Parents of band members and MSU trustees hope the hard work of the Spartan Marching Band will be rewarded in the form of a trip to California.
The 300-member band is still in the dark about whether it will travel with the MSU football team to the second annual Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose, Calif. The Spartans will play the Fresno State Bulldogs on Dec. 31.
Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations, said he discussed the issue with other university officials Tuesday, but a decision was not made.
Poston said a resolution will be made in a few days.
Brighton resident Sue Sano said she has season tickets and went to every home game this season just to watch her daughter perform.
“With all her sacrifices she made through the school year and summer - now it’s just like a slap in the face,” Sano said.
The option of taking an 100-member pep band was proposed.
But Sano said taking the smaller band just wouldn’t be the same.
“I believe the band plays as one unit,” she said. “The whole band should go. They wouldn’t send half the football team or half the trustees - that would never happen.”
Plano, Texas, resident Bob Johnson said his son chose MSU because of the music program and the marching band.
Johnson said his son hoped to go to a bowl game.
“I really feel they’re getting the short end of the stick,” he said. “The excitement generated by the band is out of sight.”
Some MSU officials are thinking along the same lines.
Trustee Robert Weiss said even though it might be financially impossible to send the entire band, MSU administrators should still try to make it happen.
“The band is a big part of the university’s showcase,” Weiss said. “I would like the whole band to go and I don’t know how that could be arranged, but (President M. Peter McPherson) and the administration could be very resourceful to make this possible.”
But another trustee said a reduced band should be considered.
Trustee Dee Cook, said she’s a supporter of the band, and not having them make the trip to California would be disappointing.
“I think whenever the band is at a football game or basketball game or any university events - it’s worth it,” Cook said.
Cook said even though the entire band might not go, some members are better than none.
“I would love for the entire band to go,” Cook said. “It’s really a question of economics, and I hope they reconsider, because they are part of the Spartan family.”
But the band is holding out for an all-or-nothing deal. And some band members said they are eager to hear a decision in their favor.
Neel Agrawal, who plays in the drumline, said he hopes a decision will be made before next week’s final exams.
Agrawal said it would be great to play in a different atmosphere.
“I understand the bind the university is in, and I know they would love to send us all,” the no-preference freshman said.
Amanda Thelen, an alto saxophone player, said as soon as band director John Madden receives word of the decision, he will let all the band members know.
Although Thelen wasn’t a part of the band for its 2000 Florida Citrus Bowl trip, the English senior said it would be great to perform on television.
“It might be hard to pick someone out of the crowd, but at least I could say ‘that was me, I was there.’”
Ryan Wallace can be reached at wallac89@msu.edu.
