Sara Frankart Finn

Dear Dr. Drake,

I am writing to you in response to the events of the past week. I hope that you will take the opinions of the many who are writing you to heart and consider reinstating Jon Waters as the director of the marching band.

I am an alumnus of The Ohio State University School of Music and a proud five-year member of the OSUMB. I am also a veteran of the US Army and Operation Enduring Freedom. I hold an MBA, I work for a large non-profit organization, and I am a parent. I, like my other fellow TBDBITL alumni, am an upstanding member of my community who has always been proud to share my Buckeye roots. However before attending Ohio State I was a student at a small Christian college in Ohio. While I was there I was a victim of a sexual assault. I transferred to OSU because as a result of that assault I no longer felt safe at my small, sheltered, morally upright school. I share this very personal part of my life with you not to elicit sympathy, or to sensationalize my story, but so you will understand the enormity of what I say next. 

In my five years in the band I never felt coerced, harassed, or threatened in any manner, especially sexually. In fact it was quite the opposite. I found a place where I was accepted and respected because I worked hard and earned my spot in exactly the same way as everyone else. The only thing that could set me apart would be not doing my part to uphold the tradition of excellence that we had the honor to protect for a short time. I learned the true value of hard work and discipline. I became part of something greater than myself as I represented the other 224 members of the band, the band alumni from the 100+ years before me, and the great University I loved. We left our sweat, tears, and blood on the field and were rewarded with the pride earned in a job well done and knowing that we were among the best in the world. I found a family of brothers and sisters who I knew would support and protect me if I ever needed it. Maybe most importantly I found an atmosphere that empowered all its members to be the best that they could be, to transcend any perceived barriers and to become strong men and women regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or any other characteristics that might be a crutch in other areas of life. We carry that with us for our lifetimes, and even as I have traveled the world my band family remains some of my closest friends.

As much pride as I hold in my days in the band, it was with great awe and respect that I watched the transformation Jon Waters had begun to undertake in the past few years. I knew Jon as a young member of the band and in his various roles with it as a man who was kind and smart and always stood for the right things. I heard many stories through various venues of the changes Jon was attempting to bring to the culture of the band as head director, a culture that has been ingrained for more years than you or I have been on this planet and was resistant to change, but was coming around. I had no doubt that he was the right man to take the helm because of the accolades he was earning for the band and the incredible exposure his innovation was bringing to TBDBITL in particular and to marching bands as a whole. A quick search of YouTube shows the evidence of the wild popularity of his shows. Searching for videos of just three shows he wrote (the Hollywood Blockbuster show, the Michael Jackson show, and the one that started the viral sensation, the Video Game show) brings back 22 videos that have a combined 48 million views. Let that number sink in for a minute. Forty-eight MILLION times that these three shows have been viewed. He was bringing marching band to people who never had an appreciation for it before, and raising incredible good will for the arts and for OSU.

Now in one fell swoop my alma mater, the place I love and cherish, has besmirched what I hold so dear. The name of the Marching Band has been dragged through the mud and the media has vilified us. We have been told that we should hang our heads in shame because we were once young adults who joked and ribbed each other and yes, maybe made some questionable decisions. But we did it in an environment where were we safe to be completely ourselves, to find out who we were and what we really believed about ourselves and the world. Perhaps worst of all, we collectively have been opened up to harassment and verbal assaults through the actions of the university we love so much who decided to release our secrets, our nicknames, our traditions to a world that has no context in which to understand our actions. A world that quivers in excitement at the upcoming release of a movie about bondage, that sensationalizes and normalizes sex at every turn, but yet makes young adults feel they should be criminalized for the actions they take in their own time and in their own homes. Worst of all I read all these things revealed in a one-sided report from a committee that spoke with a tiny percentage of the recent members of the band and in fact made no effort to speak to most of those who were allegedly coerced and harassed. A committee that ignored the numerous underwear 5k events sweeping the nation in an effort to make our Midnight Ramp something dirty, something it never was, while it apparently forgot that many university officials outside the band were aware of and sanctioned its existence. The sloppy, misguided, and premature release of this report has given a very real black eye to OSU and the OSUMB and could have very real negative personal and professional implications for people who have long been out of band. To say I am horrified and offended at the way this situation has been handled is a huge understatement.

I will never be ashamed of my time in The Best Damn Band In The Land, but I now feel shame that my beloved Ohio State has turned its back on us. I hope this is not the atmosphere you wish to create in your time at the helm.

