Elections 2016

Ben and Spencer here. It's 6:15 and the calls of "Magic! Magic!" have died down. The hall murmurs in anticipation.

6:15 and Bandos are planning an impeachment. Greer wants to start, begging calls of magic again. Spencer is back from the bathroom.

Ben is now talking about what he does *hint* basically nothing. He claims that it's mostly handling curveballs but no one knows what a curveball is. Ben explains that it's like regular ball but not straight.

(Spencer is projecting.)

Laura is talking. This is her 117th week in the Penn Band. One of the best things is that there's a place for everyone. We're one of the most diverse, welcoming places at Penn and there is no "typical" bando. She loved being on Board as treasurer, working with a lot of people but with some independent responsibilities. Anything important to band is important to her as well. She wants to work closer with Council, to help them grow in their positions, to thrive. The Band would be lost without council. Diversity is a blessing and a curse, and Laura will never let opinions go unheard. She wants to be accessible to the whole band.

We don't really know to run this blog thing. Help please.

Richard now. Richard is running to be your president, not just board and not just council. What does it mean to have a Penn Band experience? The heart of what we are is community -- literally anyone can come here and make music. We're a family. It's a cliche, but it's true, from Greer to freshmen to alumni's kids. This band is a home, a place not to worry about school or work, but a place to make music with people who care about you. He loves us, all of us. Even Travis. His intention is to devote all of his time to band, and he hopes we'll give him the chance to do that: not just to lead, but to provide and push.

Question Time

Matthew asks how you are going to manage your time.

Laura says that she has learned a lot when she was in leadership about that- sometimes you have to put band first. She's learned how to manage her time as Treasurer, like when budgets are due. It's not easy but she'll make time.

Richard says he spends most of his time here- last semester his attendance was around 91%. He's going to miss things for sure just like everyone but he wants to assure everyone that it's a priority.

Ben has a question. As president you get a lot of feedback from people and sometimes it's useful. Other times, people just need to blow off steam. How do you tell the difference between both types of criticism.

Richard says that you need to take a step back. Where is it coming from? What's the context, is it at a party? Maybe wait a little bit to think about it and work through it deliberately, don't make snap judgements.

Laura - It's important to know that sometimes things that are destructive could come from a valid point. You have to ask the question where did that comment come from? You have the ongoing support of the rest of board to work through everything you have to face.

Jeanette has a Q- both of you have been involved in conducting. How do you think that board and DMs should interact? How will the positions interact if they're the same person?

Richard thinks that they are separate entities for a reason. Board deals with philosophical issues while DMs deal with performances. If they're the same person it could be difficult to divide the two responsibilities. Although he also says it wouldn't be the worst thing if someone did both of them.

Laura wants to see more of a dialogue between board and DMs. There were some instances this past year where more communication would have been helpful.

Renee has a Q - What's your number one goal for this next year and how will you get there?

Laura's most important thing is being accessible to everyone. Checking in with council to see what they need but also to maybe have office hours. She doesn't want board to be secretive at all. There's a lot of issues with transparency sometimes and she wants to clear that up as best as she can.

Richard wants to cultivate the culture of the band. This should be a place where people want to spend their time. He wants to reach out and try and figure out why people want to come to band. Make a concerted effort to reach out to individuals.

Jenna's Q - How would you integrate the opinions of council at large?

Richard - He wants to be more upfront with the band about board meetings and other meetings like council meetings. Let people know what's being talked about.

Laura - We have made use of polling the band for some serious questions like what events we should go to. Council helps out with that because more people can be brought into the conversation.

Molly's Q - Diversity in the band. How do you get the input from people that aren't as confident speaking up?

Laura - People shouldn't be afraid speaking up about. It's important to identify those personalities so that you can be more approachable.

Richard - One thing to do is be present. Section leaders are always present so some people that are quiet could reach out to the SLs who would then reach out to the Board.