A Study of How College Marching Band Members Develop

Constant Recalibrations: A Study of How College Marching Band Members Develop

Understandings of Inclusion

Thesis

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

Alaina Rose Peters

Graduate Program in Educational Studies

The Ohio State University

2020

Thesis Committee:

Dr. Rebecca E. Crandall, Advisor

Dr. Susan R. Jones

Copyrighted by

Alaina Rose Peters

2020

Abstract

The purpose of this constructivist descriptive case study was to understand how college band members develop understandings of inclusion within a college marching band program with a stated commitment to inclusion. Central research questions pertained to how college band members understand inclusion, how they evaluate the inclusion of their band program, and how they understand their roles as responsible for developing inclusive environments within the band. Data collected included formal band documentation, observations of both full band rehearsals and Inclusion Committee meetings, and interviews with band members and gatekeepers. Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological theory of human development served as a theoretical framework through which to analyze both personal and environmental characteristics that influence student development.

After providing a contextual description of the case, the findings depict the students’ understandings of inclusion as based on feeling a sense of community and feeling supported, with varying descriptions pertaining to how social identities and personal characteristics influence that experience within the band. With these understandings of inclusion in mind, the students evaluated inclusion as both fully reached and not yet realized. The participants also noted that every band member was responsible for creating change towards inclusion, particularly by learning about others’ experiences. However, the ways in which they were able to do so were largely dictated by formal structures within the band. This study highlights the need for further research

on collegiate marching band members’ experiences in a variety of areas, along with implications for band students, directors, and student affairs professionals.

iii

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank many people who supported me throughout this process.

First and foremost, I am incredibly grateful to the gatekeepers and students of the marching band I studied. Your willingness to open your rehearsal spaces, procedures, and—most importantly—your stories to me means so much, and I hope your insights will illuminate steps towards stronger inclusion for both your band program and others.

I also owe a tremendous amount of gratitude towards many faculty, alumni, and students of the Ohio State HESA community for their support. Dr. Becky Crandall, thank you for guiding me throughout the entire thesis process as my thesis committee chair and advisor. Dr. Susan R. Jones, thank you for providing your qualitative research expertise to my education and for serving as my second thesis reader. I am also grateful to both of you for supporting my spiritual and personal development throughout this program. To

Dr. Mitsu Narui, thank you for helping me develop my social justice education skills and for serving as my peer debriefer for this study. To those alumni who coordinated the

Porterfield-Dickens SPA Assistantship Fund, thank you for the generous financial contribution towards my research. To my HESA cohort, thank you for your continuous encouragement through a particularly difficult fall semester and for cheering me on in meeting my deadlines. Chelsea Whitaker, thank you for serving as a tremendous iv

colleague and sounding board who also values the experiences of performing arts college students. And, to Joe Tran, thank you for serving as my primary source of emotional support throughout this project. It has truly been a roller-coaster of stress and successes, and you have been there through every twist and turn.

I am also thankful for the incredibly supportive staff members of the Kuhn

Honors & Scholars Center and Sorority and Fraternity Life. Thank you to Jade, Kate, and

Hunter for serving as supportive supervisors and giving me the time and encouragement to accomplish this project. I owe special thanks to Jade and Anna for fueling my love for college marching band in all its forms.

Finally, I am grateful to the groups of people who allowed me to develop my passion for college marching band before graduate school. Thank you to my parents,

Mary Pat and Chris, for supporting me in all of my academic and musical pursuits. Thank you to all of my former music instructors for fostering my passion and developing my skills. To the Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi, thank you for helping me develop my leadership skills, diversifying my understanding of college bands, and for charging me to continue exploring ways in which to serve them. It is truly an honor to be selected to serve.

Vita

June 2012……………………………A.G. West Black Hills High School

May 2016……………………………B.M.E. Music Education, Arizona State University

Fields of Study

Major Field: Educational Studies

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... ii Acknowledgments...... iv Vita ...... vi List of Tables ...... x List of Figures ...... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions ...... 4 Significance of Study ...... 6 Definition of Terms...... 7 Inclusion ...... 8 Diversity ...... 9 Socially Responsible Leadership Development...... 10 Marching Band-Related Terms ...... 10 Summary ...... 12 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ...... 13 Theoretical Framework ...... 14 Bronfenbrenner’s Theory Applied to Marching Band ...... 16 The Study of Students’ Understandings of Inclusion ...... 22 What Can Foster Students’ Understandings of Inclusion? ...... 25 How Students Demonstrate Understandings of Inclusion ...... 31 Development of Student Leadership for Creating Inclusive Environments ...... 33 Conclusion ...... 40 Marching Band as a Potential Site for Developing Understandings of Inclusion ...... 40 Background of College Marching Bands ...... 41 Band, A Diverse and Developmental Opportunity for Inclusion Understanding ..... 50 Potential for Student Impact on Marching Band Inclusivity ...... 57 Barriers to Marching Band Inclusivity and Student Understandings of Inclusion ... 61 Conclusion ...... 65 Conclusion ...... 66 Chapter 3: Methodology ...... 68 Research Design...... 69 Researcher Worldview and Positionality ...... 70 Epistemological Assumptions ...... 72 vii

Methodology: Case Study ...... 73 Case Selection ...... 75 The Case...... 76 Access, Rapport, and Institutional Approval ...... 77 Interview Participant Selection ...... 78 Data Collection and Storage ...... 80 Documents ...... 82 Observations ...... 83 Interviews ...... 85 Data Analysis ...... 87 Validation and Reliability ...... 89 Limitations ...... 92 Summary ...... 94 Chapter 4: Findings ...... 95 Contextualizing the Case ...... 96 Band Member Expectations ...... 98 Students’ Understandings of Inclusion ...... 102 Influence of Social Identities: “Aspects of Identity” ...... 103 Impact of Personal and Affinity Identities: “Two Different Categories” ...... 115 Conclusion ...... 121 Recalibrations Towards Inclusion...... 121 Already Arrived through General Community in Band: “A Great Place for Anyone” ...... 123 Making Identity Visible: “Someone Who Looks Like Me” ...... 139 Learning About Others: “It’s Just Made Me So Aware” ...... 143 Navigating Formal Structures: “How the Band System Works” ...... 151 Conclusion ...... 166 Chapter 5: Discussion ...... 169 Marching Band as a Case for both Inclusivity and Exclusivity ...... 169 Marching Band as an Environment for Learning about Inclusion ...... 173 Students’ Understandings of Inclusion as Analyzed through Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model ...... 176 Individual Band Member Characteristics ...... 177 Bronfenbrenner’s Various Systems in the Marching Band Context ...... 179 Conclusion ...... 184 Band Members’ Understandings of Inclusion ...... 186 Students’ Understandings of How to Create an Inclusive Environment: Recalibrations Towards Inclusion ...... 190 The Need to Make Identity Visible ...... 191 Actions Towards Inclusion: Learning About Others ...... 194 Actions Towards Inclusion: Navigating Formal Structures ...... 198 Implications for Further Research ...... 202 viii

Implications for Practice ...... 205 Implications for Student Band Members ...... 205 Implications for Student Affairs Professionals ...... 208 Implications for College Band Directors ...... 210 Strengths and Limitations ...... 211 Conclusion ...... 213 References ...... 216 Appendix A. Oral Recruitment Script to Students...... 228 Appendix B. Recruitment Email to Students ...... 229 Appendix C. Participant Consent Forms ...... 230 Appendix D. Interest/Demographic Survey ...... 238 Appendix E. Observation Protocols ...... 240 Appendix F. Student Interview Protocols ...... 242 Appendix G. Staff/Faculty Interview Protocols...... 245

List of Tables

Table 1 Student Participant Demographics…………………………………………….79

List of Figures

Figure 1 Band Environmental Charactristics from Literature Review ...... 17

Figure 2 Band Member Characteristics from Literature Review...... 18

Figure 3 Band Member Characteristics Found in Study .………………………………185

Figure 4 Band Environmental Characteristics Found in Study ..………………………186

Chapter 1: Introduction

As higher education encounters budget cuts and universities are criticized for their inability to prepare students for a quickly evolving job market (Pucciarelli & Kaplan,

2016), student affairs professionals must consider how their institutions’ structures prepare students for life after college. This is especially important as students increasingly expect the return on their educational investment to include securing a good job after college (Zhu & Anagondahalli, 2017). Determined by the NACE Center for

Career Development and Talent Acquisition, the newest career competency is global/intercultural fluency (Nunamaker, Walker, & Burton, 2017), the ability to “value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions” and to demonstrate “openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences” (NACE

Career Readiness Task Force, 2019, para. 11). Additionally, alarming statistics show that the campus climate for students with marginalized identities has diminished over the past decade (Soria, 2018) and news of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-Semitic, anti-LGBT, anti-women, and pro-White nationalist messages infiltrate college campuses

(Miller & Werner-Winslow, 2016). Therefore, work needs to be done to ensure that every student not only feels included and safe on campus, but that they are equipped to 1

advocate for inclusion and interact with people they perceive as different from them. This involves equipping students to serve as socially responsible leaders within their spheres of influence (Komives et al., 2009) and make change on individual, structural, and social levels (Harro, 2000).

Though institutions have made formal and curricular efforts to improve diversity training and diversity education on college campuses (Dalton & Crosby, 2010; King,

Gulick, & Avery, 2010), college students are more likely to experience informal interactions across difference. These informal interacts may have as significant, if not more significant, of an influence on students’ global and intercultural fluency (Engberg &

Porter, 2013). Studies (e.g., Castillo-Montoya, 2018; Engberg & Porter, 2013; Taylor,

2017) show that student development depends less on how the development is structured, and how regarding how students demonstrate the ability to navigate complex content

(Dugan et al., 2011). Students make meaning of their experiences through their own developmental lenses with varying levels of complexity and influence from external sources (King & Baxter Magolda, 2005), so it is important to understand how student meaning making of these sources occurs in various places on campus. As such, even informal experiences must be intentionally structured to allow students to learn from these interactions, including time to learn from peers and reflect on what they have learned (Engberg & Porter, 2013; Komives et al., 2009; Pizzolato, 2003). Moreover, understanding how students perceive inclusion and their own power in developing such

within a group is the responsibility of any person who works on a college campus (Munin

& Dugan, 2011).

One such environment in which to consider students’ development of understandings of inclusion is the college marching band. Marching bands have the potential to impact students for multiple years of their time in college (Madsen et al.,

2007) and offer many opportunities for engagement and leadership throughout their time in band (Faber, 2010; Scheivert, 2018). However, college marching and music programs present historical and contemporary barriers to inclusion (Bergonzi, 2009; Carter, 2013;

Koza, 2008) and ultimately exist to create performances (Westlake, 2015), not to develop students’ understanding of how to interact with one another. Considering this, membership in band presents many opportunities to develop understandings of inclusion as they interact with the multifaceted marching band environment. Given that 30% of college band members observed some form of hazing incidents in their marching band in

2015, the most common of which included public humiliation and degradation (Silveira

& Hudson, 2015), examining band members’ understandings of inclusivity should not only be of interest to those interested in diversity education, but also to those invested in the emotional and physical safety of college students engaged in this activity.

College marching bands may also be lacking in structural diversity for several reasons. Prior studies show that White students are overrepresented in high school ensembles (Scheivert, 2018), which serve as the primary foundations for college marching band preparation. Additionally, many college bands require prior knowledge of

music for admittance (Koza, 2018), though students from lower-income backgrounds may not have had access to this prior music education (Stewart, 2007). These circumstances may serve as a barrier for students to develop understandings of inclusion because interactions with diverse peers help students make meaning of inclusion and social justice (Engberg & Porter, 2013). However, creating an inclusive and supportive environment may increase retention, as students desire a sense of belonging within a group throughout their college experience (Faber, 2010). As such, knowledge of how current marching band members develop understandings of inclusion may pave the way for increased structural diversity within the band and learning opportunities for all members.

Purpose of the Study and Research Questions

The purpose of this constructivist case study was to understand how college band members develop understandings of inclusion within a college marching band program that has a stated commitment to this value. More specifically, band members’ understandings included how participants describe inclusion, how their understandings of inclusion aligned with their experiences within the band program, and how they perceived their role in furthering inclusion within the band program. The central research questions in this study were:

1. How do college band members understand inclusion?

a. What characteristics of band members (experiences, identities, leadership

positions, etc.) influence their understanding of this term? 4

b. What characteristics of the band influence the band members’

understanding of this term?

2. How do college band members evaluate the quality of inclusion of the band

program?

a. What characteristics of band members (experiences, identities, leadership

positions, etc.) influence how they view their experiences in regard to

inclusion?

b. What characteristics of the band influence how band members view their

experiences in regard to inclusion?

3. How do college band members understand their role as responsible for developing

inclusive environments within the band program?

a. What characteristics of band members (experiences, identities, leadership

positions, etc.) influence their understanding of this role?

b. What characteristics of the band influence the band members’

understanding of this?

To study these questions, I utilized a qualitative constructivist case study research design focusing on a specific college marching band. These research questions called for a qualitative case study approach due to the importance of situating the study within its context, studying a natural setting, and acknowledging participants’ multiple perspectives and meanings (Creswell & Poth, 2018). More specifically, a case study approach, the study of a “contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’)” that is investigated in-depth and

within a “real-world context” (Yin, 2014, p. 16), was appropriate to understand, in detail, how the band program influences students’ perception of inclusion.

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological theory of human development served as an appropriate theoretical framework through which to analyze the marching band as a developmental environment. Bronfenbrenner (1994) proposed that a student’s development is influenced by both the characteristics of a developing person and the environment. That said environment is defined by all of the interactions, called proximal processes, that take place in or around the developing person (Bronfenbrenner, 1994).

Significance of Study

Existing research calls for deeper examination of how students develop a sense of leadership in relation to creating inclusive environments. One study (Trujillo, 2009) showed that students who participate in creative student organizations, such as theater or music, demonstrated more socially responsible leadership development than their peers involved in other types of organizations. However, the researcher was unable to answer how these organizations helped develop students due to the quantitative survey method of the study (Trujillo, 2009). Thus, the author called for qualitative research to explore the development of this understanding (Trujillo, 2009). Other studies of socially responsible leadership development and hazing prevention education amongst general and band- specific populations (Cress, Astin, Zimmerman-Oster, 2001; Silveira & Hudson, 2015) also suggested the need for more qualitative research to understand the connection

between current education practices and student leadership development. This study was intended to afford much needed insight in that regard.

Understanding how the marching band environment influences students’ sense of leadership regarding creating inclusive environments for their peers would also fill current gaps in both education and research within the music education field. Directors at the college level echoed a lack of training about student leadership development originally identified by high school directors (Legette, 1998). A college band director reported, “Unfortunately, I have observed nothing in a typical Ph.D. or D.M.A. academic program to prepare future band directors for effectively managing college students. Focus on music, research, pedagogy, artistry, and performance is likely to leave a sizeable gap in social management experience” (Scheivert, 2018, p. 255). If band directors were presented with a study using a theoretical framework showing what may influence their students’ understandings of inclusion within the program at various levels, they would be better equipped to address inclusion within their program and provide opportunities for students to reflect on the band’s environmental factors and their own identities in order to develop their own understandings of inclusion.

Definition of Terms

The following definitions clarify the meaning of terms used throughout this study.

These are provided to help readers understand the work, especially around the complex definition of inclusion and terms specific to the marching band and music communities.

Inclusion

Though many organizations strive for inclusion, there is not one mutually agreed- upon definition of inclusion in educational settings (Schwab, Sharma, & Loreman, 2018).

In creating a definition for this study, I explored the stated values of professional associations for both student affairs and music education, including College Student

Educators International (ACPA), Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

(NASPA), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and College Band

Directors National Association (CBDNA). Though an inclusion definition was not provided from CBDNA, common themes emerged across the remaining three sources.

First, inclusion is depicted as an action, characterized by gerunds in all definitions. Examples include NASPA’s “seeking ways to ensure access, voice, acknowledgement, opportunity, and participation at all levels” (“About NASPA,” 2019, para. 7) and ACPA’s “dynamic state of operating” (Love, 2016, p. 1). Inclusion also acknowledges the organizational benefits of diversity by seeking diverse representation.

This is noted in NAfME’s “promoting diversity in a profession representing the wide spectrum of people and cultures, abilities, economic backgrounds, and gender identities”

(“Mission and Goals,” 2016, para. 6), and leveraging it to “create a fair, healthy, and high-performing institution or community” (Love, 2016, p. 1). Acknowledging that each organization has its own definition of diversity, I provide a definition for diversity in the section below.

Inclusion is also a feeling, in which “individuals and groups […] feel safe, respected, engaged, motivated, and valued, for who they are and for their contributions toward institutional and societal goals” (Love, 2016, p. 1), which involves “building strength” among members (“Mission and Goals,” 2016, para. 6). Finally, opportunities for all people to be heard is a common value of inclusion, as represented in NASPA’s

“access, voice, acknowledgement, opportunity, and participation at all levels” (“About

NASPA,” 2019, para. 7). This study seeks to understand how students perceive inclusion and how closely their conceptualizations align with those in the organizations’ conceptions of inclusion as both behavioral and affective.

Diversity

Due to the fact that all studied definitions of inclusion acknowledge diversity in some way, it is important to understand the definition of diversity used in this study as well. Though some organizational references list specific personal characteristics that comprise diversity such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, (Love, 2016;

“Diversity,” 2019; “Mission and Goals,” 2016), ACPA’s broader definition of diversity describes the term as “the variety of similarities and differences among people…

Inclusion of various diversity dimensions may vary by geography or institution” (Love,

2016, p. 1). This definition includes a long list of various characteristics or identities that contribute to similarities and differences amongst people, but then acknowledges that those dimensions vary based on the context of the organization.

Socially Responsible Leadership Development

Framed conceptually by the Social Change Model, socially responsible leadership development is defined by a “purposeful, collaborative, values-based process that results in positive social change” (Komives et al., 2009, p. xi). It is built on the assumptions that

“leadership is a process rather than a position,” “‘leadership’ is concerned with effecting change on behalf of others and society,” and that “all students (not just those who hold formal leadership positions) are potential leaders” (Komives et al., 2009, p. xii). This term is revisited often throughout this paper in an effort to understand Research Question

3, which addresses whether all students view themselves as responsible for inclusion within the band program and the factors that may influence their understanding.

Marching Band-Related Terms

Considering the audience reading this paper will primarily include student affairs scholar-practitioners potentially unfamiliar with marching band and music terminology, I have provided some basic definitions of several terms used throughout this paper. Upon completion of the study, terms may be added or modified to match the specific issues discussed within the case.

Drum Major

Marching bands typically have between one and four drum majors depending on their performance practices. These students typically have at least one year of experience within the band before taking on this role (Johnson, 2014). This student is typically the highest-ranking student leader within the band and is expected to oversee the band in the

absence of the director, as well as to assist the director at all times (Brewer, 2009;

Buckton, 1929). A drum major must have a commanding presence and “showmanship”

(p. 207) while also having the skills to teach struggling individual band members as needed (Lee, 1955). Drum majors are seen as the director’s musical and political advocates, bridging the gap between students and staff (Brewer, 2009).

Section

This term refers to the group of students who play the same instrument in the marching band. The instrument section functions as one of the primary subgroups within the band (Abril, 2012), as they function as one of the main groups in which band members find friends and seek advice (Weren, 2012). Some instrument sections are traditionally gendered, with males or females predominating in certain sections that are considered more or less masculine (Broslawsky, 2017).

Auxiliary Units

These units are defined as groups of students who are “non-instrumental performing units whose purpose is to add visual variety to a marching band’s performance (e.g., flag corps, twirlers, rifle corps, etc.)” (Fuller, 1995, p. 14). In contrast with the traditional masculine appearance of instrumentalists’ band uniforms, many auxiliary groups “highlight femininity through revealing uniforms, makeup, hairdos, suggestive dance moves, and happy facial expressions” (p. 83) and are predominantly comprised of females (Broslawsky, 2017).

Section/Squad/Rank Leader

This role involves “being the primary leader of an instrumental section of the band” (Abril, 2012, p. 439). Like drum majors, these students typically have at least one year of experience within the band before taking on said role (Johnson, 2014). These students may be responsible for serving as peer mentors (Luminais & Williams, 2016), teaching music and/or marching techniques to other students (Shellahamer, Swearingen,

& Woods, 1986), managing equipment (Lee, 1955), helping audition or place students on parts (Buckton, 1929), and shaping the culture of the band (Kouzes & Posner, 2018).

Summary

The college marching band presents a multi-layered and long-term engagement opportunity for college students (Madsen et al., 2007; Scheivert, 2018). This reality, coupled with the need to develop students’ understandings of inclusion for campus climate (Dalton & Crosby, 2010) and individual student development (NACE Career

Readiness Task Force, 2019), calls for a bioecological examination of a college marching band as a potential environment for students’ meaning making of inclusion. This qualitative constructivist case study describes how the multiple layers of the marching band environment influence this understanding, which includes students’ definitions, perceptions, and beliefs in themselves to help foster an inclusive environment within the marching band setting.

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature

Broadly, a large body of literature within student affairs aims to examine how students develop understandings throughout college about a variety of topics. One such topic involves how students live in an increasingly diverse society and create inclusive and equitable cultures. Given that students often have limited interactions with culturally different peers due to many growing up in segregated areas and not being exposed to multicultural issues in the K-12 curriculum (Crowder, Pais, & South, 2012; Saenz, 2010), students may be interacting across numerous types of difference for the first time in their transition to college. Though interactions across difference can lead to more positive perceptions of the campus environment (Laird & Niskode-Dosset, 2010), students face a variety of developmental characteristics, experiences, and barriers that may influence how they approach these interactions across difference.

Similar to collegiate athletics, a time-consuming activity which requires student- athletes to balance athletic, academic, and social demands and influences their psychosocial and cognitive growth, the college marching band presents opportunities for students to learn about inclusion through its time-consuming nature (Cumberledge,

2015), opportunities for community-building amongst a large diverse group of students

(Cumberledge, 2017; Johnson, 2014), and exclusionary history (Bergonzi, 2009; Carter,

2013; Koza, 2008). As such, it is important to understand how these students understand

inclusion and which environments foster that understanding. This chapter will review prior findings about students’ understandings of inclusion, as well as why marching band should be studied as a unique potential site for such meaning making, through the lens of

Bronfenbrenner’s developmental bio/ecological theory.

Theoretical Framework

Considering the need for examining the role that a college marching band can play in students’ meaning making about inclusion and how they can help create them within their band program, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development serves as an excellent theoretical framework through which to analyze the band environment. Bronfenbrenner’s framework has been used to discuss college student development for various populations, as a bioecological approach “provides a lens for understanding individuals in multiple, layered, and interacting environments, only some of which they encounter directly” (Renn & Arnold, 2003, p. 264). This approach is necessary for understanding the large-scale nature and many subgroups of a college marching band. The approach also provides a framework for analyzing different levels of access that student populations may have regarding membership into certain mesosystems (Renn & Arnold, 2003), which is valuable for examining groups that have exclusive membership and show an underrepresentation of students with marginalized identities.

Bronfenbrenner proposed that development occurs as a result of four factors: process, person, context, and time (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). This means that a student’s 14

development is influenced by both the characteristics of a developing person and the environment, and that the environment is defined by both the enduring immediate and more remote processes, called proximal processes, that take place in or around the developing person (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). I will briefly describe Bronfenbrenner’s

(1994; 2005) depictions of these characteristics and processes, before exploring further information regarding how students understand inclusion and why the marching band environment is a potential site for the development of this understanding.

Bronfenbrenner’s later (2005) writings incorporated characteristics of students that may allow the student to influence the environment and be influenced by it, shifting his theory from an ecological one to a bioecological one (Rosa & Tudge, 2013). This research highlighted the important role that the environment plays in student development while also acknowledging the change-making potential of individual students within any given environment. Students’ personal characteristics serve as developmentally instigative characteristics, which may influence their selective responsivity, structuring proclivities, and directive beliefs (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). The impacts of these characteristics can be summarized in three categories: generative or disruptive force characteristics (those that either initiate or sustain proximal processes or those that impede or interrupt them), resource characteristics (those that influence a person’s ability to engage effectively in proximal processes), or demand characteristics

(qualities that can invite or discourage reactions from a social environment, including those relating to social identity or personality traits) (Rosa & Tudge, 2013).

Bronfenbrenner (1994) analyzed the environment as a context for development in five levels: (a) microsystems, the situations, activities, and interpersonal interactions experienced by a person directly; (b) mesosystems, the connections between two or more microsystems; (c) exosystems, the settings that do not contain the developing person but rather indirectly influence them; (d) macrosystems, the broad patterns of micro-, meso-, and exosystems within a culture; and (e) chronosystems, the changes or consistencies over time regarding both the developing person’s characteristics and the environment in which they live.

Bronfenbrenner’s Theory Applied to Marching Band

There are many reasons why the collegiate marching band environment serves as a worthwhile environment to examine using Bronfenbrenner’s (1994; 2005) framework.

First, Bronfenbrenner (1994) asserted that “human development takes place through processes of progressively more complex reciprocal interaction” (p. 38) between a student and the characteristics in their environment, and that these proximal processes are only effective if they occur on a “fairly regular basis over extended periods of time” (p.

38). Considering the time-consuming nature of band, both over the course of a week

(Cumberledge, 2015) and over multiple years of a college experience (Matney, 2018), marching band has the potential for providing interactions that Bronfenbrenner would characterize as proximal processes.

Since proximal processes within marching band occur often (Cumberledge, 2015) and over multiple years (Matney, 2015), Bronfenbrenner’s theory provides an

opportunity to examine both students’ characteristics and marching band’s environmental characteristics. A summary of unique band-related environmental characteristics using

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model is represented in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Band Environmental Characteristics from Literature Review

Figure 2. Band Member Characteristics from Literature Review

Regarding each student’s personal characteristics, Bronfenbrenner (1993) said that the “attributes of the person most likely to shape the course of development, for better or for worse, are those that induce or inhibit dynamic dispositions toward the immediate environment” (p. 11). These may include the individual’s selective responsivity (in how students may react to opportunities within their surroundings such as auditioning for leadership positions or joining volunteer student subgroups within the band), structuring proclivities (how individuals engage and persist in increasingly 18

complex activities, such as the stresses of midseason or scaffolded leadership responsibilities), and directive beliefs (how individuals experience agency and leadership in relation to their environments, such as how band members perceive their ability to change their perceptions or the band program itself) (Patton et al., 2016).