Sincerely,
Sara Frankart Finn
OSUMB E-Row 1992-96

Rachel Brennan

I've refrained from making a comment on my actual [Facebook] page until this point, but I feel like a PSA is in order as a lot of my friends are not from the OSUMB and may still be forming their opinions. 


As my husband and I, who met as undergrads while members of TBDBITL, were digesting the news yesterday, my mom recalled the night I first made the band. The date was September 12, 2001. The day before her just-turned-18 year old daughter was "alone" on a huge campus, away from home during the worst terrorist attack this country has ever seen. This was the age before cell phones and my dorm phone had yet to be assigned. She was worried to death as any parent would be in that situation, not knowing what was happening around the country at that time except campus was on lockdown. The night of September 12 my mom and dad drove to Columbus and sat outside the band center for two hours waiting on news of whether I had "made it" or not. I remember running outside, filled with joy that my hard work and blood, sweat, and tears had payed off and couldn't wait to tell them. I remember introducing them to my new squad leaders, Tim Cremean and Jason Mishtawy, who looked her in the eye and said "Don't worry, mom, we'll take care of her." And they did. My mom said she knew the stuff that goes on when kids go to college, but she never worried about me because over the course of the 4 years I was a member and then a squad leader myself, that group of men and and women become your family. Did shenanigans and questionable things take place? Of course! We were a bunch of 18-22 year old idiots! But did I ever feel forced, coerced, or threatened to participate in anything? Absolutely not. I look back on my time spent in that hard working, exceptional organization as some of the best and most character-building of my life. And I'll never regret it.

Former OSU Marching Band Member Mentioned in Report Speaks Out

BAND SCANDAL: Former OSU Marching Band Member Mentioned in Report Speaks Out - WSYX - Columbus, Ohio Top Stories - Breaking News, Weather, and Traffic

DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS (James Jackson) -- We're hearing from a former member of The Ohio State University's marching band. Former band director, Jon Waters, was terminated earlier this week, after a report saying he allowed a culture of sexual harassment.

ABC 6/FOX 28 talked to a woman, who is identified with a sexually explicit nickname in the university's 23 page report. She did not want to be identified. "The people who gave me this name were the same people who taught me and coached me for a whole summer, who gave me pep talks when I thought I just wasn’t going to cut it, who became and still are my best friends and a family to me," the woman said.

She goes on to say the name was not shameful or sexist, but a preferred name. Now, she says she feels objectified and sexualized from the way the university and media handled the situation. "And despite being mentioned several times in this report, not once was an attempt made by any on the investigating team to contact me and find out if anything that was being written about me was accurate," the woman said.

The woman adds, Waters never referred to her as her nickname, only her first name.

OSU's marching band and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra performed at Picnic with the Pops, Saturday night, in the Columbus Commons. As the crowd gathered, a plane flew a banner over the event, saying, "We Stand With Jon." Kyle Hudson started a campaign on the website, indiegogo.com, taking donations for the banner. He says they met their financial goal in two hours.

As the pilot flew the banner over the event, the crowd clapped. ABC 6/FOX 28 talked to band members parents in the crowd. Scott Mills says this year will mark his son's third year in the band. "I thought it was great. Wed saw everybody pointing and we looked up there and it was like. Jon's a great guy and the kids are devastated," Mills said.

Mills says Waters was a good band director and made the group better. "With Jon, the last two years have been so different. That it is getting better. That sure, you know. They're college kids for God sakes," Mills said.

Also at Picnic with the Pops, Waters' supporters passed around signs saying, "We Stand With Jon," while the bands played.

The purpose of this blog

In light of recent media scrutiny over the activities and so-called culture of the Ohio State University Marching Band, I and other alumni have felt compelled to share our own stories to counter the slander, libel, defamation of character and outright lies about the students, the atmosphere of the band, the director himself, Jon Woods.

On July 24, 2014, Jon Waters was fired without explanation from the university following a 60-day one-sided investigation into the culture of the OSUMB. http://www.dispatch.com/content/downloads/2014/07/Investigation-Report.pdf

The public report releases the nicknames of several female band members who, for the first time, now feel degraded and embarrassed because their nicknames that were given in comradeship after getting to know them are now being scrutinized by those who have no awareness of the sense of humor of small groups of tightly-knit friends in a high-pressure environment. Furthermore, much of the media and individuals with no affiliation to the university or the band are speaking about the women in band as if they are vulnerable delicate flowers who need constant oversight and that the men are all potential predators. I can attest that we were and are strong independent women and the men are our brothers.

