Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5: Turbulence and Transition

(1973 - 1979)

The 1970's were a time of questioning authority, tradition, institutions, age, sex, gender roles, race, and economics. The instability of the 1970's left many feeling lost, disoriented and unsure of society. The Vietnam war continued along with protests against it. The Arab oil embargo in 1973 sparked a recession in the US economy, the worst since the Great Depression. Unemployment would be at its highest levels in 1975. The United States government was rocked by a number of scandals including the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew over allegations of bribery, Watergate and the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Inflation became a familiar word in most American households by reaching record levels. Along with economic uncertainty and a growing distrust of political institutions, the youth of the United States were also questioning the social, sexual, and economic morality of the day. There was an increasing pessimism about the future of the country that one president would call a national malaise. Many politically active students, conservative, liberal, and radical, began to practice self- righteous intolerance and strived to shut their opponents up and out. Many practices, beliefs, and ideas were changed by the social and political upheaval of the 1970's.

Title VII and the All Male Band

In March, 1972, the United States Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment as a proposed amendment to the US Constitution. Even with landmark legislation, political, economic and social equality of women was meeting with strong opposition. The modern women's movement began in 1966 with the formation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in Washington D.C. to lobby and encourage the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The women's movement even found opposition among other civil rights organizations. Few, if any, women occupied positions of leadership in national civil rights groups. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the first civil rights organizations formed, said, "The only position for women in the SNCC is prone."

Because of threats of enforcement of Title VII, many college campuses began to evaluate organizations that limited their membership based on gender. All male marching bands across the country began to admit women, some for the first time. The Stanford Band admitted women in 1972, the UC Berkeley Band in May, 1973. Yet many all male college bands were resistant to change and would not admit women until the 1980's. The service academies, the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis, would not admit women until the late 1970's and the early 1980's. It was not until 1996 that the issue of taxpayer supported all male institutions would be resolved.

In 1972 Anne Glicken began a campaign to end the all male status of the Aggie Band. Needless to say this action was not greeted with enthusiasm by the members of the All Male Band and its campus supporters. Glicken argued in a California Aggie editorial that "[m]arching bands are a lot of fun and the female population of UCD shouldn't be deprived of that kind of enjoyment merely on the basis of their sex." She also pointed out that "the Band isn't truly representative of UCD if it's all male since there are quite a few females here on campus." Glicken was supported by many members of the ASUCD Senate who believed that women should be allowed to participate in all ASUCD funded activities. Their position was strengthened by the 1972 Higher Education Act which prohibited disproportionate spending in education based on gender. They reasoned that it was illegal for the ASUCD to continue to support an all male band under federal law.

The All Male Band and its supporters countered that if the Band were integrated it would lose its spirit and wind up like so many other spiritless college bands. They argued that men would become inhibited if women were allowed to become members and the character of the Aggie Band would suffer. The purpose of the Band was still to root on the athletic teams, all male athletic teams. If women were allowed in, the spirit would suffer because women could never understand the nature of competition and sports and therefore would be ineffective in encouraging men to play and compete harder. This was something that only men could understand. Female cheerleaders or song girls were acceptable because they lead the crowd in cheers but the Band cheered for the teams without assistance from the crowd.

It was further contended that the all male nature of the Band made it too "gross" for any women to join. "Grossness" was a natural product of an all male environment and was a result of men being able to relax and build camaraderie within the Band. This "grossness" was required for the Band to maintain its character, its originality, and its effectiveness as a rooter band. The "grossness" was not for its own sake, but a means of encouraging creativity and originality. The Band was more than just a band, it was a place where men could feel free to express themselves without the social inhibitions that are present when women are around. It was the lack of social inhibitions that fueled their creativity. The presence of women would bring an end to that.

Finally it was argued that to allow women in the Band would be to expensive. With women, there would be the need for another locker room, more uniforms, separate changing and sleeping facilities when the Band was on the road. The All Male Band supporters said that a co-ed band would cost twice as much as the All-Male Band. But it was a losing battle from the start.