Students’ internal characteristics may shape how they both conceptualize and experience inclusion. The identities that shape how students conceptualize inclusion may be “nature-identities” (p. 101), comprised of states which they are in, such as a racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation group (Gee, 2000). Other types of identities may be more transient, such as institutional identities that assign authority to a person based on a given role, discourse identities that assign individual traits based on how others view them, or affinity identities that share mutual interests (Gee, 2000). Students may also tend to overemphasize certain concepts in avoidance of others, such as pointing out individual acts of exclusion without noting the broader impacts of power and privilege in society

(Taylor, 2017) or prioritizing academic and institutional knowledge instead of reflecting on the knowledge they have gained from their own lived experiences (Foste, 2017). All these tendencies are personal characteristics that may cause a barrier in the student’s development.

There are five levels of systems in an environment that may influence a student: microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems.

Microsystems, those “pattern of activities, social roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by the developing person in a given face-to-face setting” (Bronfenbrenner,

1993, p. 39) that have the potential to impact all students include roommates, friendship groups, work settings, athletic teams, families, or faculty relationships (Renn & Arnold,

2003). In addition to these, special environmental processes within the marching band such as subgroups based on grade level, instrumentation, performance ability, years of membership, and social hierarchies (Abril, 2012), as well as other student organizations within the band (Bratcher, 2015), may influence students’ development of their meaning making regarding inclusion.

The mesosystem, the “pattern of linkages and processes taking place between two or more settings containing the developing person” (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, p. 40), could represent how students with higher performance abilities or certain instruments ascend to higher social positions within the band (Abril, 2012), how students must balance academic and social obligations with the heavy time commitment of marching band

(Cumberledge, 2015), or how their relationship—whether through their position or more informally—with the band director impacts their relationship with their peers (Brewer,

2009; Carter, 2013).

The exosystem, which “comprises the linkages and processes taking place between two or more settings, at least one of which does not contain the developing person, but in which events occur that indirectly influence processes within the immediate setting in which the developing person lives” (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, p, 40), could impact college students through parents’ or partners’ workplaces, institutional decision makers, faculty curriculum committees, or federal financial aid policies (Renn &

Arnold, 2003). Considering that a college marching band can be seen as a curricular entity (Matney, 2018), an athletic organization (Haynie, 1971), a student organization

(Scheivert, 2018), or a combination of the three, the specific university context the marching band is situated within and the policies that impact the band through various departments have the potential to impact students, as well as those exosystems that are specific to individual students.

The macrosystem encompasses the “overarching pattern of micro-, meso-, and exosystems characteristic of a given culture, subculture, or other extended social structure, with particular reference to the developmentally instigative belief systems, resources, hazards, lifestyles, opportunity structures, life course options and patterns of social interchange that are embedded in overarching systems” (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, p.

40) and could consist of ideologies that are situated in present-day society as well as cultural understandings of gender, race, and ethnicity (Renn & Arnold, 2003). Koza’s

(2008) work on racial politics in undergraduate music auditions, Carter’s (2013) study of

Black gay undergraduates in Historically Black Colleges and University marching bands,

Bergonzi’s (2009) depiction of diverse sexual orientations within music education, and

Broslawsky’s (2017) study of hegemonic masculinity in band performances all demonstrate the impact that cultural understandings of identity have on the band experience, though students are likely to respond to these experiences differently based on their own identities.

Finally, the chronosystem, which represents the “change or consistency over time not only in the characteristics of the person but also of the environment in which that person lives” (Bronfenbrenner, 1994, p. 40) may impact students as they transition from their high school marching band experience to college marching band (Faber, 2010), as culture changes do or do not occur within the band (Kouzes & Posner, 2018; Matney,

2018), or understanding how the larger history of marching band has excluded certain students’ identities but is also slowly progressing to become more inclusive (Scheivert,

2018).

The Study of Students’ Understandings of Inclusion

Given the need to understand how individual student characteristics may shape the way they interact with and perceive their environment (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), it is important to study literature related to how students come to understand inclusion.

Students’ development of understanding of inclusion should be a concern for a variety of reasons. Diversity on a college campus not only creates a vision of access for underrepresented populations, but it increases the likelihood of interactions across difference, which generally create a more positive perception of the campus environment for diversity and inclusion (Ncube et al., 2018) and help students feel a greater sense of support from other students, faculty, and administrators (Laird & Niskodé-Dossett, 2010).

Furthermore, as academic experiences are not strongly related to student perceptions of climate and respect, other factors within a “much broader range of student life” (Ncube et al., 2018, p. 204) such as student social experiences, are likely to be key contributors to 22

improving students’ perceptions of campus climate. Across gender, racial/ethnic, and college major groups, college students’ diversity experiences also positively impact their socially responsible leadership development, defined as their commitment to social change (Parker & Pascarella, 2013). Positive diversity interactions with peers are also associated with first-year students’ psychological well-being (Bowman, 2010). Because of the implications interactions across difference may have for student perception of campus climate, wellbeing, and leadership development, the National Association of

Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) cites “encouraging an understanding of and respect for diversity” and “supporting students in their development” (2019, para. 2) as two of the core concepts of the student affairs profession. NASPA (2019) also asserts that opportunities for student learning and meaning making exist everywhere on campus, not solely in the classroom. Similarly, the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) lists “diversity, multicultural competence and human dignity” as one of its core values

(2019, para. 3).

General trends show that the college-going student population is growing increasingly diverse, due to an increasingly diverse overall U.S. population (Espinosa,

Turk, Taylor, & Chessman, 2019) and diversity and inclusion efforts such as affirmative action (Ncube, Jacobson, Whitfield, & McNamara, 2018), but that college environments still fail to retain, support, and include diverse students particularly along racial and ethnic lines (Espinosa et al., 2019; Soria, 2018). For example, in 2016, Black students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs persisted through their first year of college at

rates lower than any other racial or ethnic group, and the gender gap in enrollment for

Black students remained the widest of any group with Black women comprising almost two-thirds of Black undergraduates (Espinosa et al., 2019). Similarly, high school graduates were half as likely to enroll in college if they were of American Indian, Alaska

Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander descent (Espinosa et al., 2019). The campus climate itself has worsened for students with marginalized identities over the six- year period of 2012 to 2017 (Soria, 2018). The fact that the largest proportion of incidents ten days following the 2016 presidential election occurred in either higher education institutions or K-12 institutions and were centered on negative messages towards a variety of marginalized student populations serves as a concerning example of the declining campus climate for an expanding population of marginalized students

(Miller & Werner-Winslow, 2016).

Though multiculturalism and diversity are widely acknowledged as inherent and core values of the student affairs profession, colleges often treat these initiatives as the role of specialized offices rather than the shared responsibility of all student affairs professionals (Munin & Dugan, 2011). However, values of inclusive design, which include “the purposeful construction of programs and services that recognize how social identity frames the ways in which students perceive, interpret, engage with, and learn in the college context” (Munin & Dugan, 2011, p. 158) can and should be applied to programs of all types at a college or university, as learning about diversity and inclusion

does not solely occur in multicultural centers or diversity education classrooms (Engberg

& Porter, 2013).

What Can Foster Students’ Understandings of Inclusion?

When considering theories of self authorship and holistic student development, tenets of the fields of diversity education and training, and literature regarding incorporating diverse students’ lived experiences and funds of knowledge, themes emerge regarding what environmental characteristics foster students’ understanding of inclusion. These include reflecting on lived experiences and both informal and formal diversity learning opportunities, as often discussed in diversity training and education literature.

Elements of Diversity Training and Education

The fields of diversity training and diversity education have long operated in silos, which has led to an inefficient use of time and resources and smaller extensions of knowledge bases, even though general trends among both fields reflect similar considerations for establishing inclusivity (King et al., 2010). Both fields argue that facilitators should address experiences and contexts of those receiving the training or education to help contextualize and make relevant the information the participants are receiving (King et al., 2010). However, within these fields, a gap exists involving incorporating the beliefs and prejudices of those receiving such training, in addition to contextualizing their actions (King et al., 2010).

Related literature focused more on social justice education highlights the importance of understanding participants’ beliefs and prejudices as well as contextualizing hands-on development experiences. To transform students’ perspectives regarding inclusion, education and reflection activities must take place to ensure students are challenging their own biases towards themselves and others. Some of these reflection tools could include engaging students in sharing their life stories with one another, along with guided reflection and journaling (Furman, 2012). In these critical reflection opportunities, students should be expected to “explore their values, assumptions, and biases in regard to race, class, language, sexual orientation, and so on and in turn, how these affect their leadership practice” (Furman, 2012, p. 205-206). Students should use problem-solving skills to process and act through “issues of justice, equity, and fairness, considering whether it is possible to undo harm” (Patterson & Gray, 2019, p. 7) to those who have been previously harmed. Beyond simple non-critical reflection that is recommended in various leadership development theories and programs (e.g., Komives et al., 2009; Sessa, 2017; Kouzes & Posner, 2018), social justice education pedagogies

(Brown, 2004; Brown, 2011; Wang, 2018; Ewest, 2018) center the need for critical reflection when learning about working with diverse people, in addition to engaging in rational discourse and policy praxis (2011). Students must think contextually and critically to examine what hegemonic dominant ideologies exist within their worldview

(Brown, 2004) in order to develop their philosophies towards inclusion.

Paired with any reflection activity, students must have opportunities to challenge themselves in hands-on learning environments, which provide circumstances that students can reflect on and contextualize their learning experiences (King, Gulick, &

Avery, 2010; Brown, 2004; Sessa, 2017). One of the best practices in diversity training is placing students’ learning within their real-world contexts, and diversity education incorporates experiential forms of learning into their best practices (King et al., 2010).

Students must experience a range of different situations that challenge them to examine how they come to know and believe certain ideas. Practical activities such as creating activist action plans help students reconcile the values they are learning and reflecting on practical application experiences (Brown, 2004). This hands-on learning allows students to learn adaptively (receiving recognition and feedback from peers and mentors), generatively (recognizing the need for and taking action to learn additional information), and transformatively (being stretched beyond their comfort zone and relying on others for support) (Sessa, 2017). Not only do these hands-on experiences provide opportunities for students to gain practical knowledge, but they allow educators to assess how much students have learned by examining how their actions reflect their values. King, Gulick, and Avery (2010) recommend developing a 360-degree feedback system, in which observations from peers, supervisors, and subordinates are all considered in evaluating one’s advocacy efforts. This demonstrates the importance of assessing students’ belief system changes as reflected through their hands-on leadership experiences.

Incorporation of Student Experiences

Rather than simply acknowledging the importance of contextualizing student’s experiences with practical situations as reflected in diversity training and education literature, student development literature defines the incorporation of students’ experiences as essential for students’ development, particularly regarding inclusion efforts. For example, Engberg and Porter (2013)’s conceptual framework, which links diversity experiences to moral development, acknowledges that many types of interactions may highlight group differences. These include those that are present in curricular, cocurricular, and day-to-day interactions (Engberg & Porter, 2013). Engberg and Porter (2013) encouraged colleges to intentionally structure all these types of learning opportunities to prompt student meaning making and reflection about these topics. Other educational programming, such as ethnic/cultural activities and diversity- related residence hall activities, fell short of influencing both outcomes, potentially because they may not have fostered experiences in interacting across difference as intentionally as others (Zuniga, Williams, & Berger, 2005).

Considering psychosocial development through student organizations (Foubert &

Grainger, 2006; Fredericks & Eccles, 2006), organized student groups may be beneficial in providing these diverse interactions. Large-scale student organizations with diverse membership may especially foster students’ growth, because overall frequent cross-racial interactions are linked to higher levels of self-reported growth and other student outcomes more than close interracial friendships (Bowman & Park, 2015).

Other experiences such as taking women’s studies or ethnic studies courses, studying abroad, volunteering, participating in protests or demonstrations, and participating in student government have been shown to help cultivate students’ civic values, though more information is needed to understand more specifically what types of and what duration of these experiences have the greatest impact on students (Lott,

2013b). One type of college experience with mixed results regarding diversity-related attitudes is Greek letter organizations, with some studies showing positive associations

(Padgett, Johnson, & Pascarella, 2012), while other organizations showed negative effects (Sax, 2008; Sidanius, Van Laar, Levin, Sinclair, 2004). Given mixed reports, it is difficult to state for certain how membership in Greek letter organizations impacts students’ interactions with and orientations to diversity, but results may depend on individual institution environments considering some studies only examined one institution (Sidanius et al., 2004) and the selective nature of these types of organizations.

Though structuring practical experiences in which college students may interact with those perceived as different from them contributes to many aforementioned benefits, colleges must avoid structuring experiences that prioritize the experience of students with primarily privileged identities, because not all students benefit equally from these opportunities (Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, & Wolniak, 2016). For example, in a study of how diversity experiences impacted students of various worldviews, these experiences were positive for mainline protestant and nonreligious students, but they were negative for Muslim students (Mayhew, Rockenbach, & Bowman, 2016).

Additionally, Lott (2013a) found a strong link between Black students’ spirituality and development of their civic values, a factor found nonsignificant when exploring factors that impact civic values of a general student population. When examining and crafting these diversity experiences, student affairs professionals must question how students’ identities may affect how they experience a situation and which identity groups may be impacted the most.

Gonzalez, Moll, and Amanti’s conceptualization of “funds of knowledge—the skills, abilities, ideas, practices, and ways of knowing accumulated and internalized from everyday life” (Castillo-Montoya, 2018, p. 37), held by all students regardless of background, are important for students to reflect on as part of their learning process

(Castillo-Montoya, 2018). However, students from marginalized backgrounds often find it more difficult to reflect on and discuss their funds of knowledge in classroom environments (Castillo-Montoya, 2018). For example, Students of Color may be able to reflect on experiences of discrimination and cultural marginalization much more easily than White students, but they may be reluctant to share this information in formal educational settings due to their perception that their histories, experiences, and cultures have been misunderstood or devalued (Castillo-Montoya, 2018). Few empirical examples of instructors intentionally incorporating students’ funds of knowledge exacerbate this issue, but Castillo-Montoya (2018) advocates for drawing on students’ relevant life experiences in the classroom and noticing students’ funds of knowledge obtained through these life experiences when they do appear.

How Students Demonstrate Understandings of Inclusion

Considering the aforementioned tools that can help foster students’ understanding of inclusion, including reflection and discussion about hegemonic beliefs, incorporating student knowledge and experiences into the learning process, and providing hands-on diversity experiences for students, what are reasonable outcomes to expect that show students have developed in their meaning making of inclusion? Existing research in the field of ally development can inform what one can reasonably expect from students’ development, as it reflects how students may demonstrate personal growth regarding inclusion, especially when the issues impact identities other than their own. Research suggests that students who identify as allies describe their development primarily as a learning process that included learning new information, engaging in meaning making, and growing in understanding of themselves (Broido, 2000). However, other studies highlight the need for deeper interrogation of this term, as students may be motivated to use the term “ally” for self-serving or altruistic reasons rather than centering social justice as their end goal (Edwards, 2006). Students who have reached the developmental level of social justice allies work with oppressed groups (in contrast to working for them), recognize that all people are harmed by oppression but that subordinate groups are harmed the most, see the interconnectedness of forms of oppression, and seek and value feedback in their quest for continuous improvement (Edwards, 2006).

Other literature focusing on student development highlights various stages that students may go through when developing meaning-making structures about inclusion.

King and Baxter Magolda (2005) observed that students gradually develop skills in cognitive frame-shifting (taking a cultural perspective different from one’s own) and dialectical thinking (holding at least two cultural perspectives at the same time), which allow them to understand both their own identities and others’ perspectives with greater complexity. As students develop meaning-making structures regarding these issues, it is important for them to understand how the scope of the world’s injustice impacts their personal background and beliefs. However, even students in a course focused explicitly on developing critical consciousness focused more on their individual efforts regarding their understanding rather than developing skills to impact collective action (Taylor,

2017). They struggled to understand how power and privilege was reflected in society at large, though they were able to connect their background beliefs regarding injustice and community members within real-world contexts (Taylor, 2017). White students in particular, those who hold racial privilege, develop an academic or institutional understanding of racism before understanding it through personal or larger societal lenses

(Foste, 2017). This pattern mirrors King and Baxter Magolda’s (2005) model that shows that students gradually move from egocentric or individualistic perspectives to understanding that different groups have different social values, before understanding larger social systems that impact relationships among cultural groups. Though Taylor’s

(2017) and Foste’s (2017) findings may seem to limit one’s expectations for student development regarding understanding power and privilege, their findings leave space for

examining what other environments influence students to understand how societal structures influence inclusion.

Development of Student Leadership for Creating Inclusive Environments

In addition to understanding inclusion and the various structures that influence this concept, students must also develop their own sense of leadership and confidence in developing inclusive environments. As students develop these leadership skills, they demonstrate understanding of inclusion and put concepts learned during social justice education and critical reflection into practice (Brown, 2011). This next section will review promising practices and potential barriers towards developing students’ sense of leadership in cultivating inclusion.

Promising Practices for Developing Students’ Sense of Leadership

Formal leadership development programs exist on many campuses to help students develop understandings of their own responsibilities and capabilities of leading themselves and others effectively. A study of leadership development programs showed that students were most affected by these programs on the individual level; they reported increased confidence, communication skills, networking abilities, cultural awareness, creative thinking, and many other behaviors (Black & Earnest, 2009). Students also frequently reported positive organization-level outcomes including networking, better business-related communications skills, and management skills (Black & Earnest, 2009).

At the community level, the level which most directly applies to developing students’ abilities to challenge various structures of inequality, students grew the most in an

increased awareness of cultural diversity (Black & Earnest, 2009). Similar to formal leadership programs and courses, diversity courses have a strong impact on developing students’ belief in the importance of improving society and working for social justice

(Nelson & Laird, 2005). However, other research shows that students who only take one diversity course may experience disequilibrium that must be resolved through other experiences, including additional diversity courses (Bowman, 2013). Johnson (2015) suggests that inviting conversations centering sociocultural and racial issues in curricular and cocurricular settings may help cultivate students’ civic identity.

Recommendations centered around the Leadership Identity Development Model also speak to the importance of teaching the language of leadership so that students can connect their lived experiences to a formal model, as well as the role that professional university staff have in fostering student’s sense of leadership (Komives et al., 2009).

However, formal leadership development programs are not the only way that students develop a sense of leadership in creating inclusive environments. In fact, 65% of college seniors report never participating in an individual leadership experience, so student affairs professionals must explore other ways to foster leadership in students (Dugan et al., 2011). In a study measuring students’ socially responsible leadership development, students demonstrated benefits from conferences, single-course and capstone experiences, peer leadership teams, positional leadership training, service immersions, and multicultural leadership programs (Dugan et al., 2011). From this study, the researchers concluded that,

the platform or type of individual leadership experience matters much less than the degree to which educators embed high-impact learning and pedagogical strategies (e.g., service learning, mentoring relationships, conversations about and across difference) into program delivery. If educators wish to address the compelling societal need for effective leaders and enhance the likelihood that educational interventions demonstrate positive influences on student learning, leadership programs should be redesigned with these considerations in mind. (Dugan et al., 2011, p. 79)

In fact, if student affairs professionals only consider formal leadership development experiences when attempting to cultivate student leadership, they replicate systems of power and privilege used to marginalize students with minority identities

(Munin & Dugan, 2011). Assuming leadership development only happens in these spaces reflects patterns of in-group and out-group perspectives that label everything else happening outside of a central leadership office as a deviation from the norm instead of an equally—or more—beneficial experience for the student (Munin & Dugan, 2011).

Considering that barriers such as time commitment and the perception of who is labeled a

“leader” on campus prevent students with minority identities from joining these formal leadership development programs in the first place (Munin & Dugan, 2011), other forms of leadership development must be considered.

Given that many different campus opportunities can develop students’ sense of leadership to create change, especially regarding creating inclusive environments, it is important to take a deeper look into what practices may specifically foster this development. Some of these practices include mentorship, interactions with diverse peers, service, group and practical activities, and personal reflection.

Both peer and professional mentors can help develop students’ sense of leadership for creating change (Komives et al., 2009; Sessa, 2017) by challenging them about their beliefs and decisions and providing emotional support throughout their journey. Given the high-touch nature of their positions, faculty, as well as student organization advisors, have particularly common opportunities to engage in student mentorship (Dugan &

Komives, 2010; Nelson, 2017). Conversations with peers across a wide array of differences, including beliefs about social issues and lifestyles, can also contribute to gains in students’ socially responsible leadership development (Dugan & Komives,

2010). Additionally, community service helps develop students’ leadership skills, but it does not always cultivate students’ skills in developing consciousness of self or creating change (Dugan & Komives, 2010). Research also suggests that student organizations can develop students’ leadership skills and self-efficacy, but these impacts are typically only shown if the students are mentally and physically engaged in the organization; simply attending a meeting for the organization actually served as a negative predictor of leadership development (Nelson, 2017). Finally, students must reflect on their own motivations for creating change in social justice issues, as well as how their actions impact others (Edwards, 2006). The aforementioned activities provide material for students to reflect on, but all administrators and faculty can help foster critical reflection by providing spaces for discussion and asking students to consider the perspectives of others (Broido, 2000).

The Process of Leadership Development Towards Inclusion. As students increasingly develop their conceptualizations of inclusion, they may seek new opportunities to create change towards inclusion or social change (Harro, 2000). Though they may grow increasingly overwhelmed by the large-scale, system-level changes that must be made in order to cultivate true inclusion, they will also ideally begin to understand what circumstances lie within their power to change (Harro, 2000). Thus,

Harro’s (2000) Cycle of Liberation provides a road map that shows people’s abilities to create change on many different levels.

The Cycle of Liberation begins with the “Waking Up” (p. 620) stage, which creates cognitive dissonance within individuals as they realize there is an issue with inclusion that impacts either themselves or others (Harro, 2000). Then, students face stages of “Getting Ready” and “Reaching Out” (Harro, 2000, p. 620) as they attempt to learn more about the issue at hand and connect with others to provide or seek individual support. Next, they involve themselves with “Building Community” and “Coalescing” in order to ultimately “Creat[e] Change” on larger scales, such as influencing “policy, assumptions, structures, definitions, rules, taking leadership risks, guiding change, healing, and [sharing] power” (Harro, 2000, p. 620). This cyclical process depicts students then entering a state of “Maintaining” change, which that involves “spreading hope,” “accepting accountability,” and “taking care of self [and] others” (Harro, 2000, p.

620), before re-encountering the “Getting Ready” (p. 620) process in order to create more change. This process allows social justice leadership educators to measure students’

growth based on how they are presenting any given stage and allows students to see what may be next for them in the process of creating change towards inclusion.

Potential Barriers to Developing Students’ Sense of Leadership. Though promising practices and recommendations exist for helping students develop their sense of leadership regarding creating inclusive environments for others, barriers to this development also exist. Taylor (2017) identified three types of barriers impacting the ways students may develop a critical awareness and sense of action towards developing inclusive environments: developmental, social, and pedagogical. Developmentally, students may not be cognitively prepared for levels of complex meaning making needed to negotiate and challenge their own and others’ beliefs, may focus more on “maintaining their former selves than broadening their ways of meaning making of themselves in relation to society, [therein] work[ing] against the aims of development” (p. 21), and crave support during their development without getting it (Taylor, 2017).

Social barriers in learning may occur as well. Students often aspire to be perceived as intelligent without displaying too much intellectual advancement, encounter social norms preventing them from broaching sensitive yet important topics such as racism, and grapple with their own social hierarchies between students in and out of the classroom (Taylor, 2017).

Pedagogically, U.S. educators are socialized to privilege their own knowledge and teaching expertise (Wildman, 2007), making experiential learning difficult to advocate for within higher education (Taylor, 2017) and uncomfortable for many educators to

incorporate into their “relatively safe technical practice, drawing as necessary from research and theory” (Wildman, 2007, p. 17). Additionally, though programs have been designed to develop students’ leadership abilities at the individual, organizational, and community levels, almost all leadership programs showed significantly more development for students at the individual level than the other two levels (Dugan, 2006;

2008). In fact, none of the leadership development programs studied helped develop students’ abilities to navigate change (Dugan, 2006; Dugan, 2008). These findings may represent the difficulty of helping students identify the need for change or the overemphasis on empowering individual leaders with less focus on the impact they make.

Another major barrier to developing students’ leadership in creating inclusive environments for others is the lack of an inclusive environment itself. According to Bass and Riggio’s (2006) work on transformational leadership, an organizational culture provides a shared and learned pattern of behavior, as well as a sense of purpose and belonging for the group. It is important to reflect on how these shared patterns either foster a culture of stagnancy and tradition, or challenge norms to create an environment that accommodates diverse identities and perspectives. Munin and Dugan (2011) point out that organizations must operate from an “inclusive design” framework that includes creating welcoming spaces, diversifying pathways of communication, providing opportunities for growth, diversifying content to include diverse approaches to leadership and cross-cultural considerations, providing natural supports for learning, promoting peer interaction, and considering implicit messages that include or exclude various

populations. If a space is not welcoming to begin with, diverse students are less likely to join the organization, which lessens the likelihood of diverse peer interaction that is so beneficial to students’ understandings of inclusion (Engberg & Porter, 2013) and decreases the quantity and diversity of students an organization is able to impact.

Conclusion

Students’ meaning making of inclusion is both a key tenet of the student affairs profession (ACPA, 2019; NASPA, 2019) and a natural component of the diverse college environment (Reason & Davis, 2005). Student development and related literature shows that students develop through navigating increasingly complex situations (Baxter

Magolda, 2009), and that various systems can benefit or hinder students’ development.

Overreliance on formal social justice and leadership education programs marginalizes the majority of students who do not engage with these types of programs throughout their undergraduate experience (Munin & Dugan, 2011), so more work must be done to understand how different environments impact students’ meaning making and leadership development regarding inclusion.

Marching Band as a Potential Site for Developing Understandings of Inclusion

One multi-layered environment that has a potential to impact students’ development of understanding regarding inclusion is the college marching band. With a dual history of student empowerment and top-down leadership by a band director

(Haynie, 1971), a history of exclusion of various marginalized student populations

(Bergonzi, 2009; Broslawsky, 2017; Carter, 2013; Koza, 2008), and a unique structure 40

that simultaneously parallels collegiate athletics, student organizations, and an academic class (Matney, 2018; Scheivert, 2018), the college marching band represents a unique site that incorporates various systems that may foster or hinder student development regarding inclusion.

Background of College Marching Bands

To understand how marching bands may foster or hinder student development regarding inclusion, it is first important to understand the nature of marching bands as curricular entities that hold both an exclusionary history that continues in some ways today, as well as an environment toward which many band members dedicate significant portions of their time and college experience. It is not only important to understand the band’s significance to the undergraduate experience, but to the college or university as a whole.

