006, inappropriate behavior was recounted by students on a trip to Michigan. Since then, the director has taken many steps to improve band conduct by holding seminars on alcohol and sexual abuse. Yet it still seems that this culture is a custom and tradition for some sections. Leckrone says he will not give up and is determined to see the band culture change. For more information, check out this "BadgerBeat" article or this article from NBC.


Last year at about this time, this author was actually trying to decide between attending the University of Wisconsin versus coming to Purdue. It now seems I made the right decision. Right now, I'm part of one of the greatest bands in Purdue history. I could have just as easily been suspended at this point if I had decided on Wisconsin. It's times like these when you take enormous amounts of pride in your own university and what you do there (or rather, what you don't do).