Please let the words of these women rest on your mind. Let their experiences speak to you.


"Our honor defend, we will fight to the end..."

Alex Clark - Letter to President Drake

Dear President Drake,

“We respect women and we respect all the different people who work with us, we respect that diversity.”
This is a line from your statement on the firing of Ohio State University Marching Band director Jon Waters. I find it to be particularly ironic given the events of the past few days thanks to a report filed by OSU’s Office of Compliance and Integrity.

In their report, the investigators speak of a “sexualized” culture within the band, and how that often led to the harassment of female members, through alcohol consumption, inappropriate nicknames, and tricks performed by young members given to them by their peers, amongst other things. What is truly shocking about the report is not the list of antics by a group of hormone filled college students, but the complete lack of respect for the privacy and dignity of the band members. Included in the list of “offensive” rookie nicknames are things like Donk, Tulsa, Tiggles, and Jewoobs. Ohio State clearly had no interest in learning anything about these strong, intelligent women and instead decided that their delicate feminine sensibilities needed to be defended by adding their names to a list of things they feel the Buckeye community should feel disgusted and ashamed about. I would also like to point out that it is spelled Joobs, not “Jewoobs” as they spelled it in the report. They felt “Jewoobs” was so offensive that they added the descriptor “given to a Jewish student with large breasts” so you could be fully aware that she was being sexualized and harassed because of her faith and her anatomy.

I’m the “Jewoobs” that the entire Internet seems to be talking about. It wasn’t until yesterday that I ever felt sexualized and degraded because of the name Joobs. You turned a lighthearted joke and rookie name given to me by my row mates with my full consent into something shameful, and you decided that my entire identity could be boiled down to being a Jewish woman with a large chest. Please allow me to provide my prospective of the report, my nickname and my time in the band.

I am a proud, strong, Jewish woman. My relationship with my faith is not the business of anyone else and that includes The Ohio State University. If you respect diversity, there is absolutely no necessity to turn this issue into one of religion nor is it necessary to define me in a report as Jewish. 

I also have a large chest, but thanks to the investigation, the entire Internet knows that. You took a physical feature that many women feel self-conscious toward, myself included, and made sure that it was what I will always be identified by in correlation with my time in TBDBITL and broadcasted it to the entire world.

The name Joobs was given to me by the older members of my row during my rookie year. They waited several weeks and after getting to know me they gave me a funny nickname that is, quite frankly, really fun to say out loud. They understood that I was able to enjoy the name and that it suited my sense of humor. All of this was done with my full consent. 
I was also a proud member of C-Row from 2009-2011. In my three years with the band, far from encountering a sexualized and hostile environment, I made some of the best friends I’ll ever have and found a loving and supportive family in my row mates. The idea that these wonderful people harassed and hazed me by giving me a nickname or created an environment where I felt helpless could not be further from the truth. Here are some examples of how these people treated me during my years in the band:
After making the band, the first thing all members of C-Row told us was, “You don’t have to do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Before the infamous Midnight Ramp that same year, my female squad leader informed me that I could be fully clothed if it would make me feel more comfortable about participating, though there was absolutely no pressure to if I did not want to. I did my first Midnight Ramp wearing a tank top and gym shorts that provided full coverage, which is what I wore to everyday band practice, and allowed me to dress modestly. I was not treated like I was doing something wrong. I was embraced as a member of C-Row during a tradition that was meant to welcome us into the band after finally learning all of its traditions. It is also worth noting I was sober and because they knew I didn’t drink, my row mates didn’t so much as offer me an alcoholic beverage. At no stage of this did I ever feel I was being hazed, rather I was a willing part of a tradition that truly helped mark my membership in the band.
At the beginning of my rookie year I chose not to consume alcohol and my row was supportive of that decision. There were several other members of C-Row that did not drink but still socialized and attended band functions and parties without any pressure from our peers. The choice to consume alcohol was absolutely ours to make. This is typical throughout the band.
My “unofficial” rookie trick was to dance in the stands at the football games whenever they played “Shipping Off to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys over the stadium sound system. This came into being after I shared with C-Row that I was an Irish dancer while meeting them for the first time upon making the band. It wasn’t something used to degrade me but was instead something they asked me to do because they thought it was unique and exciting.