History

Many college marching bands originated in the early 1900s as bands led by amateurs or students (Haynie, 1971). In some instances, such as the marching band at the

University of Illinois which originated in 1867, the band began with student leaders and only later transitioned to being run by staff or faculty members (Haynie, 1971). Whether bands were student led, led by amateur musicians, or professors who taught other subjects, qualifications for band directors became stricter, resulting in almost all college marching bands having full-time directors by the mid-1950s (Haynie, 1971). This shows both the power of student involvement in marching bands and the casual nature from

which marching bands have originated. However, college marching bands have still grown in diverse ways over the past century. Some bands were responsible directly to the university president; others evolved into their own musical departments that sometimes outweighed the prestige of the rest of the music department (Haynie, 1971). Financial support for these groups varies as well; some bands have remained integral units of college music departments, while others receive funding from a combination of athletics, military, and/or music departments (Haynie, 1971). Though only a third of bands offered credit in 1929 (Buckton, 1929), marching band has increasingly been offered for class credit (Fuller, 1995; Haynie, 1971; Scheivert, 2018).

Historical texts about the education of high school and college marching band members refer to three primary roles of the band program, as defined by Haynie (1971): entertainment, which has always existed as a primary role of marching bands; and education and performance, which have both increased since the inception of marching band. However, even in the late 1920’s, Buckton (1929) recognized the nonmusical benefits of marching band, including promoting physical fitness, school spirit team play, giving and carrying out orders, in addition to musical goals of teaching the cultural value of music and developing students’ musical skills. Buckton (1929) also noted that these advantages were similar to those of athletics, but that band students were far more likely to use their acquired skills later on than athletes.

Despite the early valuing of holistic student success and the heavy role students played in starting band programs, little literature exists regarding the development of

leaders in the band; in fact, some early literature (Haynie, 1971) focuses on the importance of leadership development for the director, not for the students. When student leadership is discussed, it is primarily discussed through a position-oriented approach, defining the roles of section leaders and drum majors (Lee, 1955). Additionally, Haynie

(1971) describes the educational role of marching band as, “those activities in which the primary purpose is the development and cultivation of musical disciplines” (p. 1), focusing on musical benefits of marching band in contrast to nonmusical benefits. This mirrors the music-focused traits valued in student band leaders such as managing proper instrument and uniform equipment, teaching marching band techniques, rhythm, timing, and “showmanship” (Lee, 1955, p. 207).

History of Exclusion Within College Marching Bands. Little literature exists regarding issues of inclusion for diverse student populations specifically within the college marching band. However, some tangentially related works that touch on inclusion in other music education contexts may have implications for college marching band, including those that address hegemonic masculinity, racism, and heterosexism.

College marching bands are paramilitary organizations, which means they are not directly affiliated with the armed forces but employ similar organizational, training, and performance practices such as marching in ranks, receiving physical discipline, and wearing a standardized uniform (Broslawsky, 2017). These practices privilege men, as female band members are expected to wear a uniform that hides their femininity

(Broslawsky, 2017). In fact, women are more likely to choose to perform woodwind

instruments, which some marching bands place in the back during parade performances, literally hiding female performers from sight (Broslawsky, 2017). This exclusion of women mirrors larger patterns in higher education in that women only began to play major roles in college bands starting in World War II, when many men were absent from college because they were drafted (Broslawksy, 2017). This history views female musicians as temporary replacements, only used when the masculine norm does not exist, further perpetuating the exclusion of women (Broslawsky, 2017). This exclusion results in less representation of women in leadership roles, both among staff and student positions, although progress is slowly being made. For example, in 2016, the Big Ten conference gained its first female band director (Scheivert, 2018).

In a study of racial politics in undergraduate school of music auditions, Koza

(2008) noted that music audition processes preferred a narrow genre of music most associated with Whiteness, defined as European or American high art music. Though this prioritization also excludes some genres that White students may prefer, such as

Broadway or country music, it “discount[s] genres having deep roots in non-White musical traditions and, more important, reject[s] the styles and genres that non-White people in the US currently are more likely to enjoy” (Koza, 2008, p. 149). Opinions of how to define professional attire, how to perform expressively, and how to adhere to music on a notated page also privilege Western ideologies (Koza, 2008). While Koza’s

(2008) study occurred at a predominantly White institution where Whiteness is almost certainly prioritized in other contexts, racial minority students are disadvantaged through

music in other spaces as well. For instance, students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and perform in Historically Black College/University Bands must negotiate social spaces in which obstacles are provided both by being Black and LGBT (Carter,

2013). Given that similar historical exclusion of racial minorities has limited the number of racial minority band leaders, similar progress paralleling women’s representation has been made. For example, the Big Ten gained their first Director of Color in 2015, just a year before the first Big Ten female director was added (Scheivert, 2018).

Literature focusing on LGBT issues in music includes instructional guides for K-

12 music educators and research on the intersectional nature of these issues in minority- serving college bands. Explored in a K-12 setting, heterosexual students can talk to their band director and expect them to relate to them, can openly share information about who they care about romantically, play love songs in ensembles about a relationship that most likely mirrors their own sexual orientation, and not wonder if any social exclusion they experience is due to their sexual orientation (Bergonzi, 2009). These benefits follow students into higher education and disadvantage students who may be attracted to people of their same gender. Carter (2013) studied the experience of HBCU band students who were Black and gay and found that they encountered a fear of deficiency and rejection, not being perceived as strong or male enough, and the myth of a singular coming out, which could impact sexual minority students in any type of band program or institutional type. It should also be noted that this literature focuses primarily on lesbian, bisexual, or gay students and does not sufficiently speak about the experiences of transgender or

nonbinary students, but their experiences may mirror those of both LGBT and female students.

Present-Day Characteristics of College Marching Bands

Present-day marching bands have many characteristics that make them unique from other experiences that students may have in college. Though the ultimate goals of any marching band are to create excellent performances (Westlake, 2015), the emphasis of long-term commitment results in many students remaining in the band for the entire length of their time in college (Madsen et al., 2007), allowing them to take on many scaffolded leadership opportunities throughout their experience. Within each marching band season, the group generally experiences a loss of belief in group efficacy during the middle of the season and then a progression back upward as the season goes on

(Matthews, 2017), which demonstrates the pressure that students experience balancing academic and personal lives along with the fatigue of the season (Weren, 2015).

The academic structures of marching band also make it stand out from other student groups on campus. As early as 1995, all marching bands in the Big Ten conference offered academic credit for marching band (Fuller, 1995), a trend that has continued to present-day and places a greater responsibility on the band director to set and follow a syllabus for the experience (Matney, 2018). The band director is also the primary public representative of the ensemble, as the band director is most often interviewed in news articles about the band, with a university administrator or spokesperson the second most often interviewed (Giardina, 2016). This potentially

minimizes the student experience in both having control over the plans for the ensemble, as well as the public image of the group.

Mirroring the band-director-centric nature of marching bands, the student leadership structure of the band primarily focuses on positional leadership through assigned or auditioned roles. These roles include but are not limited to drum majors, music and marching section leaders, equipment managers, music librarians, specialized teams for recruitment or a student advisory council, dance and/or flag instructors, instrument repair people, and student secretaries (Fuller, 1995; Johnson, 2014; Scheivert,

2018), with drum majors and section leaders being the most discussed in literature. Some, but not all, of these positions offer financial compensation for the students’ work (Fuller,

1995). Drum majors are expected to serve as the band directors’ musical and political advocates, establishing a liaison relationship between themselves and the rest of the band, which presents a challenge to many drum majors who find themselves carrying an extra sense of authority and respect, while simultaneously viewing themselves as equal to their peers (Brewer, 2014). Some bands only have one drum major, and some may have up to three or four depending on the needs of the group (Scheivert, 2018). Section leaders are responsible for leading a group of band members who all play the same instrument

(called a “section”), which could include ensuring members have the proper equipment

(Lee, 1955), teaching them musical or marching techniques (Shellahamer, Swearingen, &

Woods, 1986), and/or attending to personal relationships to strengthen how the band works together (Scheivert, 2018).

Classifying Marching Band

Marching band embodies several key components of student organizations, academics, and athletics, but its characteristics set it apart as a unique field of study. It combines the physical and competitive elements of athletics with greater opportunities for membership and inclusion within the group, spanning students from various social classes across all grade levels in an effort to recruit a large number of participants

(Dagaz, 2012).

Marching band is difficult to classify, as it is part management due to its large size, part music, part athletics, part students, and part professors (Scheivert, 2018). It is even difficult to classify as a certain type of student organization, as marching band could fit under three out of eight of the categories in Dugan’s (2011) taxonomy of student organization experiences: affinity group affiliates (pertaining to arts and identity/expression but with a limited pattern of involvement), identity/expression leaders

(pertaining to arts and identity expression and associated with highly visible and traditional collegiates), and athletes (pertaining to sports and arts but with a limited pattern of involvement). Dugan (2011) called for more outreach to affinity group affiliates due to their participation in fewer types of group activities and states that organizations in the traditional pattern of involvement exemplify more socially responsible leadership development and mentorship by faculty, but it is difficult to assume these findings occur in marching band since it can be classified in more than one group.

Significance of Marching Band to the Student Experience

In addition to the unique structural characteristics of a college marching band, the significance of marching band to a college student’s experience makes this environment worth considering in terms of students’ meaning making about inclusive environments. A study of college marching band members showed that the students spent an average of 25 hours dedicated to marching band-related activities in one week (Cumberledge, 2015), more than some students may spend in a part-time job. Compared to non-marching band peers, the marching band members studied just as much as non-marchers, but had significantly less leisure time (Cumberledge, 2015), which also implies that band members have less time to pursue other activities of interest to them.

Literature about student-athletes addresses similar time demands. Both athletes and band members face the challenges of balancing athletic/band-related commitments with academic and social demands, but both groups also benefit from leadership development experiences within their time-consuming athletic activities and grow in psychosocial and cognitive ways (Gayles & Baker, 2015). As students enter college, they may seek out marching band ensembles because of their familiarity to those they experienced in high school, and these ensembles provide opportunities to connect to the university and interact socially with a diverse set of students (Cumberledge, 2017;

Johnson, 2014). Finally, marching band students reflect a subset of performing arts students, who, in high school, are statistically more likely to enjoy school, achieve a

higher GPA, and refrain from risky behaviors such as alcohol use (Eccles & Barber,

1999).

Significance of Marching Band to the University

It is imperative that higher education professionals understand the student experience in marching band due to its unique public relations, recruitment, and risk management considerations. Marching band errors, risk management concerns, and leadership changes are often featured in the media (Giardina, 2016), and higher education professionals must be prepared to handle these public relations concerns within their institutions. Regarding hazing prevention, bands are often so large and have such strong social components that band directors cannot monitor all band-related activities, so cultivating meaning making regarding inclusivity in student leadership is paramount to prevent hazing (Matney, 2018). Marching bands also impact student recruitment and retention, as the ensembles are attractive for first-year students who had similar experience in high school (Johnson, 2014), and their high-profile nature allows them to serve as highly visible recruiting and public relations tools (Cumberledge, 2017).

Band, A Diverse and Developmental Opportunity for Inclusion Understanding

The college marching band is a potential site for meaning making about inclusion due to the many types of diversity present within the band, as well as potential learning opportunities. Literature about high school marching band provides suggestions for the college band experience regarding the types of diversity present in this environment. First and foremost, the marching band represents a subculture of the school of which it is a

part, because it is separated from the larger school culture only in terms of lifestyle

(Abril, 2012). As such, the overall school’s diversity will influence the marching band’s diversity. Additionally, many subgroups form within the band due to a variety of characteristics, including “grade level, instrumentation, performance ability, and years of membership” (Abril, 2012, p. 436). Some of the hierarchies within band are developed based on talent and dedication, as seasoned members and high-ability performers develop a strong performer identity that sets them apart from the rest of the group (Abril, 2012).

Whether or not these students acknowledge this fact, the students at the top of various hierarchies have the power to promote an inclusive or exclusive environment depending on how they value inclusion. Another study seemed to show that socioeconomically diverse band members experienced a sense of connection with one another, gained and maintained friendships, and developed a sense of trust and acceptance with other band members throughout their high school band experience (Dagaz, 2012). Though these articles focus on the high school band experience rather than the collegiate experience, all the structural diversity and subgroups they discuss are present in college bands as well.

Of relevance to the current study, existing literature falls short of addressing other types of diversity pertaining to social identities such as race, gender, and sexual orientation that may influence a band member’s experience and orientation towards inclusivity. At the college level, some of these issues are being addressed, as current issues such as the national anthem controversy, mental health, and gender identity are being discussed in some bands (Scheivert, 2018). However, in a survey of all eleven Big

Ten marching bands, only two directors specifically mentioned addressing diversity initiatives that either originated in the band or were directed by university officials

(Scheivert, 2018). Representation among leadership must continue to be sought, as recent gains in gender and racial diversity have only just begun in some major football conferences within their band programs (Scheivert, 2018). Given these patterns, one can infer that while some forms of structural diversity exist within the band, diverse representation among leadership is lacking, so certain diversity issues may be discussed from directors who have primarily privileged racial and gender identities.

Importance of Reflection on Diversity and Sense of Belonging Within Marching Band

The ultimate goal of the marching band is to produce a quality performance

(Westlake, 2015), and students’ reflection on diversity, acceptance, and tolerance are important for achieving this goal. Ma and Hall (2018) address the concept of ensemble learning, which refers to “learning things you cannot do alone” (p. 508), in that performing requires a group and reflection on what is taking place during the group performance. In a very concrete example, first-year band members are encouraged to shift from looking down at the field to ensure they are aligning their body with the correct position on the field to looking up to match their position to that of those around them

(Ma & Hall, 2018). From considering their own position on the field to understanding others’ viewpoints when addressing disagreements, band members must learn acceptance and tolerance of one another’s perspectives early on in order to be integrated into the ensemble (Matthews, 2017). In addition, because the group’s collective efficacy

regarding its ability to perform declines midseason, notions of acceptance and family must be cultivated early on and revisited to boost morale throughout the season

(Matthews, 2017).

Literature on general college students’ sense of belonging covers a wide variety of items, such as finding others with similar identities and being involved in extracurricular activities, that can promote or inhibit students’ sense of belonging as dependent on their identities and prior experiences. Though this literature does not specifically discuss college band members, general sense of belonging literature may be a good starting place to understand band members’ experiences. Students identify a sense of belonging as

“being comfortable” and “fitting in” (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016, p. 931), but the ways they describe how their environment achieves this goal of belonging differs based on their identities. Vaccaro and Newman (2016) found that privileged students generally described the campus environment using positive terminology, while minoritized students reported they often felt like the “only one” of their identity due to a lack of diversity within the group. Relationships and extracurricular involvement were also seen as key factors in developing a sense of belonging (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016). One study found that assistance transitioning into new environments and helping students focus on academics allowed first-generation women Students of Color to feel a sense of belonging

(Vaccaro et al., 2019). Research centering gay men reported that their sense of belonging was tied to feeling free to perform their identities in supportive institutional spaces, which required the validation of their identities, which was not always experienced on campus

(Holland & Holly, 2011; Patton, 2011). One study of the activities that gay men of color often sought out involvement in salient communities—either those pertaining to ethnic or

LGBT identities—in order to feel a sense of belonging on campus (Strayhorn, 2018). As a whole, the quality of peer group interactions has been found to predict a sense of belonging, which has also been positively related to retention in college in general

(Hausmann et al., 2009)

In addition to creating a quality performance and boosting morale, reflection on diversity within the marching band is paramount for ensuring student safety and avoiding risks of hazing. This is especially important considering nearly 30% of college marching band members reported observing some form of hazing in their marching band in 2015

(Silveira & Hudson, 2015). When a marching band is insular and not connected with other parts of campus, students begin to assume that unsafe practices will go unnoticed, so students must be challenged to embrace diverse perspectives and challenge the status quo to ensure the health of the band (Matney, 2018). It is important that marching band students, especially student band leaders, learn bystander behavior, risk education, and leadership through university workshops that address these concepts (Matney, 2018), but this reflection can also occur within an individual student outside of educational workshops. In the well-known leadership book, “The Student Leadership Challenge: Five

Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader,” Kouzes and Posner (2018) included an example of a student who encountered hazing in his marching band, reflected on his own values of being part of a team, found others who shared his values, and helped work with

other band leaders to design a new cultural blueprint for the band. This student could not have done this if he had not collaborated with diverse individuals within the band to identify common values and create change within his band program.

Power of Band to Promote Inclusivity and Diversity

In addition to diversity and inclusion being important values within the band program, the college band program can promote these values as well. High school band students characterized band as a “social learning space” (Abril, 2012, p. 446) in which they could contemplate their identity and collaborate with peers to accomplish a goal they could not achieve individually (Abril, 2010; Faber, 2010), which implies that students may learn about people and perspectives different from their own throughout this process. They also showed the ability to connect these learning experiences to parts of their life outside of marching band, including their career, body image, and family (Abril,

2012), demonstrating that marching band students learn transferable social perspective- taking skills that they can carry with them to other parts of their lives. These interactions are examples of Engberg and Porter’s (2013) day-to-day, informal diversity experiences that can impact students’ meaning making about creating inclusive environments.

Regarding formal development experiences, college band directors have recently increased the education and training they dedicate towards inclusion within the band, perhaps due to a response from increased institutional focuses on these topics or students’ demonstrated increased interest in these topics (Scheivert, 2018). The band directors acknowledge that they do not know everything that is happening in the large band

program, so they must educate students on topics such as wellness, stress issues, campus resources, and addressing behavior issues (Scheivert, 2018). Therefore, band serves as a vehicle for students to learn about how to help their diverse peers with these issues.

One piece of literature specifically cites band as capable of promoting social justice within marching band. In a study of the Shaw High School Mighty Cardinals

Marching Band in East Cleveland, Luminais and Williams (2016) found that while the marching band institution does not explicitly focus on challenging structural inequalities, some of its practices could be used to advance social justice. These include “empowering youth, building community and rallying community support, encouraging intergenerational connections, and advancing access, in this case to higher education”

(Luminais & Williams, 2016, p. 232). Some practices this band exemplified apply to many bands, such as empowering youth by disrupting the typical top-down style of learning through the development of section leaders as peer mentors, which encourages students to look to others in a similar social position to themselves for knowledge rather than only the band director or other professional staff (Luminais & Williams, 2016).

However, the specific student demographics (primarily African American) and location

(a predominantly Black city navigating decades of disinvestment and negative perceptions [Luminais & Williams, 2016, p. 232]), as well as some of the band’s practices, such as intentionally connecting students with their African American heritage by traveling to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Luminais & Williams,

2016), sets this marching band’s environment apart from other college band programs,

especially those in predominantly White areas. Research shows that this marching band has the power to promote social justice, but it is unclear whether a band could have a similar impact in a predominantly White collegiate context.

Potential for Student Impact on Marching Band Inclusivity

According to prior literature, it is possible for students to make an impact on the marching band by increasing its inclusivity. This is due to the historical nature of the band as involving student leaders (Haynie, 1971) and environmental factors within the band that can develop students’ socially responsible leadership skills (Bratcher, 2015;

Cress, Astin, & Zimmerman-Oster, 2001; Faber, 2010; Fuller, 1995; Ma & Hall, 2018).

However, further research is necessary in order to understand exactly how students’ leadership to further inclusion is taught and acted upon.

Power of Students in Band

Prior research demonstrates the profound impact that students can have on the marching band (Fuller, 1995; Haynie, 1971; Johnson, 2014; Scheivert, 2018; Weren,

2015). Considering some of the United States’ original band programs were started by student groups (Haynie, 1971), but reports on band experiences have primarily focused on band directors’ perceptions (Giardina, 2016), it is important to return to the power and leadership that students have in their collegiate marching band environments. Students have positional opportunities for leadership, including drum majors, section leaders, recruitment staff, equipment staff, secretaries, and other specialized roles within the group (Fuller, 1995), which primarily allow students to influence the group in various

ways after at least one year in the band (Johnson, 2014). Students have also influenced the way that marching bands communicate by providing suggestions of contemporary technologies that could help the band, and some bands use student staff to help manage online administrative systems (Scheivert, 2018). However, even outside of these positional roles that students audition, interview, or are elected for, every student can impact the band because students primarily seek advice regarding band-related issues through their friend group, not through the formal band leadership structure (Weren,

2015). Students can advise and encourage peers on various band-related topics, though those who have received positional leadership authority may have specialized opportunities to provide suggestions or make changes to the band’s operating procedures.

Environmental Factors to Develop Students’ Leadership Regarding Inclusion

Though marching band is not typically labeled as a formal leadership development or social justice education program, it is important to consider this environment as capable of developing students’ leadership skills in maintaining and creating inclusive environments so as to not exclude students who benefit from these programs (Munin & Dugan, 2011). Cress, Astin, and Zimmerman-Oster (2001) identified three common elements of leadership programs that impact student development, which all occur in marching band: service opportunities, experiential activities, and active learning. Service opportunities are prevalent in any of the administrative leadership positions (Fuller, 1995), as well as the fraternal music organizations housed within the band that are dedicated to service (Bratcher, 2015). In fact, students experience growth in

appreciation of cultural differences through their involvement in these organizations and a great deal of growth regarding the value of family (Bratcher, 2015), so these subgroups within the band may have an additional impact on empowering students to develop inclusive environments within the band. Experiential activities and active learning are both present in the leadership positions in the band, as well as the challenge of working together to accomplish the larger goal of a quality performance (Faber, 2010; Ma & Hall,

2018).

Students also develop belief in their own leadership potential by watching diverse peers lead. By relying on student leaders such as drum majors and section leaders for direction and guidance throughout the band experience, students learn to look to peers similarly situated to them for knowledge and ideally eventually look into themselves for similar knowledge (Luminais & Williams, 2016). A study of high school band members demonstrated that non-leader band members learned that they, too, could be good leaders by watching diverse students lead (Westlake, 2015). This connects to Castillo-Montoya’s

(2018) argument that incorporating students’ funds of knowledge is important for both their development and the development of those around them.

Given the importance of students’ diverse funds of knowledge and identities being incorporated into their learning environments (Castillo-Montoya, 2018, Holland &

Holly, 2011; Patton, 2011; Strayhorn, 2018; Vaccaro et al., 2019) and research suggesting that students learn from watching diverse peers lead (Luminais & Williams,

2016; Westlake, 2015), the actual compositional diversity of college band programs must

be addressed. Though little is known about the demographics of college marching bands in general (Scheivert, 2018), students who were male, English language learners,

Hispanic, first-generation college students, and in lower socioeconomic brackets were underrepresented in high school bands in 2011 (Elpus & Abril, 2011). Due to the college admissions and band admissions processes, these trends are likely to be exacerbated at the college level due to college admissions processes.

Filling Gaps in Education and Research

Understanding how students’ leadership in creating inclusive environments for their peers is developed through marching band experiences would fill current gaps in both education and research. Whether high school band directors took full courses on marching band methods or not, all school band directors reported a need for greater preparation in student leadership development, as the curriculum in these preparation courses focused more on show design, teaching methods, and developing a marching band teaching philosophy rather than developing students (Legette, 1998). Directors at the college level echo this gap in education, as one reported, “Unfortunately, I have observed nothing in a typical Ph.D. or D.M.A. academic program to prepare future band directors for effectively managing college students. Focus on music, research, pedagogy, artistry, and performance is likely to leave a sizeable gap in social management experience” (Scheivert, 2018, p. 255).

Research calls for deeper examination of how this leadership is developed as well.

One study showed that students who participate in creative student organizations, such as

theater or music, demonstrated more socially responsible leadership development in areas of consciousness of self, commitment, common purpose, and controversy with civility than their peers involved in other types of organizations (Trujillo, 2009). However, since this study employed an online survey of measures of college activities and a socially responsible leadership scale, it was difficult for the researcher to answer why these organizations helped develop students in these areas, and the researcher called for qualitative research into these areas to develop this understanding (Trujillo, 2009). Other studies of socially responsible leadership development and hazing prevention education

(Cress, Astin, Zimmerman-Oster, 2001; Silveira & Hudson, 2015) also request more qualitative research to understand the connection between current education practices and student development.

Barriers to Marching Band Inclusivity and Student Understandings of Inclusion

Despite the structures within the college marching band environment that require and may develop students’ meaning making of inclusion, barriers exist to both obtaining and fostering student leadership regarding creating inclusive environments. The recruitment and transition process from high school to college, as well as hazing and bullying issues in band, all serve as potential barriers to inclusivity within marching band settings. Considering the exclusionary history of college marching and music programs

(Bergonzi, 2009; Carter, 2013; Koza, 2008), marching band staff and students must actively work to overcome these barriers. First and foremost, if a college band’s culture does not mirror the culture of the high school band, this may deter certain band members

from participating, as they seek out similar environments to those they experienced in high school when coming to college (Johnson, 2014). Any college marching band will experience this challenge in some way, because its students come from a variety of high school experiences. For instance, a student transitioning from a high school band program like the one studied by Luminais and Williams (2016), which focuses on connecting its students with their African American heritage, may not experience the same value in their college marching band if they do not attend a Historically Black College or University.

Additionally, the exclusionary nature of audition processes prioritizes Western European high art music (Koza, 2008), so students whose high school bands promoted different music or those who excel at other types of music may not receive the opportunity to be accepted into the band in the first place.

Additionally, studies show that performing arts organizations may exemplify higher rates of bullying and hazing than similar organizations (Elpus & Carter, 2016), which would cause a college band member to feel excluded. High schoolers who were enrolled in music ensembles or theater programs were more likely to be victimized in bullying situations (Elpus & Carter, 2016). Though this research focused on students at the high school level, students will enter college ensembles having seen and experienced bullying at a higher rate, which may impact their college experience. Similarly, 30% of college marching band members experienced some form of hazing, the most common being public verbal humiliation or degradation (Silveira & Hudson, 2015). The curricular and insular natures of a college marching band (Matney, 2018) coupled with the tensions

that occur at different points throughout the season (Matthews, 2017) and the vast opportunities for social interactions (Johnson, 2014), mean that hazing concerns are prevalent for students in all age groups in the band and throughout the entire season.

Potential Barriers to Developing Student Leadership and Understanding about

Inclusive Environments

Though marching band presents some opportunities for students to make meaning of social justice and develop their own sense of leadership towards creating an inclusive environment, barriers to this development exist as well. First, it is important to remember that this learning is not the primary goal of the band program; the ultimate goal of the band is to perform (Westlake, 2015). Some music scholars have even debated the value of marching band altogether, arguing that marching band presents scheduling issues and ignores education about musicality (Schwadron, 1974) and that the nonmusical values that marching band teaches, such as discipline, cooperation, and citizenship, can be taught elsewhere more economically (Garrison, 1986). However, thousands of college students still choose to enroll in marching band every year and experience hands-on leadership opportunities (Fuller, 1995; Scheivert, 2018), peer interactions (Abril, 2010;

Faber, 2010), and a significant time commitment (Cumberledge, 2015) that prevents them from participating in other activities that may help them develop these skills. Therefore, it is still important to study marching band as a site to develop band members in these ways.

