{"id":60,"date":"2006-12-04T21:55:00","date_gmt":"2006-12-04T21:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halftimeglory.com\/?p=60"},"modified":"2023-07-03T06:42:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-03T06:42:48","slug":"losing-one-of-our-own-vfts-april-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halftimeglory.com\/?p=60","title":{"rendered":"Losing One Of Our Own (VFTS April 2003)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\nDuring the course of my workday, I encounter a lot of news from many sources. Some of the news is good; much of it is bad. A little more than a week has past since much of the HBCU world witnessed the outcome of Morris Brown\u2019s fight for life. In losing it\u2019s fight for accreditation, It&#8217;s almost a certainty that one of the classiest band programs of our craft will not be taking the field for battle this fall. The same program that represented all of us in  the movie  \u201cDrumline\u201d with such fervor and pride won\u2019t be packing them in at Herndon Stadium this season. It\u2019s still something that hasn\u2019t really sunk in yet with me, as well as with a lot of bandsmen in HBCU circles. Sadly, this isn\u2019t the first time that your friendly neighborhood columnist has borne witness to the shutdown of a program.<\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\nThe University of the District of Columbia\u2019s short but proud history somewhat mirrors the path that we\u2019ve seen with Morris Brown. The demise of that program also coincided with financial difficulties of the parent institution. As with the Morris Brown program, students affiliated with the Marching Firebirds had the opportunity to transfer to another school and blend in with another program. Many of us who were a part of the heated rivalry with Howard\u2019s \u201cShowtime\u201d band program really couldn\u2019t come to grips with marching for a program we\u2019ve clawed tooth and nail with. Some of us traveled out of state to other programs; others gave up the craft all together, never considering putting on the uniform of another program. Many of the Morris Brown faithful face this same dilemma, in addition to the burden of finding another school to complete their studies. <\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\nAs I sat down and thought about how to approach this month\u2019s installment of VFTS, I couldn\u2019t help feeling a tremendous sense of loss for our craft. I also thought to myself, \u201c<b>This could happen to any of our schools<\/b>.\u201d\u2026With that thought in mind, I committed to addressing this topic\u2026How can we protect the traditions that many of us have come to love in the face of growing indifference and\/ or ineffectiveness of our own University administrations? How can students have more of a say so in the administrative actions of our schools?<\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\nSimply put, we as students and alumni must hold these university officials to a higher standard\u2026We must hold the folks in charge accountable for budgetary concerns for our tradition-rich programs, as well as the overall academic and <b>economic<\/b> health of our school programs. From our standpoint, we have an obligation as bandsmen to be ambassadors for our respective schools. We have an even bigger obligation to become a marketable \u2018tool\u2019 to that end\u2026<\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\nHow do we do that? We continue to do the things that we do best; We put forth the same passion and intensity that we usually do on Saturday afternoons. We aspire to take our trade to another level. This past season, we saw brilliant glimpses of that promise. We attained a level of mainstream awareness that hasn\u2019t been seen in the history of HBCU band programs. Even in light if this tragedy, the Morris Brown band program was a giant part of that revival. If the Morris Brown school administration would\u2019ve seen the marketing and financial potential of it\u2019s talented students a bit earlier, perhaps there would\u2019ve been more revenue to combat the financial quagmire that has enveloped this institution. The events of the past few weeks should be a wake-up call to directors, department heads, and Trustee Boards at all HBCU schools. You have a precious commodity; you have a recruiting tool, a public relations tool, and a marketing tool in your respective music departments. The \u2018tool\u2019 is called the <b>HBCU band program. <\/b>Utilize and cultivate this resource wisely. You never know how beneficial the program can be until it\u2019s gone\u2026<\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\nTo the students of Morris Brown, It saddens me to see this hardship come upon such a proud and tradition-rich program. We may not see you on the field this season, but you\u2019ll be with all bandsmen in spirit. I look forward to seeing the Marching Wolverines back on the field in the future, as do all fans and bandsmen. I have a good feeling that it will be a lot sooner than later&#8230;<\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div>\n<o:p> <\/o:p><\/div>\n<div align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\nI\u2019m Crazylegs, and I\u2019ve said my piece\u2026<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the course of my workday, I encounter a lot of news from many sources. Some of the news is good; much of it is bad. A little more than a week has past since much of the HBCU world witnessed the outcome of Morris Brown\u2019s fight for life. In losing it\u2019s fight for accreditation, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorials","category-legacy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Losing One Of Our Own (VFTS April 2003) - View From The Sidelines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/halftimeglory.com\/?p=60\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Losing One Of Our Own (VFTS April 2003) - View From The Sidelines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During the course of my workday, I encounter a lot of news from many sources. Some of the news is good; much of it is bad. A little more than a week has past since much of the HBCU world witnessed the outcome of Morris Brown\u2019s fight for life. In losing it\u2019s fight for accreditation, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/halftimeglory.com\/?p=60\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"View From The Sidelines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-04T21:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-03T06:42:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Herbert L. Seward III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@hhlseward3\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hhlseward3\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Herbert L. 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