During my rookie year, the vast majority of band members outside of C-Row were unaware of the meaning behind my rookie name. People just knew it as “that rookie name that is really fun to yell out loud” and I met a lot of wonderful people in other rows who were very excited to put a face to the name. The only way they found out what it meant was if I made the decision to tell them. However, The Ohio State University has decided, without ever informing me, to make this public to the entire world, even though they couldn’t even spell it correctly.

Like any group that spends large amounts of time together, rows in band will get tired and impatient later in the season. When I did have issues with C-Row and some treatment that I didn’t agree with, a friend from another row approached the directors on my behalf. Jon Waters and Dr. Woods facilitated an open and mature discussion between row members that allowed us to grow and move forward. It truly was transformative and gave us an opportunity to better understand one another. My squad leaders also told me that Jon Waters informed them there would be zero tolerance for any further incidences and it would be punishable by expulsion from the band. By providing a safe place for us to air our feelings and a stable environment for us to discuss our issues instead of devolving further into chaos, the directors fostered an environment that assured that we had a happy and healthy band experience.

I was in band for three years and I can’t remember a single time a member of the directing staff referred to me by my rookie name. They always addressed me as Alex or Alexandra because they are professionals.

My father is an Emeritus Faculty member at Ohio State. He taught and did research for 35 years. During his tenure at Ohio State, he also had a ten-year term as a senior administrator. If my father had any issues with my rookie name or my treatment by the band, there is absolutely no way he would have tolerated it and the responsible parties would have been reprimanded appropriately according to university policy. He took a great interest in my membership in the band and we frequently discussed it.
My mother is also a proud Jewish woman and as I’ve grown, we’ve bonded over our shared faith. If she felt that I was being sexualized or harassed with even the slightest hint of Anti-Semitism, she would not have tolerated it either and would have taken appropriate legal action.

My parents have embraced their role as band parents and supporters of TBDBITL, and C-Row in particular. Not only did they host multiple row dinners, they are affectionately known to the members of the band as Mama Joobs and Dr. Joobs. These names are not meant to “haze” my parents, but are used as terms of endearment and a sign of respect and acceptance amongst the band for my parents and my father’s role as a professor, in particular.

I have been out of the band for three years but my closest and best friends refer to me almost exclusively as Joobs. They are not saying it to offend or sexualize me. They are saying it because they love me and care about me and it’s a connection to an experience we all shared and a bond we’ll have for the rest of our lives.

Despite spending three years in the band, it was not until this report was published that I ever felt sexualized because of the name Joobs. Now it’s in every corner of the Internet and something that I’ve proudly used to identify my membership in the band has been perverted by legions of the invisible into something dirty and degrading. If I wasn’t experiencing sexual harassment before, I’m certainly vulnerable to it now. There are perfect strangers commenting on articles or tweeting about the “sexual” nature of my name and what they’d like to do to me. There are even people tweeting about the conflict in Gaza because they find this to be an acceptable joke to make based on the report’s description of me.

If the investigators felt that my rookie name was so offensive that it was the only one warranting an explanation, why was I never consulted about my opinion? If Ohio State has to investigate claims of sexual harassment, why was I never contacted for my side of the story? Where are the claims of sexual harassment aimed towards me coming from? If the people in charge of the investigation had reached out to me for my opinion, they would have learned that I did not feel I was being objectified or harassed by my peers. They would have learned that I found it to be funny and endearing. Like any woman, I have certain things about my body that I don’t like and one thing I’ve always been self-conscious about is my chest. I am also very private about my faith and don’t openly discuss Judaism with many people. The name Joobs allowed two things that often made me feel like an outsider to become non-issues. It allowed me to accept that aspect of my identity and become comfortable in my own skin because I realized that the people around me didn’t love me any less because of these things, but accepted that they were merely parts of the whole of my person. However, the publication of this report has turned these into feelings of shame and embarrassment. Because of the way my name is presented within this report, I feel as though I’m being told I should be offended by this name and that because I am not there is something wrong with me.