Considering interactions with diverse peers help students develop meaning making of social justice (Engberg & Porter, 2013), a lack of structural diversity in college marching band may serve as a barrier for students to develop these meaning-making structures. In high school ensembles, White students are overrepresented and Hispanic students are underrepresented, a statistic that is likely to carry over into the college environment (Scheivert, 2018) because many college bands require some level of knowledge of music for admittance (Koza, 2008). Students are mostly deterred from participating due to time commitment, concern about music auditions, and lack of information about the college band program (Stewart, 2007), all of which may be more represented among students who lack financial resources that might require them to balance a part-time job on top of schoolwork and other commitments, or may prevent them from receiving specialized music lessons through their high school education.

However, research also shows that creating an inclusive and supportive environment may increase retention, as students desire a sense of belonging within a group throughout their college experience (Faber, 2010). As such, studying the inclusion that occurs with the diversity that currently exists within the collegiate marching band environment may pave a way for creating increased structural diversity in the future.

Finally, emphasis on the student experience and leadership development heavily depends on the band director’s teaching philosophy. Since band directors are not prepared at the undergraduate (Legette, 1988) or doctoral (Scheivert, 2018) levels to develop students’ leadership skills, directors must design other ways to figure out how to

develop students in this way, if they even choose to do so. This may lead to their perceptions of leadership development being outdated and exclusionary to students without formal leadership positions; a study of middle school and high school band directors’ perceptions of leadership revealed that only one of the participants discussed nonpositional leadership (Girgenti, 2018). Though this research occurred within the K-12 sphere, leadership education does not occur for band directors at higher levels of the field

(Scheivert, 2018), so this finding may be similar at the collegiate level. One study showed that the band director played a minor role in the band members’ experience

(Carter, 2013), which shows that peer relationships stand out to the students, even though student development is stronger when guided by a strong staff member mentor

(Westlake, 2015). Student development within marching band is partially in the hands of the band director, who receives little to no training in this area, so this may serve as a barrier to student growth and understanding of inclusion.

Conclusion

College marching bands have a storied history and public relations implications that set them apart from other types of student groups on campus, which make them an important site to study. They also embody a unique combination of exclusionary histories and current prioritization of Western ways of knowing, while also providing long-term opportunities for student growth, structural diversity, and social interactions amongst students. Therefore, it is important to understand how students navigate the unique

marching band context and how it impacts their development of meaning making and leadership regarding creating inclusive environments.

Conclusion

Considering that student meaning making of diversity and inclusion is part of the goals of student affairs (ACPA, 2019; NASPA, 2019), understanding how students perceive inclusion and their own sense of leadership in developing them is the responsibility of any person who works on a college campus (Munin & Dugan, 2011).

Assuming this development only takes place in formal leadership or social justice education programs on campus marginalizes students who access other programs (Munin

& Dugan, 2011); in fact, studies show that student leadership development depends less on structured experiences and more on students’ ability to navigate complex content

(Dugan et al., 2011). Students’ development of inclusion orientations can be encouraged through mentoring (Komives, Longerbeam, Owen, Mainella, & Osteen, 2006; Dugan &

Komives, 2010; Sessa, 2017), interactions with diverse peers (Dugan & Komives, 2010;

Engberg & Porter, 2013), group and practical activities (Nelson, 2017; Sessa, 2017), invitations to incorporate their own lived experiences (Castillo-Montoya, 2018; Komives,

Longerbeam, Mainella, Osteen, Owen, & Wagner, 2009), and personal reflection (Munin

& Dugan, 2011; Broido, 2000; Edwards, 2006) and may be hindered by the lack of inclusive environments (Munin & Dugan, 2011), failure to create change (Dugan, 2006;

Dugan, 2008), and students’ developmental barriers (Taylor, 2017). Students make meaning of all their experiences with these factors through their own developmental lens, 66

which may incorporate internal or external meaning-making structures and varying levels of complexity depending on the student’s developmental level (King & Baxter Magolda,

2005). Therefore, it is important to understand how student meaning making of their experiences occurs in various places on campus.

One of those such places to consider this development is the college marching band environment. Incorporating a history of student leadership yet evolving quickly to become a large curricular faculty-led entity (Buckton, 1929; Lee, 1955; Haynie, 1971), marching bands have the potential to impact students for multiple years of their time in college (Madsen et al., 2007) and offer students many opportunities for engagement and leadership throughout their time in band. This environment also allows students to develop a strong sense of belonging, which may aid university recruitment and retention

(Johnson, 2014; Madsen et al., 2007). Though the ultimate goal of the marching band is to perform (Westlake, 2015), the band presents many opportunities for students to make meaning of inclusion as they attempt to create such environments for all who enter their space. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development provides an appropriate framework through which to analyze the marching band as a site for student meaning making about inclusion and their leadership potential for creating inclusive environments for their peers, because it emphasizes both the role that each individual student and the overall environment play in this process (Bronfenbrenner, 2005).

Chapter 3: Methodology

The purpose of this constructivist case study was to understand how college band members develop understandings of inclusion within a college marching band program with a stated commitment to inclusion. Positive perceptions of inclusivity, especially amongst interactions across difference, can foster a more positive impression of the campus environment (Laird & Niskode-Dosset, 2010), foster commitment to social change (Parker & Pascarella, 2013), and improve students’ psychological well-being

(Bowman, 2010). Students come to understand healthy interactions across difference in the pursuit of forming inclusive environments in a variety of ways, including formal diversity education (King et al., 2010) and informal learning experiences (Castillo-

Montoya, 2018; Engberg & Porter, 2013). Regardless of the medium, students learn more effectively when able to integrate and reflect on new knowledge in comparison to lived experiences (Brown, 2004; Castillo-Montoya, 2018; King et al., 2010; King & Baxter

Magolda, 2004; Sessa, 2017).

In this study, I explored how the college marching band environment influenced what inclusion meant to college band members, how their definitions of inclusion compared to their perceived experiences within the band program, and how they perceived their role in developing an inclusive environment within the band. Considering 68

the need to examine the role that a college marching band can play in students’ development of understandings of inclusion and how they can create such environments within their band program, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development served as an appropriate theoretical framework through which to analyze the band environment. Bronfenbrenner (2005) proposed that development occurs as a result of four factors: process, person, context, and time. This means that a student’s development is influenced by both the characteristics of a developing person and the environment, and that the environment is defined by both the enduring immediate and more remote processes, called proximal processes, that take place in or around the developing person

(Bronfenbrenner, 1994). This study addressed a gap in research by using

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model to examine both how student characteristics and the marching band environment itself influenced students’ understanding of inclusion.

This chapter begins by outlining the research design I used for this study, including reflections on my researcher worldview and positionality. Then, it describes my processes for data collection and storage, along with data analysis. It will conclude with a discussion of techniques used to increase validation and reliability of the study and a brief discussion of its limitations.

Research Design

Motivated by personal passion for band students and personal and professional experiences that involve overseeing culture changes in efforts to be more inclusive, I desired to understand how other band members develop personal meanings of inclusion 69

and their role in creating such environments. This goal to center the student experience influenced the constructivist epistemology and methodological choice of a qualitative case study.

Researcher Worldview and Positionality

Given that the researcher serves as the research instrument in qualitative studies

(Creswell & Poth, 2018), researchers must be transparent about their relationship with the phenomenon being studied, including the beliefs and assumptions they personally carry with them associated with this topic (Jones, Torres, & Arminio, 2014). High-quality research involves not only examining researcher beliefs related to the topic at hand, but also analyzing how the researcher’s social identities may influence the research (Jones et al., 2014). Within case study research, it is even more important to be transparent about the researcher’s worldview because case study research is more developed by the reader’s interpretation than other methodologies (Stake, 1981); my positionality as the researcher influenced how I presented data that would be interpreted not only by myself but by readers as well (Merriam, 1998).

For more than eight years—throughout my years in high school, college, and about a year after my college graduation—I planned on becoming a middle school or high school band director. As a middle- and high-schooler, I fell in love with the challenge that music presented to me, which I often craved but did not receive in other courses. As I progressed through my high school experience, the leadership experiences I encountered as a section leader and drum major in my marching band inspired me to

become a band director so that I could provide similar leadership development experiences for other young students. In college, at a large public 4-year research university, I took on similar leadership roles as a marching band rank leader and an officer in my Kappa Kappa Psi (National Honorary Band Fraternity) chapter while majoring in music education. I fell in love with how much I learned about myself and how to work with others through Kappa Kappa Psi, which led me to become a traveling consultant (National Chapter Field Representative) for the fraternity for two years after my college graduation. I visited over 100 colleges and universities, meeting with band directors and chapter members to discuss ways to improve their chapters’ leadership development, service, brotherhood, and music programs.

My experiences with college bands influenced my research in several ways. My undergraduate experience was extremely siloed within the band and music scenes, which fueled my interest in the college band member as an understudied and potentially siloed student population. During my collegiate years, my peers and I heard about a few hazing incidents at other institutions related to marching band and our fraternity, which led to increased scrutiny and concern about such issues within our organizations. Having helped lead organizations through such periods of reflection, evaluation, and change, both as an undergraduate member and through my time as a traveling consultant, I possessed an interest in understanding how other band members approach these issues.

Because I am a White, cisgender woman born into an upper/middle class and college-educated family, my primarily privileged social identities allowed me to move

through my college experience without contemplating how most of them influenced the way in which I interacted with my peers. In fact, I did not contemplate many of these until my time as a traveling consultant. Working with band members at various institutional types different from my own, such as smaller regional colleges or minority- serving institutions, I observed how band members’ backgrounds, cultures, and identities influenced their band experience. These observations, as well as formal education about how identity shapes college students’ experiences in my higher education/student affairs master’s program, led me to reflect retrospectively about how some of my peers in my own college band navigated marginalized identities. Though I learned about various identities as a college student informally through my personal friendships and spoke with a variety of professors and mentors about navigating the male-dominated band-directing field as a woman, I never received any formalized training on how my own positionality may affect the way I lead and teach students. This position led me to be curious about how other band members come to understand inclusion and how their own identities may impact inclusion within marching band.

Epistemological Assumptions

A constructivist epistemology seeks to understand how “individuals learn and make meaning, linking new knowledge to existing understanding” (Jones et al., 2014, p.

17) and “point out the unique experience” of each participant (Crotty, 1998, p. 58). I assumed that each band member perceived inclusion from a unique perspective by synthesizing their prior knowledge, outside experiences, and their individual interactions

within the band to construct their perception of inclusion and the role they may or may not play in developing inclusion within the band.

Considering the need to focus on individual band members’ understandings of inclusion, constructivism provided a sound epistemology for this study. A constructivist epistemology assumes that there is no single reality, but rather “multiple realities that are socially constructed, and that, when known more fully, tend to produce diverging inquiry” (Schwandt, Lincoln, & Guba, 2007, p. 17). It assumes that knowledge cannot be grasped without linking it to prior understanding (Beck & Kosnik, 2006) and centers individuals’ learning and meaning making that occurs from this process (Jones et al.,

2014), always situating this learning within the immediate context in which it is taking place (Schwandt et al., 2007). This is in contrast to—but often conflated with— constructionism, which focuses more on the collective generation of meaning through social contexts (Crotty, 1998).

Methodology: Case Study

Following the assumptions that multiple realities exist according to each individual (Jones et al., 2014) and must be linked to the context in which an individual is situated (Schwandt et al., 2007), this study called for a qualitative approach. Qualitative research situates a study within its context, studies a natural setting, and acknowledges participants’ multiple perspectives and meanings (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Rather than seeking to prove a point, qualitative research seeks to “provoke, illuminate, complicate, surprise, and emancipate” (Jones et al., 2014, p. 197) and is particularly useful for

identifying variables that cannot be easily measured (Creswell & Poth, 2018), such as those from a multifaceted and multilevel environment such as a college marching band.

This study also utilized emergent design by refraining from prescribing a strictly written plan in the initial stages of the research (Creswell & Poth, 2018), allowing the possibility for alterations during the data collection and analysis process depending on the progress of the study.

One of the common qualitative research methodologies is the case study

(Creswell & Poth, 2014), defined by both the scope of study and its features (Yin, 2014).

The scope of a case study is defined as a “contemporary phenomenon (the ‘case’)” that is investigated in-depth and within a “real-world context” (Yin, 2014, p. 16).

Methodologically, a case study examines a situation in which there are many more variables of interest than data points, relies on multiple sources of evidence and uses such as triangulation points, and utilizes prior theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis (Yin, 2014). In this study, the case or bounded system (Merriam, 1998) was the specific college band program. The study utilized interviews, document analysis, and observations to understand the various environmental and personal factors that interact with one another to influence students’ understanding of inclusion, using

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model as a theoretical framework.

Case studies are characterized and classified in a variety of ways by different methodologists (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Merriam (1998), for instance, stated that case studies are particularistic (“focus[ed] on a particular situation, event, program, or

phenomenon” [p. 29]), descriptive (ending with a “rich, ‘thick,’ description of the phenomenon under study” [p. 29]), and heuristic (“illuminat[ing] the reader’s understanding of the phenomenon under study” [p. 30]). Throughout this study, I sought to follow all of these characterizations in order to achieve both a thorough and meaningful study. Case studies can also be descriptive, explanatory, or exploratory (Yin,

2014). This study was primarily intended to be a descriptive case study, defined as one

“whose purpose is to describe a phenomenon (the “case”) in its real-world context” (Yin,

2014, p. 238). Utilizing this definition, the phenomenon studied was students’ understanding of inclusion within the case of a college marching band program.

Case Selection

This study was conducted at a large public research university in the United

States, State University (a pseudonym). Considered a high-level research institution, SU is composed of approximately two-thirds undergraduate students and one-third graduate students. Most students come from the state in which the institution is located, though it also houses a large out-of-state student population. The institution is predominately

White. The school engages in Division I athletics in a prominent conference, within which the band is involved as well. The school has a selective admissions process.

Case study methodology features two levels of sampling: the case itself and the sampling of what to study within the case (Merriam, 1998). In regard to selecting the case, I used a combination of intensity sampling and convenience sampling. I chose this case first and foremost through intensity sampling, selecting a case where the 75

phenomenon of interest (students’ understanding of inclusion) is likely to be intensely present (Jones et al., 2014). The marching band has a clearly stated commitment to inclusion, as demonstrated by administrators discussing this concept with students through various mediums within the band. I also used convenience sampling, basing my case selection on time, money, location, and availability (Merriam, 1998) due to a prior relationship with band staff and relatively close travel distance.

The Case

At State University, the marching band houses over 300 students and recruits students from both its primary campus and regional campuses. It has a storied history, starting with its beginnings over 100 years ago. The band takes pride in representing almost every academic unit at the University and providing a sense of “family” at such a large institution. Enrollment in the academic marching band course is required for all student participants. In order to perform for the band, interested wind players must first pass several auditions: an initial audition to be accepted into the marching band and then subsequent opportunities to compete against other band members in order to perform on- the-field shows with the band. Auxiliary units (color guard, twirlers, drum majors, and percussion) have separate audition processes. In line with its belief that commitment to inclusion across social identities and worldviews fosters musical excellence and aligns with university initiatives, the band has a stated commitment to inclusion for all students on its public materials and reports that it is working to develop specific initiatives within the band.

Access, Rapport, and Institutional Approval

After identifying the specific band program I wished to study due to intensity and convenience sampling, I reached out to the band director at the institution to begin discussions about the feasibility of studying their program and students (the band director’s identity is masked in this study to preserve the confidentiality of the band director, the program, and the students within the program). Therefore, the band director served as a gatekeeper, a person who holds the key to access and entry into the particular site (Magolda & Weems, 2002). Aligning with the purpose of the study, another gatekeeper was a student affairs staff member with a background in diversity and inclusion work who was assigned to work with the band on its inclusion initiatives. In the writing of my proposal for this study, I worked with them to identify potential data collection points and design a tentative schedule for data collection. Rather than considering their tacit approval as a one-time decision, I kept their agreement to access this site in mind throughout the entire data collection and analysis process. I also understood that gatekeeper approval for a study does not automatically include each student’s approval for the study, as gatekeepers may assume good intentions of a researcher or be more interested in permitting access than preventing harm for participants (Magolda & Weems, 2002).

After attaining approval from The Ohio State University’s Institutional Review

Board, I met with the band director and inclusion administrator (referred to, from now on, as the gatekeepers) to present the formal study to them and attain their permission to

conduct the study. We discussed the best ways to introduce the project to students and to maintain participant confidentiality. Next, I spoke with the band members as a large group in order to present some background information about myself, the research topic, and ways to participate in the research (Appendix A). Then, I sent a follow-up email

(Appendix B) to all band members, providing an electronic form through which they could express interest in being interviewed for the study.

Interview Participant Selection

One week following students’ receipt of the recruitment email, I selected initial interview participants from those who completed the interest form (Appendix D). From

30 interested band members who completed the form, I selected 10. I employed critical case sampling, a type of purposive sampling that seeks a “select number of important or

‘critical’ cases” (Etikan, 2016, p. 3) that “permits logical generalization and maximum application of information to other cases” (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 28).

During this phase of the sampling process, I kept in mind that seeking a diverse sample runs the risk of tokenizing individuals, especially those with marginalized identities who may be the only individual in the study representing a certain identity

(Jones et al., 2014). Acknowledging the multiplicity of identities and recognizing that diversity across all characteristics may not be achievable, the primary sampling criteria included self-described years in the band, leadership position, instrument section, race and ethnicity, and gender. It should be noted that this sample does not necessarily represent the demographic composition of the band; for instance, though roughly half of 78

the study participants were Students of Color, the band program itself was comprised of mostly White students. The resultant sample consisted of the demographics in Table 1, listed as students self-identified in open-ended blank spaces on the recruitment form.

Identity/Characteristic Number in Sample Years in Band 2 first years 3 second years 2 third years 3 fourth years Leadership 3 students who listed traditional student leadership Position/Band positions (rank or section leaders) Involvement 3 students who listed involvement in the band student organization 2 students who listed involvement in band committees, including but not limited to the Inclusion Committee 4 students who listed their leadership involvement as “none” or blank Race/Ethnicity 4 students who self-identified exclusively as Students of Color (primarily Asian/Asian American, Latina/x, or Native American) 4 students who self-identified as exclusively White or “White/Caucasian” 2 students who self-identified as having more than one racial/ethnic identity Gender 6 students who self-identified as “female” 4 students who self-identified as “male” or “cis gender male” Table 1. Student Participant Demographics

Though not primary factors in participant selection, the sample also produced a mixture of socioeconomic statuses imbalanced towards those of higher socioeconomic status (from 1 participant self-identifying as “lower class” to 3 participants self- 79

identifying as “well off” or “upper-middle class”). The sample also included a diversity of majors ranging from political science to engineering to the School of Arts & Sciences.

All but two students had at least one parent who had attended college. Students who completed the final question, “Please provide any other details about your personal background and identity that you see as relevant or important to you that you would like me to know,” listed information about family connections within the band, being out-of- state, their graduation timeline, or additional information about how their social identities impacted their band experience. All interview participants received compensation in the form of a $10 Amazon gift card for each interview in which they participated.

Data Collection and Storage

Though data collection in any type of qualitative research often involves collecting multiple forms of data (Creswell & Poth, 2018), case study methodology, in particular, requires multiple forms of data in order to obtain a rich and thick description of the case (Merriam, 1998; Yin, 2014). Merriam (1998) identified three broad types of data: interviews, documents, and observations. This study employed all three to various degrees. Though student interviews served as the primary method of data collection, I used analysis of one piece of data to influence data collection for another, thus following the interactive and holistic nature of the research process (Merriam, 1998). This data collection and analysis process reflected the emergent design characteristic of qualitative research (Creswell & Poth, 2018). I collected data in the following steps:

1. Immediately following IRB approval, I collected and conducted initial analysis of

documents to contextualize marching band logistics and formal values (such as

how inclusion, leadership, and community are addressed).

2. I conducted initial interviews with the gatekeepers (Appendix G) to understand

their perspectives on students’ understandings of inclusion and their own

experiences with inclusion.

3. I introduced myself to the band to begin recruitment of student participants

(Appendices A and B).

4. I conducted the in-person portion of data collection, including the initial student

interviews (Appendix F) and observations of full band rehearsals and Inclusion

Committee meetings (Appendix E).

5. I conducted follow-up interviews with the students and the gatekeepers

(Appendices F and G).

In order to protect the confidentiality of the participants, I stored all data on my password-protected laptop. I also secured hard copies of all data in a locked cabinet in my office on campus. In addition, I assigned pseudonyms to each participant in the study.

Though I gave all participants the opportunity to select their own pseudonyms at the time of the first interview, most of the participants allowed me to select the pseudonyms for them. I stored all information relating to actual names of participants, as well as contact information (email addresses), in hard copy form in a locked drawer in my home office.

Additionally, identifying factors such as social identities, instrument, academic major and

year, and others were altered during the reporting of the research when deemed appropriate and necessary. Occasionally, this included refraining from using a pseudonym or other identifying features when discussing a specific story, especially if the student held multiple marginalized identities or provided particularly sensitive information. All data pertaining to this study will be destroyed in January 2021.

Documents

Documents are “usually produced for reasons other than the research at hand and therefore are not subject to the same limitations” (Merriam, 1998, p. 112) as interviews and observations. Given the organizational and curricular nature of the band program, many documents provided insight into the various structures of the band program that may influence student development.

With the assistance of the gatekeepers, I collected the marching band handbook and band leadership handbook. I examined portions that discussed inclusion and/or students’ roles in promoting such an environment within the band program. I also collected demographics about the band program from the gatekeepers in order to understand the structural diversity present in the band. The demographic listings given to me were comprised of band members’ home states, academic units, academic levels, and average term GPA. Given that these documents were not solely developed for the purposes of this study, they provided tangentially relevant details about various structures in the band and in checking for authentic and accurate details about said structures

(Merriam, 1998). I received no statistics about social identities such as race, gender, or

social class, though I requested them; it appeared that these statistics were not collected nor available.

Observations

Observations can be influential for the research process because they take place in the natural field setting and represent the researcher’s firsthand encounter with the phenomenon of interest, rather than a secondhand account that would be obtained through an interview or document analysis (Merriam, 1998). I observed two different events: full-band rehearsals and Inclusion Committee meetings.

Throughout the fall data collection process, I observed three full-band rehearsals.

Along with the documents, these provided context for the rehearsal and leadership styles of both students and faculty, which had the potential to influence students’ perception of inclusion and their leadership within that. As interview data collection took place in between the rehearsal observations, I allowed the preliminary themes represented in the interviews, such as supporting individuals through providing feedback or the perceived gender and racial diversity of the student and staff leaders, to guide what I focused on in my latter observations.

In the observations, I took on the role of a complete observer, characterized as in an essentially completely public setting (Gold, 1958). Full-band rehearsals are open to the public, which allowed me to sit or stand removed from the group to observe the big picture, though I also paced around the perimeter of the field at times to gain different perspectives and hear specific conversations between band members. I also arrived early

to two of the rehearsals and remained present for 10-15 minutes after the conclusion of the rehearsal to observe the social interactions that take place before and after rehearsals.

As such, the protocol (Appendix E) for these observations fell on the unstructured side of the spectrum of planning. Merriam (1998) compares these observations to a television camera scanning the area, allowing the focus to emerge over time and not entering the scene focused on one solitary aspect.

I also observed two Inclusion Committee meetings during which representatives from the band came to address relevant issues they perceive within the band program.

Due to the smaller nature of these meetings, I took on, as Adler and Adler (1994) described, a “peripheral membership role” (p. 380). During these observations, I did not act as a participant, but the level of information revealed was controlled by the group members being investigated (Adler & Adler, 1994) because they were aware of my presence. In fact, the student leader of the Inclusion Committee remarked to me during my first observation that, because the band members knew I was coming, some of the typical attendees may not have attended because they did not want me to observe and record their perspectives. As such, I recorded only very light notes during the actual meetings and then filled in details later (Merriam, 1998) so as not to distract from the flow of the conversation. I solicited and collected consent forms from each committee participant at the beginning of each observation period after presenting a brief verbal summary of the research to them.

Observations, while helpful for gaining firsthand accounts of a case, are subject to the influence of human perception, as they are subjective and selective (Merriam, 1998).

Because it was important to engage in interrogation of my own positionality during all parts of the data collection and analysis process, I specifically integrated an “observer comments” section into both of the observation protocols (Appendix E) to ensure I recorded my own meaning making of the settings. I reviewed this section at a later date in order to separate the literal description of the situation from an interpretation that may have jumped to conclusions too swiftly.

Interviews

Merriam’s (1998) final category of data collection, present in most forms of qualitative research, is interviews. These are used to obtain a certain type of information that cannot be observed or documented, such as feelings, thoughts, intentions, past behaviors, private situations, and meanings that people ascribe to the world and its situations (Patton, 2002). In order to understand the experiences of the people who comprise the band program, I conducted two interviews each with 10 student participants, as well as the two gatekeepers in the study. These protocols are present in Appendices E and F.

Interview Protocols

Similar to observation data, a continuum between high structure and no structure exists in regard to interview protocols (Merriam, 1998). The structure of initial interviews was on the spectrum between a general interview guide approach—outlining a set of issues to be explored with each respondent before interviewing begins, to serve as a checklist to ensure all relevant topics are covered—and a standardized open-ended interview approach—utilizing a set of predetermined and carefully worded questions with some open opportunities for probing (Merriam, 1998). These protocols featured topics that I desired to cover, such as the students’ interest in music and band, relationships within the band, their perception of inclusion, and their salient identities, along with some general questions that I expected to ask to address each topic. I also prepared some suggested follow-up questions and employed verbal and nonverbal responses to encourage a conversation-like tone (Yow, 2015).

In drafting the interview protocols, I employed strategies taken from life history interviewing techniques. These included increasing the restrictiveness of questions as the interview progresses, asking participants to compare experiences and ideas with one another, and two-sentence formats to contextualize the question (Yow, 2015). These techniques are intended to gain insights into the broader human condition (Cole &

Knowles, 2001) and aim for asking as few questions as possible in order to allow the participants’ story to come to the forefront (Errante, 1999). I piloted a version of the student interview questions with students from the band program studied in Spring 2019, which helped shape the interview questions.