The ASUCD Senate voted to freeze Band funds in 1973. The ASUCD President, after consulting with the University legal counsel, told the Band that in order to continue to receive ASUCD funds or continue to use the ASUCD supplied instruments and uniforms, women would have to be admitted. The Band was almost forced out of the 1973 Picnic Day Parade, but was granted a reprieve since the Band did not have a uniform small enough to fit any of the women who wanted to join. That fall, after a ten year absence, women once again took their place in the ranks of the Aggie Band. Anne Glicken and six other females joined the 1973-74 Aggie Band.

A Question of Taste and Decorum

Membership was not the only crisis to face the Aggie Band. It was not uncommon for individuals within the campus community to criticize or outright condemn the Aggie Band and its performances. A writer for the California Aggie noted that the Aggie Band was better received in San Francisco than in Davis. He postulated that it was because Davis held itself out to be a serious and relevant campus and city while the Aggie Band did not take anything seriously, was not sophisticated, and was perhaps too ribald for the serious minded citizenry and students.

The Band's reputation for being gross, obscene, or ribald was considered by many UCD students to be a high compliment. In an era when pornographic movies such as Deep Throat were being shown in mainstream movie theaters, TV shows like Saturday Night Live were attracting younger rather than older audiences, when the social mores were being challenged through dress, music, and language; the Aggie Band and its halftime shows appealed to the students. The Aggie Band was made up of students who quite naturally wanted to be a part of popular culture and who were no more obscene or crass than other college students. The intramural sports teams at UCD became noted for their names with sexual connotations, many of which were quite blatant. The Band's shows and scripts reflected the type of entertainment that would appeal to many college students of the day. The problem was that the Band's audience was not just college students. The majority of the football crowd was a non-student, family oriented audience. The Band was presenting late night material to a prime time, family hour crowd.

Thus the Band began to receive complaints over the content of its halftime shows. The most famous of these shows took place at the Portland State game on Nov. 15, 1975. It was during that halftime show that the Aggie Band most clearly exceeded the limits of its audience. Letters of complaint addressed to University officials complained of an obscene, offensive, repulsive and immoral script about sexual intercourse and penises. Other incidents during that football season resulted in the University administration requiring that the Band adopt a set of guidelines concerning compliance with university guidelines, initiation practices, and membership. Most importantly these guidelines established that a student representative would be personally responsible for the content of all scripts and the behavior of the announcer. It was made clear to the Band that "failure to adhere to these requirements will require a review of the band's status as a recognized UCD activity."

The Fall of 1976 did not see an improvement in the Band's behavior, according to a university investigation. Once again the university administrators cited complaints over the contents of scripts. More serious charges included possession of stolen property, complaints by the representatives of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and complaints from dorm residents about the Band disturbing them at 3:30 a.m. In response to the investigation, the Aggie Band was placed on probation to last from January 1977 until January of 1978.

Yet many of the complaints relied upon by the university administration as justification for this action were later proven and admitted by the administration to be inaccurate. The dorm complaints were entered not by dorm residents, but by the Resident Directors, the Tercero Hall Managers, and the Food Service Directors. The dorm residents were later surveyed and 65% felt it was acceptable for the Band to rally the Dining Commons while only 10% were opposed to the Band rallying at all. Comments on the surveys included, "The Band is a part of the Davis spirit and should be shared by everyone," "People who complain about the Band give the Davis campus a bad name," "Their insanity is not unlike this whole campus," and "Do not restrict their imaginative doing."

Cal Poly SLO officials alleged that the Aggie Band took up too much time on the field in order to prevent the SLO band from taking the field. SLO officials also complained about the Aggie Band's general conduct during the game. These charges were denied by the Aggie Band manager, George West. It was reported that the timekeeper reset the clock during the halftime, inadvertently losing three minutes thus cutting short the amount of time the SLO band had on the field. Many remember that during the second half of the game, members of the SLO band dropped their pants in front of the visiting Aggies. It is unknown if any complaints were lodged against the SLO band. As a result of the allegations, the Aggie Band was requested not to return to Cal Poly SLO until the Band's behavior changed.

At least one "incident" was the result of inaccurate reporting on the part of the California Aggie. In 1977 the Aggie reported that four Bandsmen assaulted a bartender in Pomona and had to be dragged from the bar. In reality, the "incident" took place in Thousand Oaks and no assault took place. The Band was in Thousand Oaks for the UCD vs. Cal Lutheran game and stopped for dinner at a British style pub. While there, some bandsmen engaged into a dirty-song singing contest with some of the other patrons. During the contest much beer was consumed and many songs were sung. Eventually all contestants were asked to leave because they had become loud and obnoxious. The Bandsman involved in the contest was dragged out by other Bandsmen. Afterwards, the event was retold to the rest of the Band and naturally became exaggerated. An Aggie reporter overheard the exaggerated story and reported it as a fight.