To say that I never had any differences of opinion with Jon Waters would be dishonest and I can’t say I always agreed with everything he said or did during my time in the band or in the time since I left. I can say with great certainty that I have witnessed his attempts to change the culture within the band for the better and I greatly admire him for that. He had zero tolerance for rookies names that he felt were purely degrading to students and during my last year he made it necessary for rows to document that they were providing their rookies with money to buy game day snacks for their rows so that the first year members could further enjoy their experience in the band instead of feeling as though they were being exploited by older members. I have also witnessed his passion for the band and its members in person and it is a truly remarkable thing.

To expect a group of 225 people that live in a pressure cooker for several months at a time to never misbehave is frankly an irresponsible line of thinking. In a group that size, the vast majority of students are respectful of one another but you will have a handful that enjoy sowing the seeds of unrest and acting out in embarrassing or painful ways towards their peers. Dynamics like that exist in any group that size at every major university, whether they’re a fraternity or sorority or a Division 1 football program. What has happened with the “sexualized” culture and the sexual assaults cannot solely be blamed on Jon Waters or the other members of the marching band staff. It can also be blamed on the institutional failure of the university to provide adequate resources to the band and its members before events of that nature even have a chance to transpire. With the increase in national visibility the band has received and the drastic increase in away games and performances, it is unreasonable to expect a staff the size of the band’s to appropriately manage all of the needs of its students. The Ohio State University Marching Band is approximately twice the size of the Ohio State football team, yet it has absolutely none of the medical, academic, or compliance support provided to Urban Meyer and his staff by the athletic program. It is unfair to call the marching band a part of an athletic program that does not provide adequate support for its members yet still expects perfection and zero tolerance. The majority of the events listed in the investigation are things that occurred away from marching band events or practices and often took place in private homes. If the university wants to enforce a zero tolerance policy on its band, then the least it should do is provide the same level of trained professionals to bring that about.

I respect the efforts Jon Waters made to further TBDBITL on a national and international stage, as well as his efforts to advance inclusion and tolerance within the band. The university’s decision to make him a scapegoat at this point in time for things that have been going on for decades, which he worked hard to change, is absolutely incomprehensible and unjust.
Respectfully,
Alexandra “Joobs” Clark
C-Row, 2009-2011

My Own Experiences in the OSUMB

I am writing to express my disappointment over the dismissal of Jon Waters as Director of the Ohio State University Marching Band and to counter the misinformation and mis-characterizations made by the media.

I was a member of the OSUMB in 1989 and 1992-93. I have read the complete university Report and have seen the attached Exhibits. While I agree that much about the student culture of the marching band needs to be updated, it is important to keep in mind that the traditions and activities mentioned in the report existed long before even I made the band. I personally never felt forced, coerced, or otherwise made to feel uncomfortable in any situation during band activities. I was never forced to strip or change on a band bus. I was never forced to participate in Midnight Ramp – in fact as a rookie I was informed about it ahead of time and had ample opportunity to decide if I wanted to participate or not. I have never heard from any other band member, male or female, that their experience differed markedly from mine in those regards. Furthermore, the songbook (Exhibit B in the Report) has existed for decades as you can see from the credits in the beginning. It started being published when Mr. Waters was still an infant, two directors ago. When I came out as a Lesbian my fellow row members were nothing but supportive. I never felt discriminated against because of the song lyrics, and my row mates and band mates never harassed me in any way as a woman nor as a Lesbian nor made me feel less of a person or that I did not belong in band. I was and still am a sister in this large family.  Never did I observe or hear about sexual harassment or sexual assault occurring between band members during my time in band; but I sure knew about it in the general university community.

 

1990 Citrus Bowl (1989 season)

The “culture of sexualization”, as it has been dubbed, has been long embedded and is not due to the negligence of this one man or one directing staff. Despite its long history in our band, Mr. Waters was attempting to eliminate much of the raunchiness we see reflected in the report. But that cannot be done overnight and it cannot be done in one season. As a former band member himself, Jon Waters is uniquely qualified, more than anyone else, to help bring the OSUMB into a new era. At the very least, he should be granted a public apology, reinstated, and given the support and direction he should have had in the first place to make the changes needed.

Marching band taught me perseverance, time management, respect for different cultures and viewpoints, tolerance for personality differences in order to achieve a common goal, absolute excellence in doing anything, and it taught me to never give up. Ask any one of today's band members what they are learning and you will get a similar answer. The funny nicknames and inappropriate song lyrics will be a smirk and a shared laugh among friends, but the real life lessons will endure.

Sherri Rapp

OSU, B.A. 1994

OSUMB 1989, 1992-93