The second interview for each participant was much more loosely structured than the initial interview, intended to serve primarily as an opportunity for member checking as validation technique (Creswell & Poth, 2018). One to three days prior to each scheduled interview, I sent the participant a two-page summary of their salient social and personal identities identified through their conversation, inclusion definition, awareness of formal inclusion initiatives within the band program, and other themes developed from their first interview. At the beginning of each interview, I asked each participant if there was anything they felt the need to add, clarify, or remove from the research data.

Generally, this process yielded little feedback, though some students sought to amend slight details about their stories, and the Inclusion Administrator wished to change the grammar structure of some of her quotes for the sake of clarity. After this point in the interview process, I asked the students about what they felt influenced their definition of inclusion, specifically regarding formal and informal experiences they had had regarding learning about inclusion. To conclude, I offered a few follow-up questions of each participant regarding their individual themes.

Data Analysis

Reflecting the emergent design characteristic of qualitative research (Creswell &

Poth, 2018), I refrained from prescribing a detailed plan for data analysis at the beginning of the research process. Instead, I utilized several strategies common to qualitative research and case study methodology. Yin (2014) calls researchers to utilize as many

techniques and strategies in any combination, but to be aware of them before collecting data to ensure that the data will be analyzable.

Throughout the data analysis process, I utilized Stake’s (1995) four forms of data analysis and interpretation to construct a thorough case description and primary themes.

First, I engaged in categorical aggregation, “the collection of individual instances from the data” (Creswell & Poth, 2018, p. 206), by using open coding as a brainstorming approach close to the data that considers all possibilities and assigns many labels—called

“themes” or “initial codes” (Jones et al., 2014, p. 165). This stage generated 300 unique codes with 50-175 codes being used for each piece of data (interview, document, or observation). Then, I engaged in direct interpretation in treating each participant as a separate unit from which meaning can be generated by using the codes from the previous stage to generate main themes from each individual’s story (Stake, 1995). I next combined information gained from the categorical aggregation and direct interpretation phases to find correspondence and patterns across multiple individuals’ stories (Stake,

1995). I ended by drawing naturalistic generalizations, “conclusions arrived at through personal engagement in life’s affairs or by vicarious experiences so well constructed that the person feels as if it happened to themselves” (Stake, 1995, p. 85). I used these naturalistic generalizations to specifically describe the context of the case in Chapter 4 before exploring specific themes that emerged from the data. This helped situate the case in context to readers both familiar and unfamiliar with a typical marching band environment.

Achieving a descriptive account of the case met the goal of rich and thick description characteristic of case study research and comprised “the meaning the researcher has derived from studying the phenomenon” (Merriam, 1998, p. 179). I also aimed to develop a category construction informed by the study’s purpose, my orientation and knowledge, and the meanings made explicit by the participants themselves by using a constant comparative method of data analysis throughout the coding process (Merriam, 1998). These categories are defined by their ability to stand alone from their data and served as abstractions of larger themes derived from the study.

I employed two of Yin’s (2014) suggested strategies when approaching data analysis: “relying on theoretical propositions” (p. 136) and “developing a case description” (p. 139). Considering that Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework shaped the study design in my pursuit of data that reflects both the different systems that influence students and the personal characteristics of the students themselves, the results yielded information related to all of these layers and are explicitly reviewed in the context of Bronfenbrenner (2005) in Chapter 5.

Validation and Reliability

Several case study research methods books describe ways to ensure research is of high quality and reaches an appropriate level of rigor, which I aimed for throughout the research process. Yin (2003) characterized high-quality analysis as attending to all the evidence, addressing all major rival interpretations, addressing the most significant issues of the case study, and demonstrating awareness of current thinking and discourse about 89

the case study topic using my (the researcher’s) own prior expert knowledge. Bogdan and

Biklen (1998) also provided several recommendations for ensuring the quality of data analysis, including making decisions that narrow the study and concern the type of study planned to be conducted, planning data collection sessions according to what was found in previous data collections, writing many observer’s comments throughout the process, and experimenting with metaphors, analogies, concepts, and visual devices when appropriate.

Because qualitative research seeks to identify variables that cannot be easily measured (Creswell & Poth, 2018) and aims to provoke, illuminate, and complicate an issue rather than prove a point (Jones et al., 2014), qualitative researchers seek validity and reliability in their findings rather than a verification of whether findings are right or wrong (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Creswell and Poth (2018) describe three validation strategies appropriate for qualitative research: examining the researcher’s lens, participants’ lens, and readers or reviewers’ lens. In this study, I accounted for validity across all three lenses.

I used the participants’ lens to check for validity of the findings through member checking interviews with each participant. As previously discussed, this involved soliciting participants’ views of the credibility of findings by presenting them with a summary of key findings and themes from their story and requesting their feedback. In addition, I asked any follow-up questions I deemed pertinent (Appendix D).

I checked the accuracy of the account by addressing my own lens (the researcher’s lens) by triangulating multiple data sources and engaging in reflexivity

(Creswell & Poth, 2018). Data source triangulation is one of many forms of triangulation

(Denzin, 1970) and involves studying “if the phenomenon or case remains the same at other times, in other spaces, or as persons interact differently” in an “effort to see if what

[I am] observing and reporting carries the same meaning when found under different circumstances” (Stake, 1995, p. 112-113). I used the multitude of data sources collected to triangulate, in particular, findings related to data critical to assertions and key interpretations as recommended by Stake (1995). Additionally, by engaging in reflection on my past experiences, biases, prejudices, and orientations through keeping a researcher journal, I maintained a reflexive and critical eye directed towards any assertion I made to acknowledge how my own biases may influence analysis (Creswell & Poth, 2018). I used

Hollway and Jefferson’s (2013) four core questions associated with analyzing any qualitative data to guide my reflection: “What do we notice? Why do we notice what we notice? How can we interpret what we notice? How can we know that our interpretation is the ‘right’ one?” (p. 51).

Creswell and Poth’s (2018) third and final validation lens is the reader’s or reviewer’s lens. Case study research aims to develop a rich and thick description

(Merriam, 1998) of the phenomenon of interest, which is also a validation technique that provides a description so detailed that it allows the readers to transfer information to other settings and determine whether findings can indeed be transferred due to similar

characteristics (Creswell & Poth, 2018). I also used a peer debriefer to keep me honest and challenge my interpretations and methods (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Before and during a portion of this study, this peer debriefer served as my mentor teacher while I was a Teaching Assistant for a social justice education course, so we were often able to draw connections and contrasts between the understandings the students in our class were discussing in parallel with those of the band members.

Limitations

While effort was made to achieve a rigorous, valid, and reliable study through the aforementioned techniques, this study is still subject to some limitations, including those regarding unavailable data or resources and the peculiarity of site or respondent selection

(Glesne, 2006). Consistent with the “always partial state of knowing in social research”

(Glesne, 2006, p. 169), limitations are inevitable in any qualitative research study, and illuminating these helps readers understand how they should read and interpret the study.

The unavailability of data or resources limited the study. Considering the vast scope of the band program, which involves over 300 students, several staff and faculty, and various embedded student groups including different instrument sections and service groups, it was impossible to observe, interview, or review documents regarding every entity in the program. My decision to focus on documents and observations that represent the overall culture of the band program while centering student interviews reflects the theoretical framework of acknowledging that a person’s growth is influenced both by their environment and their personal characteristics (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). It also 92

centered the importance of student meaning making regarding inclusion rather than institutional definitions of said term. However, different scopes of study, such as an in- depth study of one specific instrument section or an examination of multiple staff members’ approaches to inclusion, would have yielded different results.

The specificity and peculiarity of the site I studied also limits the findings. The marching band’s stated commitment to diversity and inclusion sets it apart from other band programs, so the understandings that students demonstrate may not be transferrable to other sites. Considering this band program exists at a Predominantly White Institution, it had the potential to not promote social justice and empowerment of racial minority students to the extent that band programs at racial minority-serving schools such as those discussed by Luminais and Williams (2016) or Carter (2013).

I was also limited in scope by those students who volunteered for the study, so the study lacks the perspectives of those who either did not opt in or those I did not have the time and resources to interview. My attempt to obtain a “diverse sample” (Merriam,

1998) was limited by the participant selection process. However, considering the goal of qualitative case study research is to provide rich and thick description (Merriam, 1998) and to complicate and illuminate rather than prove a point (Jones et al., 2014), the stories that participants did share with me shed light on a band member experience that may or may not be shared by others without making generalizable claims about that experience.

Summary

This constructivist descriptive case study aimed to understand how college band members develop understandings of inclusion within a college marching band program with a stated commitment to inclusion. The case was selected through intensity and convenience sampling, and data collected included formal band documentation, observations of both full band and Inclusion Committee meetings, and interviews with band members selected through maximum variation sampling as well as gatekeepers.

Using Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological theory of human development as a theoretical framework through which to analyze both personal and environmental characteristics that influence student development, I employed direct interpretation, categorical aggregation, correspondence and patterns, and naturalistic generalization to construct a case description and a category construction of primary themes regarding the development of band members’ understandings of inclusion.

Chapter 4: Findings

This study sought to explore how college marching band members develop understandings of inclusion within a specific college marching band program with a stated commitment to such. Specifically, the central research questions were: (1) how do college band members understand inclusion; (2) how do college band members evaluate the quality of inclusion of the band program; and (3) how do college band members understand their roles as responsible for developing inclusive environments within the band program? The study sought to answer these questions in addition to exploring what characteristics of the band members and the band itself influence their understandings. To answer these questions, I utilized a case study methodology.

To help readers situate the findings within the context of State University and its marching band, I begin by providing descriptions of the marching band, expectations of its members, and its commitment to inclusion. I then present the findings in two groups.

First, I provide a summary of how students explicitly understood their definitions of inclusion, along with the characteristics and experiences that they perceive influence—or do not influence—band members’ experiences as such.

Then, I present four pictures of the journey towards inclusion as depicted in the marching band. As a whole, the first two pictures—inclusion as already achieved through a general sense of community in band and inclusion as making identity visible— demonstrate how the college band members evaluate the inclusion of the band program.

The final two pictures—inclusion as increasing awareness about others’ identities and inclusion as manipulating formal structures—demonstrate how the college band members understand their responsibilities and abilities to develop inclusive environments within the band program. Following the goal of centering students’ perceptions, I allowed the students’ words to guide the categorizations represented in this study. However, I have also included relevant data from staff member interviews, general band and leadership handbooks, and observations of full rehearsals and the Inclusion Committee meetings to contextualize the students’ experiences.

Contextualizing the Case

At 4:15 p.m. on a cold November Thursday at State University, the sun is beginning to set, and traffic is beginning to thicken as students, faculty, and staff alike start to think about their evening plans. However, in the revered rehearsal hall of the State

University Marching Band, the work is just beginning. Having adjusted to the weekday rhythm of rehearsal months ago when the marching band season began, hundreds of students meander into arcs around a ladder at the front of the room. Within their

“sections”—the groups that play the same instrument—many are engaged in conversation with those next to them about a variety of topics: plans for a rare weekend ahead without a football game or performance obligation, study tips for the upcoming Calculus midterm, inside jokes about a mistake a member made in the previous rehearsal.

Immediately outside the rehearsal hall, a small crowd has formed to watch the color guard section perform a skit from a popular musical, ending with a dramatic kick line 96

performance to make the impromptu audience clap and laugh. Outdoors, the captain of the drumline concludes a “sectional”—a rehearsal session for only his section—with a quick motivational speech about the importance of “pushing through” the rehearsal ahead, before joining the rest of the group.

As the clock approaches 4:30, the conversations die down and are replaced with the sounds of instruments warming up, playing scales and technical exercises or practicing bits of the new marching show. No one has instructed the students to switch to playing their instruments, but rather an unspoken rule has established this structure to prepare the students for the focused two-hour rehearsal that lies ahead. In jackets, hats, and scarves, many of which bear the SUMB logo, the students are prepared for a rehearsal in 30-degree weather to prepare for their next performance in front of a full football stadium. They are ready to work hard—to run back to their field positions for the next run-through, to listen and receive feedback from their student and staff leaders, and to evaluate their own playing and marching skills during the structured “check” breaks built in by the band director—while also enjoying themselves. They are ready to hear the graduate instructors play “Surfin’ USA” and other songs about heat over the intercom during breaks in mockery of the cold temperatures, and some of the sections will engage in competitions to see who can run back to their assigned placement on the field the quickest. They are ready to respond in unison, “Good evening,” after the director calls the band together with a, “Good afternoon, everyone,” and they are especially ready to engage in their post-practice ritual after post-rehearsal announcements conclude. This

involves a chant against their rival team, patting one another on the back during another chant, kicking their knees up in the air, and lots and lots of yelling. These are only some of the ways that the SUMB members celebrate community amongst the expectations under which they operate.

Band Member Expectations

Even before the band members arrived as first-year members for their first rehearsal, they carried the weight of expectations for their performance. Some of them looked up to the SUMB members from an extremely young age. As David said, “Kids wanted to be basketball players and superheroes growing up, but I wanted to be in a marching band,” and Clara “dedicates [her] reason for getting into this marching band” to her older brother who marched before her. Regardless of their prior experience, all of the band members are faced with public, historical, and inclusionary expectations amidst their other obligations as university students.

Public Expectations

The Student Leadership Handbook states that the SUMB is committed to

“excellence,” “a high standard,” and “history and tradition.” As “a face of the university”

(Kyle) “performing in front of tens of thousands of people at least every Saturday”

(Megan), the SUMB members “have a higher standard” that they “need to take

[them]selves to,” since they are “so much in a public view” (Kyle). These expectations lead to “high tension” (Megan) amongst some of the members as they work for months to execute so many flawless performances. For most, this work starts in August during Band

Camp, a “challenging and interesting” (Sylvia) two-week period of committing unfamiliar moves to “muscle memory” (Megan) while also making friends they hope to have for the rest of their time in the ensemble. However, the real work began for many of these students in late elementary school or middle school when they first picked up an instrument. They have received differing levels of quality and individualized education to perfect their skills, but all have undergone the “stressful but cool” (Justin) experience of auditioning and being accepted into the group as performers.

Historical Expectations

These band members are also expected to fulfill the paths of those who came before them through expectations of “deep rooted tradition” (Jenna), legacy, and history.

All of them have been welcomed into the band through a series of traditions for new members, ranging from student leaders’ inspirational speeches to a surprise concert that the returning members perform for the new members. Now accepted as part of this community, some members are part of sections that have themed dress-up days during specific rehearsals or special social events that foster a sense of community. All are integrated into pre- and post-rehearsal rituals, in addition to game day rituals that help the students focus on the performance they are about to execute.

Though some of these traditions foster a sense of community and performance expectations, some have more sinister consequences. At least one section has encountered, in recent years, a reputation as heavy drinkers, and the leaders are currently working to fight that “stigma” (Justin). At least one dress-up day has been accused of

“culturally appropriating” (Kyle) a racial group, and it has long been expected of all members to supply their own food during the grueling beginning-of-year rehearsal sessions. As Sylvia said, “even if it affected [people in band] or maybe it still affects them, they’re still used to it.”

Inclusionary Expectations

Consistent with expectations to be “a face of the university” (Kyle), the band members are working to live up to their expectation to set an example as an inclusive group on campus. Over the past few years, Jennifer, a student affairs staff member with a background in diversity and inclusion work has been assigned to, in part, work with the band on improving their inclusion initiatives. According to Jennifer, her involvement was initiated after “an incident… that required that the marching band undergo training on cultural appropriations through the University’s Office of Student Affairs”. She saw the situation as “an opportunity to assist the band in developing its Inclusion Committee into something integral and to help band faculty, students, and staff think about… inclusion on a regular basis.” In addition to fostering an Inclusion Committee as a space in which students can discuss concerns regarding inclusion together and work to address them, the band members undergo annual training sessions provided by the University’s Office of

Student Affairs that are differentiated for new and returning members.

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General Expectations as University Students

Amidst the heavy time commitment that many students attribute to being part of the marching band, students are also obligated to navigate challenging course loads amidst their time in band. Someone who joined the band her second year described,

You go from having your college where all you had the [previous] semester was a Monday night [rehearsal for a different ensemble] for a couple hours. Now it’s every day. Sometimes [you have the day off] on Friday if you don’t have a game, but then all of your Saturday is taken up [with a football game]. You [have to] figure out your time.

For Hannah, who originally entered college and her band experience enrolled in one of the university’s competitive business programs, she faced the additional challenge of balancing her other commitments. She said, “having the [business] track, which is super busy itself, and then being a part of the church I am, and then being the SUMB… it was a lot to handle my freshman year.” Given the challenging music and marching skills students must learn upon entering the band, along with these other academic and extracurricular commitments, “long-term projects” such as those related to inclusion efforts “can be kind of slow,” as everyone is “all busy with [their] own academics and just trying to keep up with everything else” (Jenna). This leads meetings and conversations to be “pushed back, even though they definitely need to be held more immediately” (Jenna). Thus, the various expectations that students face within their band involvement intersect with one another, making the journey towards more full inclusion a multifaceted effort.

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Students’ Understandings of Inclusion

When asked what the word “inclusion” meant to them, students overwhelmingly used similar language to describe what that word meant to them in band, including a sense of comfort, ability to be oneself, feeling a part of the group, and a lack of exclusion.

To Cosmo, feeling included meant feeling “welcome and comfortable being there.”

Megan acknowledged that inclusion meant “everybody feels welcomed, equal, and valued wherever they are, whatever they are trying to do.” Students also acknowledged the importance of being able to be themselves. To David, inclusion meant “making sure everyone… can be themselves… and not feel judged or feel like they have to change in a sense to be part of the group,” and Sylvia added it meant, “you don’t have to put on a mask to be accepted as part of the group.” Some students also characterized inclusion as a lack of exclusion, such as saying that inclusion is strong in band because “there’s never been any, from what I’ve experienced, disagreements between people, whether it be

[related to] political beliefs, religious beliefs, or anything like that” (David) and that it is important that, “we’re not actively excluding” (Kyle).

Some students, primarily those for whom an identity or set of identities has had a strong impact on them for a variety of reasons, described inclusion using the same words, but specifically focused on the influence that band members with specific identities or experiences may have within the band, especially if those identities or experiences place them in the minority. Jenna recognized that band members’ abilities to “fully be themselves and who they are… comes with different aspects of your identity” and that 102

inclusion involves “making sure that all aspects of your identity are accepted.” For example, Cosmo, a Student of Color who has many friends who are members of the

LGBTQ+ community, said that inclusion is “in terms of sexual orientation, gender identity, and race… incorporating [those identities] into the organization to make them feel welcome.” Justin also spoke about financial accessibility and its relation to inclusion, saying, “there’s a financial accessibility for inclusion, that influences time, how much

[the band member] can contribute to something, the kinds of experiences they’re able to afford to be able to participate in different things.” He went on to say that inclusion involves “an openness of who can say what and when” in an attempt to show others that

“your experiences are legitimized.”

Clara pointed out that there are sometimes differences in inclusion between “the people” and “the system.” Though she characterizes inclusion as, “no different than when

I met them, they still want to hang out with us,” and says that she feels this sense of community amongst people within the band, the system of multiple “levels” of performers creates separation between members and differentiates their experiences.

Similarly, Laura acknowledged that though some inclusion may be within the control of a band member when they choose to either socialize or pull away from others in the group,

“the organization might have something that limits a person’s ability to be included.”

Influence of Social Identities: “Aspects of Identity”

In order to interrogate the idea of inclusion as related to specific identities, I will use this next section to discuss common “aspects of identity” (Jenna) and experiences

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discussed by the students and how the students perceive they do—or do not—influence inclusion within the band. The students discussed many social identities that had the potential to influence whether students may feel included in the marching band, including socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and race and ethnicity. Though the gatekeepers did not provide me with statistics related to demographics such as these, both interviews and observations highlighted the fact that students of low socioeconomic status, of the LGBTQ community, or of Color were in the minority in this band program.

Additionally, gender dynamics both within and outside of the binary impact experiences and perceptions of the band program. This section will reveal the complicated nature in which the students discussed these various identities and their relation to band.

Socioeconomic Status

Overall, socioeconomic status came up the most during interviews and seemed to be the identity about which most students felt comfortable talking. Many students pointed out issues related to student’s financial situations and socioeconomic statuses within the band. For example, Justin noted that, “not all of us come from a financially sound place,” so the expectation that the band has for members to purchase their own meals during

Band Camp “becomes a financial barrier to participation.” David approached the same issue from a more immediate definition of financial situation by pointing out that many

“freshmen and sophomores” who live on campus do not have “apartments or a house to cook [in] yet” and that “the cafeterias are not open yet and your meal plan doesn’t start yet.”

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Megan, who comes from “very middle-class privileged suburbs,” recognized that some of her friends in the band “struggle economically” and had different levels of opportunity when selecting a college than she did. She recognizes she has a safety net in that her “parents are just a phone call away,” but that “that is not the case at all” for some band members. Hannah is an example of one of these students Megan talked about, though instead of discussing a safety net with her parents, she perceived the biggest difference amongst students from her “lower-mid class” and others’ “middle class” is how the latter often “come from previous years of really good [middle school and high school] band programs where most people have [been] tutored and [had] private lessons.”

However, Hannah did not perceive that this situation actually affects [her] experience too much.” She said, “I think like, ‘Oh, they have more money than I do,’ and then I’m like,

‘Oh, that’s fine.’”

Dr. Thompson, the band director, and Jennifer, the Inclusion Administrator, both discussed the impact that students’ financial statuses potentially had on their band experience as well. In contrast with the students’ perspectives, both professionals spoke about limited access that students from low-income backgrounds have due to the degree of musical training that is needed to compete for acceptance into the band in the first place. Jennifer explained,

Learning how to play an instrument oftentimes requires access to money to afford all that it involves. Within the instrumental music departments, racial diversity is often lacking due to expensive preparatory work needed from a young age to be competitive and accepted into a college music program. You have to be able to afford the cost of the instrument, lessons, and maintenance of the instrument. These are all additional hurdles that are taken for granted when it is assumed that 105

everybody gets access to music lessons in school. Well, that's not true, particularly in [our closest city]. And a lot of schools don't have any arts programming at all, let alone something that requires maintenance of instruments and continuous lessons for those who want to pursue music long-term… Arts education is not a given. It is a privilege based on the ability to afford it that leaves many without the opportunity.

Dr. Thompson also shared that the band sets up “specific audition days” for students in a special orientation program “designed for underprivileged students coming to [SU],” and at least one of the students interviewed for the study auditioned into the band as part of these audition days. Regarding admission to the band, Jennifer also pointed out that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience “layers of exclusion and inequity… even before [they] get to college, such as lack of access to quality education, home supports, arts programming, and many other opportunities that help to prepare young people for applying to school and auditions.” In this way, representation of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds within the band is somewhat limited by general university admissions, as the audition process only reviews students already accepted into the university.

Regarding support for students within the band program, Dr. Thompson always tries to be mindful of how he talks about his own financial privilege, especially as someone “coming from a very upper-class family” but acknowledging that “not everybody in the [band] room is like that.” He does so by avoiding talking about expensive opportunities he is afforded, such as being able to wear “certain types of clothing,” having “the brand-new iPhone,” or trying an “expensive restaurant out of town.” He also works to provide opportunities for the band to “eat together as a group” 106

before “go[ing] off and do[ing] their activities,” though there are “limits, of course” in that they “try to provide as much as [they]’re able.” Clearly this does not cover all financial burdens associated with being a band member, especially in comparison to the students’ perspectives, but efforts are being made to supplement the band members’ financial commitments.

Unlike Dr. Thompson and the students, Jennifer also acknowledged the connection between socioeconomic status and race or other identities, in that the layers of exclusion she previously described are “tied to socioeconomic status and the result of institutional racism and sexism.” When I asked Jennifer in her second interview about the fact that the students with whom she worked in the band did not make this connection as well, she provided the following explanation:

The students who were talking about [socioeconomic disadvantage] were the White students who had come from lower income backgrounds, so they were looking at the situation primarily from the fact that they lacked money. And occasionally, when we had students who were of a racial minority that would come to the [Inclusion Committee] meetings, they would be more focused on the impact of their race within the context of the band. Even if they also were of lower income status as well, they weren’t always seeing that as their impediment or what was excluding them from opportunities. They saw their race as being the factor, whereas the students who were White more often focused on their income or gender…So a lot of times the conversations were to help them understand that our experiences and encounters are multilayered, that it isn’t just one part of your identity that’s impacting how people engage with you in the world, or how you benefit or not in the world… My hope, by having those conversations, was for them to also see how they had shared perspectives even though they were coming at it from different angles or from different experiences.

Jennifer’s depiction of the students and their processing of social class shows that students’ privileged or disadvantaged identities, especially regarding race, influence how

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they perceive socioeconomic status and social class. One White student from a low- income background perceiving finances from a strictly socioeconomic-based perspective.

Another White student viewed finances as difficult for anyone living in a residence hall without cooking supplies. Meanwhile, Students of Color perceived their exclusion in the band through a race-based lens even though they may have also been impacted by social class disadvantage as well. The conversations around socioeconomic status and social class show the various perspectives present within the band students and professionals.

Gender

Some of the students also discussed how gender might impact a band member’s level of comfort and inclusion within the band. Most of them discussed gender using the male/female or man/woman binary, though Cosmo discussed at length the importance of inclusionary actions towards those who are nonbinary. Therefore, I will begin with a discussion of gender on the gender binary and then share Cosmo’s thoughts regarding nonbinary inclusion.

Two participants who both described their gender as “male” and are members of

“male dominated section[s]” (David) in the band expressed the importance of avoiding any “things we say” (Justin) or do that could make women in the band uncomfortable. A common way to teach skills on David’s instrument involves “trying to use my hands to move a hand down or move a finger,” but he is now aware to “always… ask, ‘Is it okay if

I move your hand? Can I show you how this should be?’’ In light of the recent “Me Too movement,” he acknowledged that touching another band member could be perceived

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“very different[ly]” for a female member. Even over the past few years, the band members have seen “a sexist series of chants that [were] discontinued within [a] section”

(Justin). Other band members, including leaders in particular, took it upon themselves to be part of that change. As David reflected,

Within [my] male-dominated subsection of the marching band, … I just remember hearing some jokes that weren't in any way terrible, but thinking about that a little bit more, saying, "That joke probably shouldn't have been said." And we would talk about that with directors and as a group and stuff. So, especially once I [got a leadership position in the band], I remember I was kind of always looking out and listening for those types of jokes to kind of shut those down. As my freshman/sophomore year and being an underclassman and a new member, I heard them and definitely had the same opinion of, "That person probably shouldn't have said that," but I didn't feel as though I was in a position to be like, "I'm a freshman. Hey, senior. Stop that joke."

