Eight Brothers Walk Into a Bar…

Balcoholic, when I read your post I was thinking that you were talking about the changes our bands/chapters undergo while we’re still actively involved…?

And I sympathize, I really do. You’ve got a chapter with a certain personality, and then in comes a couple new members with a totally different set of priorities, and next thing you know the chapter is dividing into factions and cliques – and then, because the different people are younger, they stick around longer and recruit people with their priorities, and end up changing the personality of the entire chapter. It’s neither a good nor a bad thing, but for the people who were there when it all started, it can be really hard, sad, and disillusioning.

My mama always told me that everything changes every five years – sometimes seven years, but usually five. It’s hard not to hold onto “the ways things were” or to not believe that the way your generation of people did things was the only right way. There’s no stopping change, particularly in a school setting where the population is going to cycle every 2-5 years. The trick is, as you said, keeping the old magic alive while letting the chapter evolve with its new membership.

I know that there are times when the New is hostile to the Old (or vice versa) and that’s a whole different kettle of fish. Probably a recruitment misstep, as well, although that’s debateable; is it proper to decline membership to someone because you know they’ll cause shattering change in the chapter? But when the New and the Old are playing for the same team, just using different styles, I daresay there’s hope.

Communication and differentiation are going to be key, in my opinion.

The process of change is often hard because we don’t understand it – instead of seeing it as the natural evolution of the chapter, we see it as a personal attack, needless bickering, and other variations on DOOM. If we can sit down as a united group and talk about what’s going on, we can be more supportive of one another and considerate of the impact one person’s progress is having on another person’s tradition. There’s no reason why the Old and the New can’t work together for something greater – and in fact, that’s a large part of the reason behind this website: trying to help new members stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before, so that they reach higher and achieve bigger and greater things.

Differentiation (delegation, pet projects, what-have-you) will help let the Old and New coexist peacefully. It’s good for a chapter if many different people are leading up projects that they’re passionate about, rather than just a few people doing all the work, or people having to do things they hate. If you bring in new members who are really excited about the stage bands, and your older members are much more focused on marching band, that’s not a bad thing – it’s an opportunity to diversify.

In my experience, things only really start to fall apart when one of three things happen:

1. The Old violently resists change and makes the New feel unwelcome and thwarted.
2. The New disrespects what has been and makes the Old feel defensive.
3. Someone with a really bad, pushy attitude and drastically different priorities comes in and bulldozes their way through the chapter with no regard for peoples’ feelings, focused only on their own agenda.

What do you do in those cases? A good sponsor might be able to help intervene… or sometimes, maybe, you just have to ride it out…

Edited to add Reasons to be a Brother:  

• Best course in interpersonal relations, communication, and leadership you’ll ever take in college
• Be a part of something bigger than yourself
• Gifts of random underwear