Senior year has already been an immense time of change, but the beginning of my senior year didn’t start when I walked into school from the far reaches of the parking lot, or when I first left my school ID in my car and had to go all the way back to get it. No, it began on August 14, when I, along with over 90 marching band members, gathered on the well-manicured soccer turf for three consecutive 12-hour-days of “band camp.” Camp consists of music rehearsals, learning marching formations, instrument sectionals, and a brutal morning workout (which is only bearable if Mr. Meier blasts his playlist of classic 2010’s).
Being a senior has definitely been an adjustment, but as my last pep rally and homecoming game concluded, there was one moment of complete consistency displayed from my past years at Ward Melville: the treatment of our school’s marching band.
For those who didn’t attend (mostly licensed seniors who deem themselves “above” school functions and follow through with their apparent need to be contrarian), our pep rally performance was awarded with shouts of approval, and more commonly, shouts of disapproval. By that, I mean that I heard booing from the bleachers, targeted directly at the marching band, color guard, and especially our baton twirler. “I thought it was cruel for them to single her out. I feel like there is a lack of empathy and a little mob mentally. They stop thinking of her as a person who is performing in front of a stadium filled with her peers and instead just do what everyone else is doing,” said Marching Band Director Mr. Hayes.
Sure, we’ve dealt with an influx of judgment every football season, but it was this particular instance where I realized that my own peers were making me feel embarrassed and ashamed of a group I’m so lucky to be a part of.
Something I don’t think students realize as they sit with their friends, sport “senior chick shirts,” and laugh at anything crossing their path, is that those are their classmates (some are even friends) who are performing at the field show in front of them, putting themselves out there for praise or criticism. At first, as the shouting began to erupt from the top left corner of my peripheral vision, I thought it was somewhat comical. My smile faded fairly quickly though, and it was replaced by shame and anger. I wasn’t the only one, and I had the opportunity to discuss what unfolded with several band and color guard members.
“It’s very jarring to hear people suddenly screaming and cheering during inappropriate times throughout the show; it throws off the band and the color guard, weakening our performance. The band definitely got quieter from feeling uneasy, and I could tell the guard got a bit more nervous. During my three years performing, I’ve never experienced anyone yelling at us like that. If I had to say something, it would be that the screaming, even if positive, does not help the show we work to put on; it makes people (especially new members) nervous, and dampens our collective performance ability,” said Remus Liff, an assistant color guard captain.
Band drum major Justine Bushman remarked, “All the screaming was very distracting overall. I felt like my focus was being dragged across the field as I was trying to find what they were so focused on… It was one of the worst pep rally experiences I’ve had (maybe because I could actually hear the audience for once), but I am still really proud of every part of the marching band. They didn’t even seem phased on the field even though they could all hear the screaming.”
To me, it’s not even about the pep rally. This is just one of the many instances where we have been singled out and ridiculed for putting ourselves out there in front of the entire student body. Some students just search for something to ridicule, and it’s easy to dismiss until you are a direct target.
“It’s just annoying after all the work we put in during band camp,” said color guard captain Allexia Chou, “I think it’s so upsetting that we need to brief the guard about teasing and bullying to try and prepare them so they don’t get upset out on the field.”
So yes, my senior year has been an adjustment. With college applications, extracurriculars, and a marching band alto saxophone section to spearhead, it has been difficult to juggle. Even so, after this year’s pep rally, I’ve come up with the consensus that nothing has actually changed about my experience at Ward Melville High School.