In contrast, two of the women band members discussed different types of experiences with inclusivity for females or women, namely representation and physical appearances. As a member of a section of primarily women, Laura felt that being “female

[did not] really affect her” because she pointed out, “there are a lot of girls in the band.”

This was in stark contrast with Hannah’s experience in a section where men were the majority, which she experienced in band from a young age. She said, “I come in knowing that being a trombone player, I’m going to be surrounded by males.” She tends to

“gravitate towards females” when joining new communities because “talking with them is… easier just because we’re both girls.” Though Hannah noticed gender and how it showed up in the band program more than Laura, Hannah found it “empowering” to see

“female leaders stepping up to take leadership positions” and valued the representation shown through this example. 109

Laura’s concerns about gender inclusivity, along with those of the Inclusion

Committee, primarily manifested themselves within the expectations regarding physical appearance that band members must follow. As Laura explains,

Those uniforms were intended to look good on men, so they don’t look good on us… There was a whole weird thing where they have us measure our hips as part of our sizing, but then the uniforms don’t have a hip size as part of the measurements that are listed. So [the measurements go] based on your chest and your height. For a man, that might work, because maybe chest and hips are the same size, but for a woman that’s not true.

Similarly, the Inclusion Committee talked at length regarding the current policy about how band members are expected to wear their hair during performances. Though they acknowledged they understood the goal of “uniformity,” they felt that the “hair policy” was enforced disproportionately for sections primarily comprised of women, and that certain guidelines that would make many men look more “uniform,” such as being

“clean-shaven,” were not in place. Contemplating intersections of multiple identities, the students also acknowledged that the “hair policy” disproportionately impacted both

“women and People of Color,” as band members with thicker hair textures sometimes underwent “elaborate and extensive measures” such as chemically treating their hair or braiding their hair painfully tight in order to abide by the policy. Jennifer, the Inclusion

Administrator who had supported the students through some conversations about the hair policy, noted that this concern was due to an “increase in ethnic and gender diversity” representation in the first place. The representation of these types of diversity was necessary for band members to even note that this was an inclusion issue.

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Though conversations about gender typically regarded the gender binary, minor conversations about gender inclusivity outside of the binary were mentioned as well.

Cosmo, the only band member who used “cis gender” as an addition to “male” to describe his gender on the recruitment form, explicitly stated that his definition of inclusion involves incorporating “sexual orientation, gender identity, and race” into the organization to help them feel welcome. Reflecting on the importance of acknowledging genders outside of the binary, he felt “it would be very beneficial to educate people [in the band] on different gender identities and… why some people prefer to use ‘they/them’ pronouns or other pronouns.” However, he acknowledged that he does not “know anyone in the band who is gender-fluid or uses ‘them/them’ pronouns” and feels the efforts to educate people on this language shift would “definitely change a lot” if someone entered the band as gender-fluid. Even the fact that a few band members labeled the band directors’ use of “guys and gals” as a “gender neutral term” (Jenna) furthermore demonstrates choice of language that excludes those whose genders fall outside of the gender binary. Though this action could be taken currently to improve inclusion overall in the band program, the band seems to approach this issue from a passive perspective given the lack of known gender-fluid representation in the ensemble.

Sexual Orientation

Those who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning generally reported a sense of safety and community within the band, often referring to the “decent sized gay community within SUMB” and its associated “Facebook group” through which the band

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members arrange excursions to a “club that has a lot of drag shows” and other fun social events. A band member currently questioning their sexuality stated all of the band members in this group are “very confident in themselves and sure about how they view themselves,” which reiterates the power that this group has in helping people with these identities feel like “a safe space” (Sylvia). Another student noted that his “gay” identity makes him aware of that fact that he does “not look like or act like a typical band student,” nor would he “typically surround [himself] with [non-LGBTQ+ people] in a social setting or everyday life,” so he notices a contrast between his closest social group and the rest of the band. Though band members notice these differences in sexuality, the

“gay community” within the band helps support students with these identities and helps provide them with space that fosters their perception of inclusivity.

Race and Ethnicity

Though race and ethnicity are often discussed as two separate but often related constructs in the literature, the majority of the students discussed these concepts together, so I will do so in this section. Both band members who identified as White and of Color discussed race, though their depictions of race and its impact depended on the individual’s experience within the band.

White band members discussed race in ways that demonstrated their privilege in not being able to point out how race impacted the band experience, at least not initially.

Though David, a White band member, acknowledged that some “people look at [the fact that there are few People of Color in the band] as an issue,” but that he does not see it that

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way because “it’s reflecting what the demographics of the university [are].” He did not feel that “the band is doing anything to deter racial minorities” and that the “blind auditions” help remove racial bias from the band context. However, given the lack of racial demographics provided during data collection, it is unclear whether the racial demographics of the band do indeed reflect those of the university. In fact, study participants viewed these demographics differently, as Cosmo (a Band Member of Color) deemed the band as less racially diverse than the university, while Dr. Thompson (a

White man) said, “it probably is, but I don’t know.” However, Jennifer and a few students all noted that the racial demographics within the band have increased in diversity over the past few years, though I do not have access to statistics regarding that observation either.

Laura, another White band member, learned about how race impacts the experience of Band Members of Color through a conversation with a Friend of Color about the hair policy. She shared that she originally was “thinking about the policy and how it discriminated against women, because [she] is a woman,” but that she “had to expand” her thinking to realize the hair policy concerns are “about different groups besides the one that [she] belongs to.” She acknowledged that her view of the situation was “narrow minded” before that conversation. Similarly, another White band member who has held a leadership position in the color guard section has noticed the need to adjust the section’s “hair and makeup” policies, because the lipstick the leader picked out cannot even be seen on the few People of Color in her section. Some of the White

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students notice issues regarding race inclusivity, especially as it relates to appearance, but only after they encounter a situation in which it is directly relevant to their experience.

Some of the Band Members of Color discussed race and ethnicity in similar ways regarding the role that physical appearance plays in their experience with this identity, especially considering the minoritized nature of their racial identities within the band program. Jenna, who identified as a “very White-passing” Person of Color, said that her

“race and ethnicity don’t really come up a ton” in her personal experience or conversations with others, though she acknowledged that celebrating “Heritage

Month[s]” might help “let different members of the band who fall under that category know that [the band] support[s] them.” Cosmo, on the other hand, felt concerned for his safety and those of other Band Members of Color, when he heard that a “racist comment” had been made by an unnamed band member, and said that he would be “more comfortable” approaching “people [he] identif[ies] with” as fellow Band Members of

Color in an emotional hardship. Hannah, another Band Member of Color, values

“shar[ing with other band members] a lot about who [she is] and what [her culture] is,” especially because she is one of the few people in the band in her ethnic group. Though she is excited “there is a growing population” of her racial group in the band, she does

“not too much so” see band members in her racial group in leadership positions and feel this does “not so much” impact her band experience. Finally, an Asian-American band member reported being particularly conscious of race when traveling with the band program, saying,

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Asian is kind of like a model minority sort of deal, and it’s not like I don’t want to pull myself to a high standard, but it’s more so that it’s an added pressure… Especially if I were to travel with the band, it’s like, “Oh, I’m in uniform and the standards are just way higher now.”

To summarize the band members’ experiences with race and ethnicity, an overwhelming number of students of various races and ethnicities all spoke about how race and ethnicity manifest themselves in awareness of physical differences in students, whether encompassed in policies on hair and makeup, representation amongst the band and leadership, or perceived treatment by other band members. The interplay of race and ethnicity within the band is especially relevant due to the lack of structural racial diversity of the band program.

Impact of Personal and Affinity Identities: “Two Different Categories”

Amidst discussions about the aforementioned social identities of band members and how they may or may not impact their experiences with inclusion, the band members mentioned a series of other characteristics that may influence a band member’s experience, including those assigned through a given role, how others view them, or mutual interests (Gee, 2000). These observations influence both how students conceptualize and evaluate inclusion within the band. For instance, David conceptualized

“diversity into two different categories.” One category represents social identities, which he described as “more physical, visual, how you present yourself,” and the other is “kind of like the inside, how you think, how you process, problem-solve, things like that.” This next section will review concepts that band members discussed in relation to inclusion, in addition to the prominent impact of social identities reviewed above. These include 115

“diversity of thought,” performance status within the band, instrument section, being from out-of-state, years spent in the band, and personality traits.

“Diversity of Thought”: Political Beliefs, Religion, and Learning Styles and Speed

When helping teach music and marching skills to his section members, David

“had to connect more of how people thought and less about where they came from” and contemplate others’ “diversity of thought.” To David, the way people think within the band encompassed “varying political views,” “every type of religion,” and “learning disabilit[ies]” such as a band member on the “spectrum of autism.” Similarly, Jenna believes that inclusion means that “all aspects of your identity are accepted,” including

“your religious background.”

Though without the “diversity of thought” label, Megan also identified that part of her leadership training for the band reminded her to “acknowledge that everybody works at different paces and will reach whatever level of understanding they’re going to reach at their own pace.” The band itself clearly prioritizes teaching students and acknowledging their diverse thought processes, as nearly half of the Student Leadership Handbook addresses topics such as “Characteristics of Good Teaching,” “Feedback,” and tips for teaching marching maneuvers.

Alternate Marchers: “Do I Belong to the Band or Am I Just Riding the Bench?”

Within the SUMB, not every band member who is accepted into the marching band will perform each show. A certain number of band members is designated as

“alternates” because it is “not possible to march [so] many students in the pregame or

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halftime performances” (Student Handbook). Though the alternate system “allows the

SUMB to accept more members into the ensemble and “encourages hard work” in order to receive the opportunity to perform (Student Handbook), many students described being an alternate member as something that “hurts” (Jenna). As such, performance status impacted several band members’ understanding and evaluation of inclusion. David used an analogy to describe the experience of many alternate marchers:

When your family gets together for a holiday or for a hangout, and you’re not there, but you’re off by yourself, you don’t make those connections, and you don’t experience the memories that are then talked about or become a joke or whatever it may be.

Due to the rehearsal set-up, alternate marchers rehearse in a way that physically removes them from the rest of the group, so much that the alternate marchers do not take part in jokes, memories, and other situations that happen amongst the members. Even the situation of not being able to perform feels isolating to many of the members, as Sylvia missed out on learning “a bunch of things that I [didn’t] know” such as “rehearsal protocol” and “little things you can’t learn unless you are marching that spot on the field” before being given the chance to perform. At one point during her time as an alternate marcher, Jenna asked herself, “’Do I belong to the band? Or am I just riding the bench?’”

Section

As most of the band socializing takes place amongst sections of the same instrument, a band member’s section could be perceived as having a strong impact on their ability to be included in the band. A member of the color guard reported that their performance pressures are “very different compared to what a lot of the instruments do” 117

due to their sheer visibility on the marching field, which leads to them feeling “a bit more pressure for us to be perfect and good.” The color guard section also often has different marching instructions from the rest of the band, which is easily forgotten during rehearsals, “fall[ing] on… the leaders to make sure that [they]’re getting [the attention they] need” during rehearsals. Section stereotypes can also play a role in a band member’s experience. For example, Justin shared that,

There was a previous stigma about [my section] being alcoholics… So much so that I was like, ‘Oh, well, to be a [certain instrument] means to be an alcoholic.’ I idolized one for a while, which was completely detrimental to my health and my well-being.

Though Justin reported that this stigma has decreased over time and that he has

“chang[ed his] social habits” to drinking less, his story serves as an extreme example of the social pressures the band members may face in order to be a part of the group. This socializing among sections can be extremely important to a band member’s sense of community, as Hannah shared that “sometimes the people that can’t make it out to

[section hang-outs]” because of academics or commitments to other activities find it

“harder” “to settle into the friend group or just a group in general.” Whether a band member finds belonging within their section, and whether that section’s needs are prioritized in rehearsals, potentially impacts a student’s experience with inclusion.

Out-of-State Students: “People Don’t Really Think About It”

Several students discussed her experience as an out-of-state student at length as another characteristic that may cause students to feel excluded, especially in their first year in the band. One band member explained that “people don’t really think about being 118

out of state” as “a thing that can be excluded,” but that “simple things like not being able to go home for Thanksgiving… [when she hasn’t] been home since August” compared to some students whose “childhood home[s]” are “a ten minute drive” away can be challenging. Another out-of-state student also shared that he “didn’t know what [he] was getting into when joining the band, because the “style of marching” popular in his high school band was very different from those of many in-state students, who “probably have been to an SU game” before coming to college. Some students who are not out-of-state also acknowledged the struggle that these students face. For example, Jenna mentioned that Band Camp can be “a lot of strain, especially… if you’re coming from a different state,” and Clara doubted she would have even met someone from out of state if she had not joined the band. The band demographic information also demonstrates the relevance of this characteristic of students, as it lists the home states of all marching band students; three-quarters of them are from in-state.

New Members: “Oh God, How Am I Going to Fit In?”

Many students also acknowledged the role that the number of years they had been in band impacted their experience, particularly for new members entering the band with fears of not fitting in and failing performance expectations. In particular, Kyle’s advice to a new member would be to encourage them by normalizing the fact that “it’s okay to feel like you’re not good enough because everybody has that doubt” and wonders, “’Oh God, how am I going to fit in?’” Cosmo recalled his “freshman year,” in which he was “more scared of [his] student leaders.” During Band camp, he was “on the verge of a

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breakdown” because he “would take [criticism] too harshly or too to-heart,”

“overwhelmed by all of the comments.” Adjusting to the college experience on top of new people and new challenging marching and music expectations was difficult for many students, which can lead to them doubting their place within the group.

Shyness: “Moments When I Grow More Introverted”

Band members who labeled themselves as shy or introverted also depicted this characteristic as making them feel removed from the group at times. For example,

Hannah reflected,

I think there's just moments where I grow more introverted. And then I just kind of like watch all the rest of [my section] … I see how some people will interact with each other and other groups interact with each other. I could go to them and I talk to them but then sometimes I don't want to. So rather than them excluding me, I think it's just more myself excluding myself from the group as a large.

This characteristic of being shy appears to intersect often with being a new member, as Megan reported,

When I was an underclassman, I didn’t talk to anybody if they weren’t a piccolo because I was too shy and awkward. [I felt like] ‘I know they’re in band, but do they know who I am? I don’t know if I should say hi when I pass them in the hall.

Now that Megan has been in band for several years, she “will say hello” to band members in the hallway and has “definitely made a lot more friends.” Even Hannah

“started opening up to people more” when she entered her second year of being in band, partially because she was contemplating quitting the band and “[didn’t] want to have any regrets” of not getting to know her section during potentially her last year in the band.

That openness actually caused her to gain more relationships with “people who were

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constantly making games,” which “motivated her to work” harder to earn a performance spot. Ultimately, this encouraged her to remain in the ensemble for more years than she originally anticipated.

Conclusion

To conclude this section discussing student’s conceptualizations of inclusion, many students characterize inclusion through generalized terms such as “being yourself,”

“comfort,” and feeling a “part of the group.” Students’ conceptions differ from one another largely based on how they perceive that their social identities and other personal characteristics have impacted their experiences with inclusion. As shown by the use of only a few students’ quotes in the section on social identity, many students characterize inclusion as generally being offered to everyone, or as something able to be achieved over time or by engaging in social events or gaining experience in the group. Those who did discuss social identity primarily relied on visible conceptions of identity, such as those regarding race and gender, when discussing experiences with inclusion. The students’ understandings of inclusion, particularly as it relates to various identities and personal characteristics, impacts both how students evaluate inclusion within the band and determine the need for change towards inclusion. These evaluations and actions will be explored further in the next section.

Recalibrations Towards Inclusion

At the very beginning of the first rehearsal I observed, the band began rehearsal by tuning. One tuba player played a Concert B-flat drone, and the band director instructed 121

the bandmembers to first sing, and then play the note. During this process, the band members were using the tuba’s drone as a baseline in order to adjust, or recalibrate, their instrument to playing exactly the same pitch as the tuba drone. Though I did not realize it at the time, this tuning process became a fitting analogy for how the band members conceptualized inclusion within the ensemble.

Generally, the band members spoke about how band was a place in which they found inclusion. Theoretically, they are all playing the same note of inclusion, a Concert

B-flat, and working towards the same goal of all matching their tone with that of the tuba drone. However, this tuning process exists because it is truly impossible for the entire ensemble to be playing exactly the same pitch at all times. One instrument might be a bit sharp, another a bit flat, and these pitch discrepancies may change over time due to internal and external factors. Likewise, the band members must always be recalibrating themselves to ensure they are playing “in tune” with the rest of the band, similar to how their process of inclusion is an ongoing effort, achieved through navigating formal structures within the band, increasing their awareness of others, and making identity visible.

The metaphor of recalibration originated from my observation that both a student band member and Dr. Thompson referred to “recalibration” when discussing inclusion.

Laura explained that an interaction with a Band Member of Color made her “recalibrate the way [she] was thinking” in order to “expand” her view of one of the inclusion issues in the band. Dr. Thompson shared that the “recalibration” term is used to describe

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adjustments within the band “for anything,” from poor rehearsal etiquette to issues regarding inclusion or cultural appropriation concerns. If an issue occurs, he says, “we call it a recalibration where we have to recalibrate their behavior or thinking,” in an effort to contribute to the mission of their “institution of higher learning.” This process of recalibration is viewed as a shift in thought processes or actions depending on the needs of the situation. Though students reported a general sense of community in the band, many noted room for improvement upon the preexisting structures and identity discourses of the band program. Therefore, instead of conceptualizing inclusion as a return to a prior state, overall findings necessitate a constant recalibration process towards a more inclusive future that has not yet been fully actualized.

Already Arrived through General Community in Band: “A Great Place for

Anyone”

Overwhelmingly, the band members spoke about band being a place where they can experience the basic components of inclusion—being themselves, finding comfort, and feeling a part of the group. For example, at the end of our second interview, Jenna offered a closing statement:

I’ve very much enjoyed my time in the marching band. I think it’s a great place for anyone to be, whether it be because you just have such a passion for music or if you want a way, I guess, to make more friends or even just something to put on a resume. I think it’s a great place to be at.

Jenna’s statement echoed similar sentiments expressed by other students that signaled that most—if not all—of the student participants evaluated the inclusion of the band program as primarily positive. This sense of community, developed through having 123

common interests and fostered by various environmental characteristics, aligns with the band members’ depictions of inclusion as a feeling in which one feels welcome and safe.

Initiated by Common Interests Through Band

The band members described music as a “through line” (Laura) and “something

[they] can all come together on” (Clara). The students’ motivation and willingness “to be there,” “participate,” and “do things” together (Laura) explains why students feel this strong sense of community in contrast to their academic programs or high school contexts from which they came where people are not quite as “all in” because they are required to be there (Laura). In fact, many students cite the time commitment as a source of pressure to foster this sense of community. In Sylvia’s words,

People want to be friends with the people around them, especially when they see each other all the time, because a lot of that is people, they don’t want to be annoyed. They don’t want to be stuck with people that they hate, so they’re going to make the situation nicer.

This time commitment, enforced by the band’s attendance policy outlined in the

Band Handbook and applicable “to all members, regardless of their status in performances,” consists of attending all rehearsals, game days and other performances, and sectional rehearsals. However, as previously stated, the encouragement to socialize and bond with other band members, particularly those in the same section, extends far beyond the reach of formal band meeting times. Additionally, some sections like the drumline have additional rehearsal obligations that only further the bond between section members. A member of the drumline completed preseason drumline rehearsals in the winter and summer before she initially entered the band, she “showed up to Band Camp” 124

already “know[ing] everyone’s name,” “already [having] sleeping arrangements made for people who were in the dorms,” and everyone in the section “already all hanging out.”

This made her “transition” into band and college in general “much easier” even than other band members, which emphasizes the value of the band members’ time together.

Connections to music and the band promote a sense of community amongst band members even outside of formal rehearsal hours or social opportunities. When Jenna walks around campus and spots another person wearing a varsity SUMB jacket, she thinks, “Nice band kid,” even if she does not know their name. Even on social media,

“it’s always Facebook requests, lots and lots of Facebook requests, [even] someone [she doesn’t] recognize.” One band member and his friends from band all chose to purchase an “entire series of tickets” for jazz concerts throughout “the fall and winter semester,” and fondly remembers running into one of the band directors at one of the concerts. Even considering the director’s high status in the band, he realized through this concert experience that the band director is “still a person with all these different interests and we can still talk about all these things that we mutually enjoy.” The band members’ passion for music unites them both within the band rehearsal atmosphere and outside of it.

How Students Characterize the Band Community

The band members collectively characterized the band community in very similar ways compared to how they conceptualized inclusion. For example, Sylvia spoke about how band is a “safe space” for her because she feels that she does not “have to put on a mask to be accepted as part of the group.” One specific example she gives of her identity

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being affirmed is through the learning of names, especially the senior band directors and leaders, “because you are a part of the group.” David characterized the sense of community in band as “really a family” because the members have a “common bond of music and helping each other out.” Megan also added that the sense of community is characterized by positive intentions, saying that “I really do think most of the people here wouldn’t intentionally be malicious or try to exclude anybody.”

How Sense of Community is Fostered

The band members described many factors that foster this sense of community, such as traditions, accommodations and supports of individuals, socials outside of band, leadership, and pockets of deeper community present within the group.

Traditions. When asked to tell me about a time they felt like a true part of the group, as many students noted as part of their inclusion definitions, many band members mentioned traditions that help establish community from the very beginning of the season. Many of the band members recalled that shortly after being accepted into the band, “people started friending” them on Facebook, “giving [them] a big welcome and congratulations for getting into the band officially” (Cosmo). Justin referred to this as a

“tradition,” along with a concert that the returning members put on for the new members during band camp, which also features inspirational speeches by both those within the band and outside of it. This tradition took place during “the hellish week” of teaching new members all of the music and marching skills, so hearing the leaders speak about the sense of community made him “hopeful” that he could have the same “support” and

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“relationships” the leaders had built. Repeating this tradition as an older member

“brought [him] to tears” because he realized it would be the “last time [he] got to do” such a “magical college experience.” Similarly, one of Laura’s strongest inclusionary moments was the tradition of band members gathering before a performance and

“visualizing” the show they are about to execute, complete with “singing and stepping off and practicing our step-offs.” In her words, “it’s just this shared moment where we’re all literally in harmony with each other.”

Though these rituals mark special moments of inclusion for many band members, smaller-scale traditions also strengthen the sense of unity amongst the band members.

Clara discussed “a tailgate of every section” “after every morning rehearsal” in which the section members eat with one another. The band members also begin and end each rehearsal with series of chants, which correspond to special situations such as going to a hockey game, celebrating a band member’s birthday, or simply celebrating the end of the rehearsal. As a former marching band member myself, these situations were jarring for me, as I understood the patterns of most of the marching- and music-oriented portions of rehearsal but felt completely disoriented when these cheers began occurring. I provide this personal example to show the special portions of the rehearsal that only SUMB members who are truly “part of the group” would understand and experience with one another.

Opportunity to Perform. Most of the students who did not cite specific band traditions in relation to the times when they felt the most inclusion in the group referred

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to their first opportunities to perform in the band. Keeping in mind that many new members begin their college band experience as non-marching alternates, this experience is particularly rewarding for them. Cosmo described this as a “natural high of being on the field for the first show” after “being deprived of performing.” Other band members often help make this moment exciting for band members as well. For example, Kyle was even unable to reference his own audition results before “[he] had seven text messages from all the upperclassmen just congratulating [him].”

Accommodating and Supporting Individuals. Many band members also spoke about feeling supported as individuals according to their needs, whether those exist in direct relation to the marching band or personal issues outside of the band. Sylvia summarized this by saying,

I think the majority of things for inclusive issues are usually tiny things… that you don’t really think about unless they affect you, but when you realize that they affect someone else, you’re like, ‘It’s not a big deal. It’s not hard for me to adjust to make other people more comfortable.’ I think everyone feels like that, that it’s not hard to adjust to make other people feel more comfortable and once they know, they automatically want to do that.

Though Sylvia acknowledged that accommodating individuals’ needs can only be done if people “are willing to talk about them,” this willingness to adapt to feedback immediately shows the band members’ eagerness to help one another feel included in their community.

Kyle observed that this eagerness to include one another even applies to social situations in which one person may not be connecting with the group. If he were to notice someone off by themselves, he would ask himself, 128

Are they coming to these hangouts? Are they talking? Is their focus off?” … Sometimes a group setting is not comfortable for them, so spending one-on-one time with them and giving them a connection to the group [is very important.]

Megan gave an example of supporting an individual within a rehearsal setting, when one day, a “rank leader” in her section was “yelling at somebody [who was perceived as in the wrong place on the field] to the point where… she was in tears.” She first talked to the rank leader to resolve the marching form that was causing a problem, and then she “talked to the person who was upset” and assured her that “it’s okay.” In a rehearsal context, Megan used her leadership authority to support an individual in a stressful situation brought on by an incorrect marching form.

Yet another example of the support offered to individuals within the band comes through a story that Clara told about having a “bad day” in one of her biology classes.

She texted some of the band members of her same section and year asking, “’Can I just have a hug when I get [to rehearsal? Today’s a really off day,’” to which “all of them” responded, “’Yep. Ready.’” Once at rehearsal, the band members encouraged her by saying, “’You’re not going to fail this. You’re going to get through this… We just still care about your wellbeing.’” This example, in addition to all of the other examples shared, demonstrate the band members’ eagerness to further bonds between them by supporting individuals when they are made aware of situations that need accommodation or support, either through the individual in need directly saying so or seeing signs of visible disconnection from the group.

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Socializing Outside of Band. Social interactions outside of band, especially amongst members of the same section, are very common, and therefore friend groups form as well. Hannah recently gave advice to a new band member “to actively participate in their section” through socials that the section hosts. This advice helped her engage more with the band her second year, when she decided to make a more concerted effort to

“hang out with [my section] a lot more to see who they were as people.” Not only did this effort “open [her] view of how [she] sees them [and] how [she] interact[s] with them,” but this led to her finding “closer people who were constantly making games,” in turn

“encouraging” her to “continue to work hard” in order to leave her position as an alternate member in the band. Some sections also host “board game nights” (Justin),

“have a couple of beers” (to which Justin added, “I’m 21, I can do it”), host “tailgates” after morning rehearsals (Clara), take trips to a local “cider mill” (Laura), or visit local restaurants together (Laura), furthering the bond between band members outside of rehearsals.

Other band members talked about how band is “a great way to make friends”

(Megan). In fact, Clara said, “Other than band I don’t really have any friends [at SU].”

David said that “all these people [in his section] … are some of my best friends,” and that many of them live with one another in section “houses” as well. Laura entered the band having had a high school experience in which “all of [her] friends were in band,” so she chose to continue band in college specifically to “find really strong friendships within

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people with the band.” These friendships help to foster the closeness and sense of community that band members feel with one another.