Double Secret Probation

In December, 1977, Bud Allen, Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, in a memo to Dr. Tom Dutton, Vice- Chancellor of Student Affairs, recommended that the probationary period be extended despite the Band having complied with the University guidelines set out the previous year. Allen refused to recommend ending the probationary period on the grounds that the Band had failed "to develop a system of internal control and governance," a condition not required by the University administration the year before. Previously, the Administration had only required a review of the system of internal governance, not the development of a new system.

A task force was formed by the ASUCD to investigate possible reforms of the Band's governing structure. A new constitution was drafted which spelled out a code of conduct for Bandsmen, membership requirements, selection and duties of officers, the creation of an Executive Board consisting of the manager, student director, drum major and the faculty director, and an outline of various committees such as a show planning committee and a stunt committee. All officers, with the exception of the manager, were to be elected by the Band. The manager was to be chosen through an application process by the ASUCD, later by the University administration. The new constitution was nearly three times the length of the old 1955 constitution, indicating the level detail desired by the ASUCD and the University in order to prevent the previously identified problems in the future. Finally, the Band's faculty director, Duane Cunningham, who resisted changes in the Band's constitution and saw them as an attempt by the University to exert direct control over the Band, was replaced. Dr. Lawrence Anderson was selected as faculty director in 1978. In December, 1978, the Aggie Band was informed of its removal from probationary status.

The changes in the Band were not greeted with universal acclamation from the Bandsmen themselves and many supporters. Many Bandsmen felt that they had lost a great deal of control of the Band in favor of the University as a result of the reforms. Student supporters of the Band took note of a loss of spirit, humor, and originality. Some stated that the Aggie Band had become just another lackluster marching band lacking the excitement of a spirited college band. More virulent supporters criticized the University administrators for creating a "traditional band marching like Hitler youth," condemned the UCD student body for not supporting "our band" more, and the Aggie Band for selling out for the sake of decorum. Yet, still others complained that the University did not go far enough and that the Band was still a disgrace to the school.

In an unprecedented show of support, the Fall Quarter 1978 Rhetoric 123 class campaigned to improve and encourage support for the Aggie Band. The ASUCD passed a resolution praising the Band and the Aggie Band was honored at halftime at the UCD vs. Santa Clara game which was declared "Cal Aggie Band Night." The Aggie Band received more than vocal support. In 1979, UCD Alumnus Warren D. Mooney offered the Band a $15,000 gift provided that the Band raise an equal amount and increase membership to 100 before January 1, 1983. In his honor the Aggie Band established the Warren D. Mooney Award which is given to those Bandsmen who have participated in the Aggie Band for three or more years.

The character of the Aggie Band did change between 1972 and 1979. Women were readmitted to the Band after a ten year absence. The fear by many in the All Male Band that the Band would become less spirited and more inhibited was not realized. The women who would later join the Band proved to one and all that they had the same spirit and could be just as uninhibited as the men. Years later, men of the All Male Band would admit that it was a mistake to try and keep women out of the Aggie Band. The conflict that did change the Band was generational conflict. Students were challenging society, the political system and the University. Student dress became very informal, the sexual revolution was in full swing, and anti-establishment thought was freely espoused. The Aggie Band, true to its student membership, its student financing, and its student government, frequently presented shows which challenged the aesthetic values of the non-student community. The University, sensitive to its position of leadership and the fact that that position was being challenged by its students, sought to bring the Aggie Band within the bounds of convention. It would not look good if a representative organization of the University of California, and many considered the Aggie Band to be just that, were to participate in this challenge which many considered to be threatening and insulting. Some means of regulating or limiting the behavior of the Aggie Band had to be found.

The restructuring of the Band's governing system and the replacement of a popular faculty director did have a dampening effect on the Aggie Band's spirit. But that too would eventually revive and once again the Band would be the core of Aggie spirit. After fifty years the Cal Aggie Band was still impressing students, alumni, and members of the UCD community.