Fostered by Leadership. Both student and band director leadership play a role in furthering the sense of community felt amongst the band members. In addition to the stories presented about student leaders telling new members about their experiences with the community, leaders are typically responsible for “planning get-togethers and mixers with other sections” because these more experienced members “have had more time to mingle and mix with other sections.” Therefore, they are more likely to have formed those “in-roads to try and coordinate something with others” (Justin).

When one new band member came to Band Camp late, the “student leaders”

“pulled [her] aside” and “taught [her the skills she had missed learning] from the very beginning,” along with offering and following through with “introduc[ing her] to everybody” when she was “too shy” to do so herself. Even as a new member himself,

Kyle referred to one of his leaders as “a great resource and a great friend.” On both section and individual levels, the student leaders foster a sense of community by supporting the other band members, especially when they are new, and arranging social interactions for the members as well.

Though leaders are responsible for “checking for marching form and setting formations on the field, that’s all you have to do” in following “definitions,” one rank leader shared that, “It’s kind of hard to divorce leadership on the field with leadership off the field,” so these responsibilities to foster community through friendships and social

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interactions extend beyond rehearsals. Even Dr. Thompson acknowledged that these off- the-field interactions are paramount for helping develop a sense of community, as the

“various [beginning-of-season training] sessions about how they interact with each other” are primarily “for off the field interaction, either being in a relationship, being at a party, being public, those kinds of things,” as the leadership aims to “foster those kinds of interactions in a positive way.”

Many students also feel that the band director and other band staff help “carry the friendly atmosphere of the band” (Jenna). Sylvia recalled being extremely surprised when she realized that Dr. Thompson knew her name. She explained, “I don’t know why it was so shocking to me when it happened for the first time, but people learn your name here, because you are a part of the group. It was impactful.” Reflecting on her experience as a new member during Band Camp, she recalled seeing the directors “pacing around the freshman block.” At first, she thought that “they [were] watching to see if [they could actually] learn [the movements], but she realized they were learning names after she noticed them looking down at a chart and “pointing at people a little bit” in the “assigned

Band Camp block [where] everyone is always in the same spot.”

Sylvia’s original assumption that they were pacing around the block to intimate and judge the band members represents the disconnect in personal relationships that some band members feel with the band directors. For instance, Laura said she does not “think

[Dr. Thompson] knows much about [her],” but she is “okay with that” because “there’s a lot of people in the band” and she is “not involved in leadership.” Though the band

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directors may not have close personal connections with fellow band members like those present amongst the student members, the “friendliness” (Sylvia) and name recognition they show goes a long way to helping the students feel included. This matches Dr.

Thompson’s philosophy regarding his relationship with the students. It is “first of all”

“professional” in that he does “not ever” socialize with the students because “it’s inappropriate to cross lines,” but he makes an effort to obtain a “human connection with them” by “look[ing] into their eyes and just say[ing], ‘Hi, how was school today? You okay? How can we help you?... Are you feeling better?”

In connection with the professional yet “human” relationship that Dr. Thompson seeks to foster with the band members, he is also seen as a protector of the community in certain situations within the band setting. Two years ago, when some allegations within the band made some band members question their safety, he “would just continuously tell

[the band members]” that “he [was] doing everything that he can in his power to protect

[them].” As soon as he heard about the concerning situation, he “start[ed] putting all the safety precautions in place” so the band members “were never in any danger” (Hannah).

Similarly, the band directors are seen as the enforcers of the “zero tolerance” policy on discrimination. If Cosmo were to hear “a racist comment or something about someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity,” he would take it immediately to the directors” and would “trust them to take those steps to put the proper punishments on whoever” was responsible for the discrimination.

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Spheres of Deeper Community: “I Know All the People Around Me.” Amidst a general band community of hundreds of band members, students find it important to find spheres of deeper community within this general community. Sylvia gave an example that demonstrated the purpose of these smaller spheres:

A couple of people have asked me before, ‘Don’t you feel like you’re lost in the band?’ I’m like, ‘Well, no,’ because I have my section, and if I wanted another group of people other than my section, I can definitely find other things to do within the band… But I do like my section, so I feel pretty content having my part in the band being where it is. Everybody knows me in my section; it doesn’t feel like I’m a lost piece in this vast ocean. I know my space there and I know all the people around me… And so, it doesn’t really feel like a huge place… You’re not one part out of a hundred, you have a space.

Though Sylvia’s example specifically mentioned how her section provided a smaller sphere in which she knew her “space,” other students talked about other ways these spheres of community form. They may form within sections, groups of people in the same year, the band student organization, shared identity groups, or study groups.

Section Spheres. As highlighted in other portions of this chapter already, the most automatic and common smaller sphere of community within the band is represented within each section. Justin noted a “rather rigid separation between sections, just because you spend so much time with your section,” and another band member attributed the large size of her section to her reasons for “kind of only [sticking] with [her] section” socially. As Kyle looked ahead to his future years in band, he guessed that his primary social group “might mainly be [his] section]” due to “not [having] that much opportunities or time to talk to the other sections.” The bonds between section members are formed in a variety of ways, from having a “game night” to developing “their own 134

cheers… and their own parade movements” for rehearsals and performances (Jenna).

This helps Jenna “feel part of a team and part of a community just within the larger band.”

Year Spheres. Band members also find smaller spheres of community based on the number of years they have been in the band. As new members enter the band, they undergo specialized rehearsal days, which allows them to “build those [year] bonds pretty early” through icebreakers led by leaders and navigating learning the challenging movements (Justin). Kyle appreciates the opportunity for “new people” to “form connections with each other” to create their “own safe space” before getting to know more people, which has led to a situation in which “freshmen will usually hang out more so with freshmen, and sophomores will be more so with the sophomores and such.”

Sometimes these spheres can create “schism[s]” between year spheres, such as when

“groups [in Justin’s section] were more tight with one another, more exclusive with the rest of the group,” but other sections experience “no discrimination [by year]” (Hannah).

Hannah elaborated, “if you’re a senior you can hang out with the freshmen; it’s a nice friend mix.” These year spheres are sometimes so close that students in their fourth year of marching band can feel lonely, especially if other members joined as sophomores and have already graduated (Megan).

Band Student Organization Sphere. Within the band, a student organization exists that focuses on providing social connections and service opportunities for band members, and its members often find community amongst one another across sections.

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Megan values being a member of the organization because “there are so many sections that it draws from” and it has “helped break [her] out of [her section] to go make friends with other people.” Even Laura, who is not a member of the organization but has “a decent number of friends” in it, has benefitted from “[getting] to know [members in different sections] through that.” Though Kyle acknowledged that community is “very much within the sections,” he is aware that the organization allows “people to go across the section line more” and is considering joining the organization “which does allow people from different sections to talk.”

Social Identity Spheres. Social groups have also formed in the band based on minoritized social identities such as race, gender, and sexual orientation. Hannah, who is a woman “surrounded by males” in her section, “tend[s] to gravitate towards females and just start talking with them because it’s easier just because we’re both girls.” She encourages other women in male-dominated sections to “hang out with the other ladies in their section” as well, “because it’s nice to have just the same gender and the bond between [there].” A Woman of Color in the band stated that, due to the predominantly

White composition of the ensemble, she “feels more comfortable” finding people of her same race and gender “in the same section or just in general.” She explained that this is because, “then we have two things that connect us.’” Similarly, a gay man in the band has

“grown really close to seven [or] eight people in [his] section,” “especially the ones that

[he] identif[ies] with more in terms of [his] sexuality.” In fact, these identities play such a strong role in his experience that he feels that “the only time [he would] talk to people

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[outside of his own section]” would be “if they did share [social] identities with him.” He said, “the only time I would actually approach someone or get close to someone would be if they were to identify with” one or more of his minoritized identities, “or even… have support, appreciation, respect, or awareness of those identities.” The SUMB “gay community” (Laura) provides a more organized structure—at least through a Facebook page and semi-regular group outings, though the connection amongst gender and racial groups seems less structured.

Study Groups. Students also find opportunities to study with one another to support one another academically. Hannah explained that some of these are based on band members who have the same or similar majors:

Another big thing that we do [to build community] is we do study groups since... sometimes there's big classes that people usually take Calc or Organic Chemistry or Stats. So, within those classes, sometimes you can see people from other sections, and then you kind of form a study group. Cause you're all like, "Oh, we're all like band kids. We kind of know each other."

For Laura, these study groups occur within her section. When listing a variety of activities her section enjoys doing together, she listed “just meeting up and studying together” among them. To Laura, these opportunities to engage in academic activities with other band members are particularly valuable because she is not often able to see her band friends in academic settings due to her major. These activities, like the study groups, allow her to complete her academics while forming deeper pockets of community with certain band members.

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Conclusion. Many spheres of community exist within the overall marching band community, helping the experience feel smaller and supporting one another through differential experiences. For many students, these spheres of community cause them to evaluate inclusion—which they primarily understand as feeling welcome and able to be oneself—in a primarily positive light. It is important to note which groups are experienced by all students to at least some degree, such as bonds with one’s section or year, and which groups are more niche, such as the band student organization, social identity groups, or academic groups. Nevertheless, students seek out various different spaces in which they feel comfortable in the band depending on their experiences and identities, and they overall report feeling satisfied with their experiences within these spheres. However, only students with minoritized social identities within the band context spoke about the value of forming groups and relationships specific to their social identities, which suggests a lack of truly inclusive community found in other general band spaces.

Role of Community in Addressing Inclusion. To conclude this portion of the findings, I will address the role that the band’s sense of community plays in addressing concerns with inclusion. Laura recalled a situation in which she was “venting [with band friends] about everything that was wrong” regarding a specific policy in the band program. She said that she “needed to complain about [it] and vent about it,” and then she

“[took] what [they had] talked about and use[d] it to find a solution.” She said, “honestly,

[complaining] can be [a necessary step in the process]” of addressing inclusion.

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Similarly, when I asked the band members how they would address an issue with inclusion in the band, many reported that they would talk to a peer or student leader before bringing the concern forward in a more formal capacity. Sylvia, for instance, would talk to her “section leader” because she “[doesn’t] think [she] would be able to be sure [it was an issue] until talking to other people.” Hannah noticed a new member who was “always on his phone and doesn’t really like talk to many people that much,” so she talked to another friend in her section and made a plan to “go talk to them and start up a conversation to make sure that they don’t feel too excluded.” Through these connections that exist within the community, the students envision making strides towards addressing issues—real or theoretical—with inclusion in their marching band.

Making Identity Visible: “Someone Who Looks Like Me”

Though many band members described inclusion as an already-present depiction of a generalized sense of community, some band members, particularly those who had minoritized racial, gender, or sexual orientation identities within the band program, pointed out room for improvement in order to further inclusion within the band program.

More specifically, some mentioned the importance of the visibility of identity in various ways. Though this section will be significantly shorter than others due to the limited number of perspectives to draw from, it is important to share these individuals’ perspectives, especially as many of them pertain to areas in which the band could grow in students’ evaluations of inclusivity. Within the theme of making identity visible,

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participants discussed the importance of representation and acknowledgement of minoritized identities.

Representation: Not Just “The Typical Band Student”

During my observations, I noticed that I could count the visible People of Color

(acknowledging more may be “white-passing,” as Jenna described herself) within any given section on one hand, and I only observed a few instances of Band Members of

Color giving feedback on the rehearsal field (assumed to be the student leadership).

Assuming the gender that those identified with matched with what many people would assume based on appearance, the genders of leaders was more evenly split, though I would estimate that the leadership team was comprised of slightly more men, especially within the more men-majority sections. The two directors are men as well.

Cosmo and Hannah both discussed the importance of representation of minoritized racial and gender identities within the band, but from very different tones.

Hannah discussed how the current level of diverse representation within the band was “a sense of success and relief,” especially because “there [are] other [people of her race]” in the band. This representation is important to her because “other people who are looking at [the band], especially the younger kids,” can notice the Band Members of Color and say, “‘Oh, there’s someone who looks like me out there. I can do that too.’” Though she sees people of her race in leadership positions “a couple of times, not too much so,” she feels this does “not so much” affect her. Similarly, she finds it “excit[ing] and “really encouraging” that the band has “a lot of female leaders stepping up to take leadership

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positions,” “especially… just to be able to see there’s other female leaders [people in male-majority sections] can reach out to and get closer to.” To Hannah, the current representation of racial and gender diversity is inspiring to her, especially because she sees people “out there doing different things than the regular stereotypes.”

Cosmo, on the other hand, felt that the “cookie cutter band kid,” who is “White,” gets “really good grades all the time,” and is “stressed out about band a lot” was still prioritized in leadership decisions, and he feels that “they could have done a little bit better in terms of picking who to put in [leadership positions]… just to.. represent the ensemble better, in terms of having all these [student] leaders who are White.” He also commented that, “even on the administrative staff” and at the “top” of the band, the band

“need[s]to have people who are diverse… to make the organization actually diverse [and] have those perspectives taken into account.” This representation is especially important to him because he would be more likely to approach the “people who [he] identif[ies] with” to discuss an “emotional hardship,” and the current lack of diverse representation creates a stark contrast “between the typical band student and [himself].”

Acknowledgement of Minoritized Identities: “Celebrating the Differences”

Cosmo and Jenna also discussed the various ways that minoritized identities could—and in their perspectives, should—be more acknowledged and celebrated within the band. As Jenna said fairly early on in her first interview,

The way I think that the band [approaches inclusion] now is almost, “Hey, if we don’t mention it, then we’re not excluding anything” … I don’t think it would be a bad idea to promote inclusion by celebrating the differences.

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However, Jenna also recognized that “it’s kind of hard to make that [celebration of identity] relevant to what we’re doing.” For instance, “it’s hard to celebrate sexuality when it just doesn’t have much to do with marching,” as compared to a marching show the band produced a few years ago that celebrated prominent women at the university.

She feels that this celebration of identity is “where the Inclusion Committee would come in,” such as partnering with other campus organizations that seek to recognize specific identities or having a “movie screening” of a relevant movie during certain months that celebrate identity. However, she feels that the band has “bigger fish to fry at the moment” with inclusion, such as helping people “at the very least, be comfortable first” such as shifting inclusive language and uniform policies within the band. Because of the slowness through which some other change towards inclusion in the band occurs, celebrating identity sems often overlooked as a priority in the band’s current context.

Additionally, increased education and use of inclusive language also helps acknowledge identity. Language shifts are already occurring in minor ways, such as the use of “guys and gals” instead of “guys” to refer to the band members (Jenna and David), gender-neutral terms being used in the student organization (Megan), and using phrases such as “alternate band members” instead of “alternates” (Dr. Thompson). Awareness and change could still occur in how some rehearsals do not include all of the alternate band members in every section, but yet they are still referred to as “all-in” rehearsals

(Clara). Education in relation to inclusive language could also be increased involving the use of gender pronouns (Cosmo).

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Learning About Others: “It’s Just Made Me So Aware”

In contemplating how band members can help develop the band as an inclusive environment, many of the students mentioned the importance of learning about others.

Through learning about others, they increased their awareness about others’ situations and identities in order to include them more within the group. Some, though not all, discussed how this increased awareness helped them create inclusion within the band program.

Awareness as Inclusion

Many of the students discussed the benefits of learning about others and how it changed their thinking. For Clara, this learning about people different from herself would not have happened if she had not joined band, because she believes, “I probably would’ve made friends who are just like me or just talked to my high school friends who went here, and it’s just made me so aware.” This awareness is valuable for other band members as well. For example, Laura believes she is going to “keep changing the more and more time that [she] spend[s] with people [who] had really different upbringings than [her],” and she intentionally has conversations with friends and in some of the Inclusion Committee meetings about topics related to inclusion to “challenge [her] own assumptions [to] hopefully become a much more thoughtful and inclusive person.” For Megan, comparing her own background to others in the band made her realize that she is “privileged in many different ways.” David believes that one of the goals that the band’s inclusion initiatives is successfully accomplishing is “just making more people aware.” Rather than

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immediately jumping into attempts to act on this newfound privilege or awareness, many of these students either lack the ideas or structures to act on these findings, except in the aforementioned methods of addressing individual concerns or doing so through a committee or section. Awareness alone is seen as valuable.

They discussed how they have learned about inclusion through both formal trainings and coursework, as well as informally by conversing with friends or other people, with the vast majority of them asserting that the latter was more effective for their learning. This next section will explore the students’ various experiences and how this influences their interactions within the marching band.

Band Workshops: “The Surface Level Stuff”

As previously mentioned, the band members receive training at the beginning of each marching band season about inclusion. Though I gained a familiarity with the training fairly early on over the course of my interviews, it was illuminating to hear the students explain the training to me. Even the words they used to describe what the training was about demonstrated the lack of thought the training provokes. For instance,

David referred to the training as “the surface level stuff,” and Megan said, “we have all of our training sessions about being good people, whatever you want to call it.” Kyle could not even remember much of the training, except that someone asked Dr. Thompson if a certain song the band plays was “some form of cultural appropriation,” and that “most people just thought it was funny” when “he could not really give a straight answer.”

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However, other band members found more meaning in the training. Though

Sylvia attributes the fact that she and her fellow band member friends talk about inclusion topics simply because they are “close enough” and can “lean on” each other, not specifically due to the workshop, she recalled the benefit of going through that workshop with her fellow band members. She explained,

I only knew band members, so if I had been in a random group of people [as is standard protocol for the university’s other incoming students], I wouldn’t have known anybody around me. I think we were all much more comfortable talking about our own experiences and times where maybe we had had the short end of the stick, and we were like, this is as good a time as any to talk about that and sort of just let that go to my peers who I trust and know already… I probably wouldn’t have wanted to talk to random strangers about the things that we ended up sharing.

Sylvia’s perspective on the training shows that the community built through the band helps foster conversations about one another’s backgrounds that would have been uncomfortable without that sense of community. Perhaps this observation shows that the band members were actually able to explore these issues further than the typical incoming new student participating in the training with “random strangers.” Additionally,

Jenna was reminded of the “different aspects of identity” such as “race,” “culture,”

“SES,” and “gender and body image,” which helped her remember that “inclusion is about more than just race and ethnicity and that it’s just all of [those] different things that can come into play.” By reflecting on this training, Jenna was able to acknowledge the role that multiple social identities can play in influencing a student’s perception of inclusion within the band.

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Education Outside of Band: “Definitely in the Back of My Mind”

Four of the band members discussed humanities or related courses they had taken at SU that also influenced their definitions of inclusion. Though they primarily are “not actively” (Cosmo) influenced by those courses in band settings, the concepts are “in the back of [their] mind[s],” especially when social identities impact theirs or someone else’s band experience. These students, who all hold at least one salient minoritized identity, all spoke directly about the impact that social identities could have on inclusion in the band, unlike their peers. For example, a student who took a class about “representation in media” of a specific minority identity became “really excited” whenever the DJ would play a “traditionally… gay anthem or gay song” at the band’s New Year’s Eve party. She noticed that “[other] people were always [less] celebratory about it,” acknowledging the importance that representation in music played in her reactions towards the song. Laura learned through her anthropology class to find “connections between different people and different things regardless of what [is] expected,” even when others may view another culture as completely dissimilar to their experience. Similar to her reflection on the band inclusion training, Jenna’s social justice course helped her become more aware of

“intersections of different identities… and how they can come into play,” acknowledging that knowing about different identities within band “helps perpetuate just such an open and inclusive environment.” Finally, Hannah learned about “the different genders” and

“how each gender role is represented” in her class on race and ethnicity. She feels that learning about those identities and roles “made [her] definitely more comfortable”

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because she can “know more of [nonbinary persons’ understanding and what they’re doing through,” along with becoming more aware of “women’s health” and “what other girls together are going through.”

Learning Through Talking to Other Band Members: “I Never Even Thought About

That”

Many of the students shared that they became the most aware about other people’s identities through interactions with other band members. Laura summarized one of her experiences, which involved learning about her friend, who is a Woman of Color, and her experience with the hair policy:

One of my friends had to get a chemical blow-out in order to ensure that her hair was easy to work with during band season. I never thought about that before because I am privileged enough to have hair that is very easy to work with… Straight hair is easy [to style to fit the hair policy] … Even just her talking about that, I was like, “I never even thought about that.” That’s an issue of inclusivity that I was not aware of… So, increasing definitions of what is inclusive, what is not inclusive, making people aware of the things that other people have to think about that they have the opportunity to not have to think about [is important].

Though Laura acknowledged that “dialogue” like the situation with her friend can also help someone learn. She shared that it “made [her] recalibrate the way [she] was thinking” about the hair policy. Similarly, Clara’s perspective about other band members’ financial and family situations widened when she realized that “some of these people

[are] working,” while “all [her] college funds are all saved up.” She also learned not to

“take [her parents] for granted as much as [she] probably would have [her] freshman year” because she has seen band members who lack a “good relationship with their parents” or similar financial support in college “pretty much ‘adult’ on their own.” 147

Through interacting with these band members, Clara realized the advantages she held that she did not have before.

Some of these interactions have come by other band members reaching out to the participants for various reasons. Megan shared that, though she was originally told “using the word, ‘we,’ [to refer to her section] was more inclusive versus ‘you or I,’” her perspective was changed when one of the members of her section told her that “it sound[ed] very condescending.” That gave Megan an opportunity to ask the band member, “’What would you prefer?’” in an effort to make her “feel most comfortable.”

Additionally, Hannah expressed that she “understands how it feels to be on the other side” when she “grow[s] more introverted,” and so she draws on memories of how supported she felt when she was reached out to in those moments in order to “reach out to

[others]” who may be in her same position.

These various learning experiences increase the band members’ awareness and sensitivity to others’ needs, in addition to being grateful for what they have, as with

Clara’s example. Though Sylvia is not personally impacted by a lower socioeconomic status, social class is “something [she] want[s] to be aware of for other people, because

[she] [doesn’t] want [to be] an insensitive person.” Laura and Megan also recognized the privilege that they hold, whether it be through the fact that the uniform was built to accommodate their hair style (Laura) or the fact that they do not have to take out loans to pay for college (Megan). Megan believes this realization would not have occurred if she

“wasn’t in band,” because she “would’ve made friends who are just like [her] or just

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talked to [her] high school friends,” to which she adds that being in band “has just made me so aware.”

Observing Others: “Set that Example”

Besides conversing directly with other band members, the band members also sometimes learn about what inclusion means and how other band members address it through observing others, either online or in person. For Clara, the band’s social media provides opportunities to learn about different sections, as she said that the various sections featured on the account “have always said, as far as… the people you get to hang out with every practice, it’s always they are always the most inclusive because you’re going to be hanging out with these people [for the entire season].” In other words, Clara learns about the deeper spheres of community represented amongst the section, not through direct interaction, but by observing the way they promote themselves online.

In person, the band members have watched leadership within the band model inclusion in various ways. Megan remembers her “freshman year drum major” fondly because she was “this typical senior and she [was] the drum major and she [knew] your name and [was] talking to” new band members like herself. To Megan, “every drum major since has just kind of set that example and set that tone” of modeling the type of actions band members should take to show the new members that they are a full part of the band community. Jenna also “always thought it was cool how the band would work around” a band member’s need to wear a religious symbol during performances, especially because the uniform as it is typically worn does not “quite fit… properly. They

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always found a way to get around it and work with it.” By watching staff members and student leadership in this band member’s section make sure the band member could perform in a way that was comfortable for him, Jenna learned about the standard of inclusion the band sets for itself.

Noticing Impact Beyond the Ensemble: “How Does That Reflect on Us?”

Beyond talking with and observing other band members, some more seasoned band members also discussed a situation that helped increase their awareness that their actions could have impacts far beyond the ensemble itself. A few years ago, when Justin and Megan were newer members within the band, the band faced a public relations concern when the way a section “dressed up” on a special theme day was interpreted as

“something that’s quite distasteful in today’s day and age,” and someone outside of the band took a picture and posted it online. Megan said that that moment “made everybody step back and… reevaluate everything.” This included “revamping some of [their] traditions,” such as this dress-up theme day and “a series of chants” that “were sexist”

(Justin). This helped Megan realize the impact that a lack of awareness can have on her:

We’ve heard, “Be inclusive, don’t make fun of other cultures or people, be PC. But you never really think, “Oh, how does that affect me? How does that impact me?” After [the public incident] happened, we were like, “Oh wow, this affects me. This impacts me. We should probably care and try a little harder.” … It [was] stemming from a negative place, [but] I think it was probably good that it happened.

As the band is “put into the spotlight regularly” as a “public facet of a public institution”

(Justin), the band members must be aware of the impact that their actions have, not only on one another, but on the perception of the band and the university. A public situation 150

like the one that Megan and Justin discussed motivated the band members to reflect on how they could develop their awareness of how their actions may be perceived as exclusive.

Conclusion

The band members learn about others’ experiences and identities through many different avenues in the band program, including beginning-of-year workshops, humanities courses, talking to one another, and observing how others address inclusion.

They also became increasingly aware of the impact that their actions had on others, including the reputation of the band program and the university itself, through various incidents. However, many of the band members’ recalibrations towards inclusion stopped at developing awareness, instead of acting on what they learned about exclusion occurring within the band. This may be due to their reflection on the larger structures present in the band program which may impede or prevent actions towards inclusion.

Navigating Formal Structures: “How the Band System Works”

As students increase their awareness of inclusion concerns within the band, both regarding individual band members and larger-scale concerns, some of them identify ways to navigate the formal systems in the band in order to advocate for inclusive change. These formal structures offer different levels of change-making authority, and the band members often attributed the lack of inclusion itself to these structures. For example, Clara shared that “how the band system works… knocked [her] down; it was nothing to do with the people.” Through these systems, a hierarchy of formal and

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informal structures is formed. This next portion of this paper will discuss the various ways that band members navigate—or notice—formal structures and their impact on inclusion in the band.

General Members: “Everybody is Responsible”

Before discussing the formal structures in which band members are situated, it is important to acknowledge the leadership that some individual band members feel they can exercise, especially regarding fostering an inclusive environment within the band. As

Megan said, “everybody is responsible for helping create that [inclusion] because if it just falls on one person, that’s a lot for one person for [hundreds of] people.” Laura stated that, “if there is something that can be done [to further inclusion], just within the band members and without taking it to band leadership, then that’s great.” She would advise a fellow band member hoping to make an impact on inclusivity within the band to “just bring it up and talk about it because if you talk about it, a lot of the time… someone else will agree with you.” Some of these actions are simply interpersonal, such as Hannah’s action of “approaching people” who look left out or Jenna’s practice of “just being aware of you yourself, what you’re doing, what you’re saying, [and] how does that impact people around you?”

However, the band members also pointed out frustrations and their own inaction in certain situations involving inclusion due to the formal structures that exist within the band. For instance, Megan said that though she was aware that she had financial and racial privilege as compared to some of her band members, she “[didn’t] know what

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palpable action [she could] take other than “help[ing] her friends if they do run into some

[financial] issues. Without actionable goals or plans, she is limited to supporting her friend group individually instead of creating larger change to support others without the privileges she holds. Similarly conscious of financial privilege, Jenna feels she does “a good job of making sure that everyone in [her] section eats, but [she] definitely always worr[ies] about the band as a whole” and their financial situation when expected to provide their own meals during Band Camp. Clara expressed some frustrations at the band alternate system, but then added, “I don’t know if I could really talk to any of [the section leaders or staff members] about” her concerns, as she is “not one to step out of line” according to the perceived traditional hierarchies and structures of band.

Underclassmen versus Upperclassmen: “Don’t Want Them to Feel Like They Have to

Babysit”

Many students identified the benefits of being upperclassmen in being able to navigate the various band systems and friendship circles much more easily than new members. Sylvia told a story of her experience on a bowl trip, where she was the only new member in her section:

I didn’t really know I fit in just by myself with all the other upperclassmen. I think I definitely felt excluded, but it wasn’t like a barrier…[It was especially obvious during] free time and on the bus, because especially in situations like that where I didn’t want them to feel like they’re forced to hang out with me or they need to watch over me, because I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m just here by myself and I don’t want them to feel like they have to babysit an extra person… I think a couple of them were definitely like, “What are your plans, Sylvia?” And I’d be like, I don’t know.” And they were like, “Okay, well, if you don’t have plans, you can come with us,” and I’m like, “Great, those are my plans. Sounds perfect.” 153

Due to her situation as a new member of the band, Sylvia found it challenging to navigate social situations. Alternatively, the upperclassmen, who all knew each other better due to being in the same year sphere, were able to go out of their way slightly to help her feel a part of the group simply by inviting her to their already-formed plans.

Hannah, an upperclassman herself, found herself able to “[get] to know” the student leaders in her section “really well” “since most of them are [her] age,” while the leaders were “more intimidating” to her during her freshman year. She and Laura have also started to help others with their marching skills, even though they do not hold formal leadership positions, which can help alternate band members feel motivated to work hard to earn their performance spot in the band.

Sections: “Solved Internally”

As sections themselves, groups of band members are able to create change towards inclusivity in certain ways. Following the theme of finances being a major discussion point for students, many sections have increased in awareness of how to include all of their members during social outings. Generally, David reported that his section regularly discusses, “’Are we including everyone? Should we be having this event that not everyone may be comfortable coming to?’” These conversations occur even regarding “events outside the band, if we have a barbecue or a small party… that’s not even sponsored by the band.” Jenna stated that during section outings to local restaurants, people announce to one another, “‘Can everyone afford to buy some food? If not, we’ll figure something out. We can even order something and split it, if need be.’” 154

She explained that these issues are “usually solved internally within the section” or

“immediate friends” because “it’s not an official excursion through the marching band.”

Though this still places a financial burden on other band members who can afford the payment, Jenna also added that her section “typically go[es] for the cheaper option,” “all of us being college students,” often seeking out free events sponsored by the university to ensure all are included.

Justin also told a story of a time when he did not like how his section addressed an inclusivity issue. When his section member posted a joke that was derogatory towards a specific religious group in their section group chat, the band members “hung [her] out to dry” and criticized her insensitivity. Reflecting on that situation, Justin felt that “that effort [to reprimand the individual] should have been taken in private and not in a public forum where that member is… with their peers,” and regrets that that individual’s experience was impacted so negatively. In this example, the section is a tool for demonstrating the “zero-tolerance” policy about discrimination that exists within the band, but the way the band members responded did not leave any room open for learning from the situation, according to Justin’s perspective.

Student Groups: “Student Feedback”

Several student groups, advised by band staff and faculty to various extents, exist within the band to fulfill special purposes and tasks, including the Inclusion Committee, other student committees, and the social/service student organization. These are all able to impact students’ experiences with inclusion in various ways.

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Inclusion Committee. A few years ago, an Inclusion Committee was formed within the band to enable students to come together to discuss any issues they saw with inclusion and help work to fix them within the band setting. The committee faces some issues typical to any student group working to get off the ground: attendance is typically low (both committee meetings I attended had less than 10 people present), and scheduling and promoting their events is challenging. However, the committee has set goals to address concerns about policies such as the hair policy, host movie night socials that increase visibility of various identity groups and build its representation. Some of its representation focuses mirror the themes discussed in this document, as they desire to recruit one member of each section, one member of each other band committee, and one member of the band student organization. Two band members expressed concerns about complaining within the Inclusion Committee meetings. As a result, they try, whenever possible, to “put things to paper” to plan tangible approaches to furthering inclusion, though “finding a solution can be kind of slow” because finding a solution to each issue

“takes a lot of correspondence between the committees and the directors.” Even this statement shows one way that even a committee assigned to address inclusion must navigate the formal leadership structures of the band program in order to accomplish its goals.

Though some band members view the committee as a way to “do something about the issues” that are found within the band and help band members on the committee become “more aware of other issues,” along with having a “presen[ce]” within

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the band that “makes everyone more aware of the inclusion efforts and problems”

(David), many students do not attend the meetings for various reasons. Megan feels she lacks “a million different ideas to kind of help them make that formal change or adjustments.” Similarly, Kyle feels that he “do[esn’t] really have anything to bring to the table,” partially because he believes, “No one is going to listen to me because I’m just inexperienced” as a new member.

On the contrary, during the second Inclusion Committee meeting I observed, two new members attended the committee and had very few, if any, new ideas to add; they simply listened to the concerns and took on small logistical projects to complete outside of the meeting to help further the goals the committee already had. However, other band members would not be aware of what takes place in the meetings, as news of its happenings “hasn’t really been opened to the band” (Kyle) and some band members

“don’t really know who those few students are” who are involved in the committee in the first place (Clara). Additionally, Cosmo has hesitated to get involved in the Inclusion

Committee meetings because, as he said,

I don’t want to be a person to represent my whole community within the band… If there’s a lot of people that are going to stand up or something, I definitely would stand up for it too, but I don’t see myself as a pioneer, I guess you could say, in those kinds of situations… There’s never been an issue that’s been large enough for me to really put my foot down about it.

Other committees. Besides the Inclusion Committee, “three or four [other] committees…that anyone can come to,” exist to provide the directors with “student feedback so they can make the band better” (David). David talked about these at length,

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as he has “sat in on two or three of those meetings” and observed that aspects of inclusion were discussed in these meetings as well. He said, “whether or not we were focusing on inclusion things, it still came up… when we [were] thinking about our uniforms, is the hair policy fair to every student,” and so on. During one of those meetings, he brought up concerns about how the band staff “only feed the band two or three times throughout

Band Camp,” a concern common among many band members conscious of their own or others’ financial situations. Therefore, David concluded, conversations about inclusion are “in just about everything that we do,” even in other student committees.

Band Student Organization. Students within the band student organization also find ways to focus on inclusion efforts using their unique purposes and resources. For example, the organization has established a committee focusing on “physical and mental health,” which “has actual funding, whereas the Inclusion Committee, as far as I know, doesn’t get any funds” (Jenna). Therefore, through partnerships between these two student groups, the Inclusion Committee may be able to use funds to support band members or provide certain tools for them that require money. For example, another committee within the student organization hosts a “breakfast club” on “game day[s]” “so that people who can’t buy their own breakfast can come in and pay a dollar and then they have at least something to eat.” Beyond the financial resources the student organization has, the student organization can also create additional opportunities to discuss inclusion.

For example, Megan shared that the Inclusion Administrator came to one of their meetings to “kind of chat about her efforts and what she does on campus and what kind

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of role she can serve for us.” Additionally, the band student organization serves as another place in which inclusivity itself must be considered. For instance, the band members within the organization are “trying to change [their] language” used to describe their members to more “gender neutral” terms to include “non-binary people in the band”

(Megan).

Student Leadership: “At the Table of the Conversations”

Student leaders within the band, who primarily serve as leaders of specific sections, have specific authority to create change towards inclusion, both within their sections and through the band at large. Though it may not be written in their job description, many band members see student leaders as responsible and capable of helping band members feel included socially. One of Hannah’s memories of Band Camp is that “all the student leaders were really nice,” as they set the tone for what her experience in the band would be like through welcoming her in her first few rehearsals.

Outside of rehearsal, Megan says that leaders “still want to make sure everybody’s taken care of and feeling included,” because “it’s the same people, it’s the same social groups

[as in rehearsals] and you just want to make sure everybody is feeling included… [even though] Dr. Thompson isn’t looking over your shoulder.”

The band members also view student leaders as capable of assisting students in times of emotional stress. Cosmo shared that his section leader intentionally created a space for this during his first year in the band:

My freshman year, we only did it like once or twice, but I really liked it…After Friday rehearsals, we’d all sit around in a circle on the field and talk about 159

different issues we were going through. Some people were obviously way more comfortable talking about it, but I think it was really helpful just to give some people a space to comfortably tell others about a situation that was going on in their life without needing to hear all this advice.

Cosmo’s story emphasizes that student leaders, though expected to be the educators and enforcers of marching and music style in the band, are sometimes most effective in creating a sense of community by simply providing spaces for students to be listened to and affirmed. Similarly, when Hannah was going through “a hard time” grieving the death of a family friend, her “section leader” “sat down and started talking to

[her] for a little bit.” This allowed her to say “some things she was pondering about” regarding balancing her family and academic commitments, and she realized through that conversation that she “should spend time with my family during [those] moments.” She appreciated the personal support the leader offered her due to his noticing that “there was something wrong.”

Some band members believe that, when appropriate, this support should also extend to sharing band members’ concerns with others. One leader explained that leadership involves “hav[ing] [band members’] voices be communicated to the staff, other rank leaders, or to other members.” However, this leader admitted that this communication is often challenging because of a disconnect he feels between himself and the band director. He explained, “If someone were to say something on the staff, you could approach certain people about it, but you can’t so much voice the concern to others,” which creates an “unaccountability as far as the staff side of things.”

Alternatively, David reported feeling that the “directors… [do] a great job of making 160

themselves available and making students feel comfortable that they can walk into their office at any time of day [or] send them an email, and the question would get addressed almost immediately or taken to the level that it needs to be taken.” This contrasts from the leader’s feeling of distrust amongst the staff leadership, which shows that the previous experiences and relationships between these entities could possibly influence whether band members’ concerns about inclusion can be fully addressed.

As David entered into leadership roles within his section, he noted that, like other aforementioned leaders, he began hearing about more “suggestions and complaints and concerns” from members and found himself “at the table of the conversations” with the band directors more often. This encouraged him to “take a step back and think” about inclusion more, which has led him to encourage his section members to attend Inclusion

Committee meetings and “shut down” inappropriate jokes when he hears them more often. Additionally, he takes it upon himself to “increase [his] conversations with alternate band members” to “make sure [they] hear about” social plans when his section makes them. Clara, who has spent a significant amount of time in the band as an alternate marcher, appreciates seeing alternates “hav[ing] one-on-one practice time with section leaders” and appreciates the student leaders “go[ing] out of their way for them,” though she still believes that the leaders could maximize their time during rehearsals such as

“that passing moment” between rehearsal chunks to “check in on the mental status” of the alternate members.

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Staff Leadership: Overseeing Changes “Band Wide”

As shown by discussions about actions towards inclusion at the various other stages of hierarchy in the band, some issues must be solved at the highest levels of the band, within the professional staff and faculty. Additionally, the minor changes that the directors do make are extremely visible to students, which leads to their appreciation for their willingness to adapt. An example of this is that multiple students mentioned that the band directors were working hard on changing their use of “guys” to “guys and gals,” seen as a “gender neutral term” (Jenna), in order to include both men and women in the band. Simultaneously, this final example of inclusive language reinforces the gender binary, which affirms Cosmo’s concern that those with nonbinary gender identities could feel excluded within the band program.

In the end, many formal structures and protocols exist within the band that only the band directors truly have the authority to change. This is even shown in the Inclusion

Committee meetings, when the students expressed their desire to have the band directors present at more of their meetings so that they could hear their concerns directly from the committee. Additionally, they deemed one concern about the design of a show “above

[their] pay grade” and chose to leave the decision up to the band directors instead of voicing their concern. Other than that, students mentioned the desire to change the name of a pep band song to avoid cultural appropriation concerns (Jenna), the desire for band members to receive more communication and financial support regarding meals at Band

Camp (such as when Justin said, “there’s been strides, but most of those have been within

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the section and not band wide,” and a regret that “people need alone time to be able to unwind” that the schedule during Band Camp does not allow. Of course, students could choose to voice these concerns to the band directors to help them realize the importance of these desired changes, but ultimately the decision to change towards more inclusive practices lies with the band directors, and many reasons have been shared for why students may not approach the directors or others in hierarchical positions in the first place.

Band-Wide Communication Structures. Decisions regarding what is communicated and in what way impact students’ ability to address inclusion as well. For instance, many students attributed not understanding what initiatives the Inclusion

Committee was focusing on to their lack of engagement with it. As Cosmo explained, “It would be super nice for the Inclusion Committee to… be more specific about what initiatives they want to do… instead of just being like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have a meeting about inclusion.’” However, this issue is not limited to the Inclusion Committee.

Jenna serves on a different committee within the band and shared that “some people still

[don’t] even know that [that committee] exist[s], and we could probably fix that with advertisement… like putting up posters around the [rehearsal] hall.” The fact that both of these committees struggle with promoting their initiatives shows that a more widespread effort to improve how these structures communicate with band members could help further inclusion efforts associated with that committee.

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Additionally, one Band Member of Color wished for more transparency regarding an incident of discrimination in the band:

The directors did say that there was a situation where someone made a comment, and they [were] investigating it. We never got an update as to [whether] someone was penalized or taken off the ensemble… I wish I would have heard a follow-up to know that individual who did make a racist comment was still in the organization, or if I had to be cautious about… who I’m talking to. Or if they were just completely taken out of the equation, and I could feel more safe for me [and] my fellow people who are not White.

This student’s concern about knowing more about an issue stems from a place of wanting to know she is protected in the band context. The band directors may have exercised their “zero tolerance” (Dr. Thompson) policy towards discrimination and indeed taken action against the person who made the racist comment, but the lack of transparency offered to band members kept this student from feeling safe in the ensemble. The band directors likely face policies that do not allow them to share details about the situations they address, but it is important they attempt to provide any follow- up information they possibly can in order to make these students feel safe.

University-Level Training: “Oh, this is Ideal Inclusion”

Outside of the band-specific context, the students pointed out some educational gaps in the training they receive at the beginning of the season. All of the band members receive training in sexual violence prevention, hazing prevention, diversity training such as how to “not appropriate cultures” and “cultural awareness” (Kyle), and alcohol education, with some sessions specifically targeted towards new students. Though some

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students note that this training is “a great place to start,” Kyle has some ideas for how the training could be more practical for students to apply principles of inclusion:

Maybe give a couple scenarios and then just ask people what they’re thinking in that situation. Instead of just, “oh, you should do this, this, this, and this,” it’s like, “Talk through why do you think you should to this? How is this effective? What is your reasoning behind what you’re doing?” And just bounce ideas off each other. Because I think we can learn from each other a lot better than just a straight up set in stone, “Oh, this is ideal inclusion.”

Kyle, a new member, desires to apply principles of inclusion in real-life scenarios as part of his learning. David said that the “real world situations” with inclusion he has faced as a leader have been more beneficial for his learning than “the formal trainings,” but it is notable that even a new member who lacks a leadership position in the marching band already desires to engage with inclusion scenarios instead of simply just being told how solve problems toward “ideal inclusion.” Additionally, Cosmo feels that the training could use “more education in terms of gender identities,” though the band may not see this as relevant because he does not “know anyone in the band who is gender-fluid or uses they/them pronouns.”

Conclusion

From general band members exercising their ability to reach out to one another socially to band directors having the authority to make band-wide change and university- level training falling short of students’ expectations, all of these different structures work together to impede or foster change towards more inclusive decision-making and environments. Though a hierarchy of authority is in place, this does not limit any levels’ ability to work towards change in the way that they are able. However, some students feel 165

limited in their abilities to create change beyond their smaller spheres of influence due to these hierarchical formal structures.

Conclusion

In summary, the band members conceptualize inclusion in very similar ways, though the identities and characteristics that they perceive may impact band members’ experiences with inclusion differ widely between members. All of the band members discussed the general sense of community amongst the band in a positive way, and yet also identified many areas in which progress towards inclusion should occur, such as the acknowledgement of various social identities through increased representation and celebration. Students felt that progress towards inclusion came through increasing one’s personal awareness in addition to navigating formal structures within the ensemble. Some of them acknowledged that anyone could make change towards inclusion regardless of their position within the band, though others spoke of formal and informal structures that prevented and enabled certain stakeholders within the band from advocating for certain changes.

Similar to a tuning process in a band, the band members are all mostly playing the same note of inclusion: they are aiming to feel a part of the group, comfortable and safe, and able to be themselves. Though their primary goal is the same and has been accomplished to an extent, there are still many recalibrations to be made along the way.

Countless factors can cause the band to become out of tune—environmental factors such as a shift in weather, which represents a public perception concern or the pressure to align 166

with tradition, or internal factors such as a change in volume, a reed chip, an instrument growing warmer or colder, which represent a student’s perceived advantages and disadvantages within the group. There are many ways to recalibrate towards the goal of inclusion, whether that be an individual listening to the sounds of those around them, a leader pulling their section aside to reassess the tuning among the smaller group, or a band director stopping the band to tune. The most in-tune band will explore all of these options in any given rehearsal in order to maximize its goal of playing in true unison, just like all stakeholders in the marching band—general members, student leaders, staff and faculty leaders, and even outside university administrators—must continue exploring ways to increase the inclusivity in the band program.

At the same time, the band members must ask themselves if the sound they are tuning to—whether that be a mechanical drone or a tuba—is the right tone to begin with.

If the tone by which every other tone is calibrated off of is even slightly sharp or flat, the rest of the band will not be able to achieve the true goal of unison or inclusion. Is the way they conceptualize inclusion in the first place truly representative of the diverse identities and experiences within the group? What does that definition ignore? In what ways are band members having to calibrate to a sense of community that does not fit them—that fails to celebrate their individuality, that asks them to straighten their hair or advocate for pronoun usage or attempt to be part of inside jokes they are not around to hear? By asking these questions, the band members’ understandings about inclusion can be recalibrated to a more holistic definition of inclusion. Furthermore, it must be asked

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whether there truly exists one “note” or depiction of inclusion that would suit everyone in the band. In a performance practice where uniformity is highly valued, expecting each member to conform to prescribed values, appearances, and actions potentially limits the celebration and representation of diverse social identities and experiences.

Extending this analogy to how students see themselves as leaders responsible for helping create inclusive environments, all stakeholders within the band have a responsibility for remaining in tune with the ensemble. Each instrumentalist must actively listen at all times in order to measure how their sound matches those around them, similar to how all band members may develop awareness of others’ experiences in an effort to support and advocate for them. However, the power to adjust the tuning on a larger scale—to call their section aside and double-check a tuning note, or to stop the entire band rehearsal for a recalibration—lies in the hands of those with formal authority roles.

Likewise, though any and every band member can make changes towards inclusion, band members who navigate formal structures such as committees, sections, and leadership positions hold the potential to create larger-scale changes towards inclusion.

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Chapter 5: Discussion

In this study, I intended to answer the questions of how college student band members understood inclusion, how they evaluate the inclusion of their band program, and how they viewed their roles in developing inclusive environments within the band program. In this chapter, I put the findings in dialogue with previous research by following the outline provided in Chapter 4. First, I situate the context of the band program itself in relevant literature. Then, I compare and contrast the band members’ understandings of inclusion with relevant literature, before exploring how students’ recalibrations towards inclusion align with literature on sense of belonging, socially responsible leadership development, and social justice education. I then discuss the strengths and limitations of the study and conclude with implications for future research and practice.

Marching Band as a Case for both Inclusivity and Exclusivity

Throughout the literature, many opportunities are defined for students to experience both inclusion and exclusion in marching band. Matthews (2017) reported that the marching band members must cultivate an environment of acceptance and family early on. Similarly, the band members in this study discussed activities, such as interactions with peers during Band Camp and beginning-of-year traditions, that helped foster that feeling of family early in the season. Matthews (2017) also recommends that

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this environment be revisited midseason as the season becomes stressful and students struggle to balance band amongst other commitments. Though the students did not discuss midseason encouragements to the same extent, observations and interviews suggest that small approaches such as providing humor during cold and long rehearsals, smaller-group spheres of community, and personal outreach by leadership help develop this sense of community throughout the season. This sense of community is especially important to develop considering the sheer amount of time band members spend together, in addition to the pressure to perform, as visited in recent literature (Cumberledge, 2015;

Madsen et al., 2007; Westlake, 2015).

The ways in which the students described inclusion expand upon prior studies on college students’ sense of belonging. Band serves as an example of extracurricular involvement that plays a key role in establishing a sense of belonging for students

(Hausmann et al., 2009; Vaccaro & Newman, 2016). Friendships and mentoring relationships are established through this activity, especially due to the sheer amount of time the students spend together (Cumberledge, 2015) and the unique shared pressures they face as band members. By starting rehearsals well before the beginning of the academic year, students in the band actually cultivate a sense of community before many of their new-student peers, which can help integrate a new student into the university.

This transition is particularly important for the sense of belonging of first-generation students, women, and People of Color (Vaccaro et al., 2019).

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Consistent with research on gay men (Holland & Holly, 2011; Patton, 2011;

Strayhorn, 2018), LGBTQ+ band members valued finding opportunities to perform their identities in supportive spaces. For some band members, this supportive space was comprised of a specific section or the entire band program, while others sought out specific spaces within the band such as the LGBTQ+ band member social media page to find a deeper sense of belonging in a smaller group. These represent “salient communities” (Strayhorn, 2018, p. 45), as these students may seek out these identity- focused groups in order to find a deeper sense of belonging than that which is felt in generalized student groups.

One way that the findings deviated from previous literature is that, instead of students with minoritized identities reporting the need to fit in and lamenting being the only one of their identity represented (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016), students reported the desire for their identities to be spoken more about through increased celebrations and education about diversity within the band program. This could be due to the increased compositional diversity that the band program has experienced over the past few years, or to the basic level of community that students feel they have already achieved through the band program. With this in mind, band directors and student leaders have a unique opportunity to explore the representation and celebration of various identities through the marching shows they write and music they select, in addition to continuing recruitment and professional development efforts to continue increasing the compositional diversity of both students and staff.

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Koza (2008) and Scheivert (2018) discuss concerns about the lack of compositional diversity represented within college band and music programs, particularly among identities such as race and gender. Regarding race and socioeconomic status, this is especially because many college bands require a level of music knowledge for admittance which may deter students who were unable to receive such education within their K-12 experiences (Stewart, 2007). Broslawsky (2017) also discusses concern about uniforms perpetuating masculine norms that could deter women from joining band.

Without statistics regarding race and gender of this specific band program, it is difficult to measure the actual compositional diversity of the case at hand, though the data show that at least some students notice the lack of racial and gender diversity represented at multiple levels, including general band members, student leadership, and staff leadership.

This study adds to Broslawsky (2017) by pointing out how the band’s uniform policy, particularly regarding hair, limits not only women in the band but particularly Women of

Color in the band, who struggle to fit thicker hair under the hat (often referred to as a shako within marching bands). Still, the students conceptualize band as a diverse environment in multiple ways, not only including race and gender, but also discussing socioeconomic status, diversity of thought, religion, and sexual orientation. The students’ awareness of the diversity of socioeconomic status across various students in the band aligns with Dagaz (2012), which demonstrates that high school band members developed a “close-knit, socioeconomically diverse community” (p. 432) as well. The history of exclusion represented across college marching bands still significantly impacts the issues

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the band sampled for this study faces, from the traditional gendering of certain sections and uniforms (Broslawsky, 2017), exclusion of racial minority groups especially through auditioned organizations (Koza, 2008), and underrepresentation of women, People of

Color, and LGBTQ+ persons in band director positions (Bergonzi, 2009; Scheivert,

2018).

Marching Band as an Environment for Learning about Inclusion

This study of this band program challenges and builds upon existing literature critiquing the exclusionary history and current lack of compositional diversity by providing spaces to explore and discuss how to promote inclusion amongst itself, both informally and formally. Many of the band members in the study, especially those who identify as women or racial minorities, pointed out that it is “inspiring” and

“empowering” to see others like themselves as general band members or in leadership positions. LGBTQ+ band members use social media and social gatherings outside of band to provide a sense of community and a “safe place” to process their identities. More formally, the Inclusion Committee exists as a place for band members to learn about issues of inclusion and attempt to make change, and these efforts also extend to other committees within the band as well as the band student organization who hold additional resources. Students and staff members alike noted that the compositional diversity of the band is improving, which also invites the opportunity for more interactions across difference and more opportunities to include students with minoritized identities. Though portions of these inclusion initiatives originated due to outside concerns such as poor

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public relations (Giardina, 2016) and larger university initiatives, they seem to be making a tangible impact on the band program regardless of their origin.

In this study, I referred to the idea of students tuning, or recalibrating, their instruments to all play a single note perfectly in tune with one another. Given the importance of celebrating and increasing compositional diversity within the band program, as well as the empowerment that band members with minoritized identities strive to feel amongst one another, the idea of uniformity—of one note—should be critiqued. As the band explores other opportunities to educate a more inclusive future through the inclusion of various identities within the ensemble, it will likely find that one idea of how a band member appears—White, heterosexual, upper-class, and male

(Bergonzi, 2009; Broslawsky; 2017; Koza, 2018)—does not create space for these students with more marginalized identities. Through the various systems noted throughout this study, band leadership can interrogate how their current structures, policies, and practices continue to exclude these students or perpetuate larger systems of oppression, and then work to change them.

In addition to opportunities for learning about inclusion, relevant literature also discusses multiple opportunities students for socially responsible student leadership within marching band. Abril (2012) identified “grade level, instrumentation, performance ability, and years of membership” (p. 436) as subgroups within a high school band program that determine which band members exist at the top of band hierarchies and have the power to promote inclusive or exclusive environments. Leadership positions

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also determine hierarchy within band programs (Brewer, 2009; Johnson, 2014; Scheivert,

2018). This study found all of these subgroups present, though general members and other student groups such as the Inclusion Committee, other student committees, and the student organization were also found to have the power to create inclusive change to various extents. This could be due to Abril’s (2012) research being focused on a high school band program, as collegiate level organizations have the opportunity for more structural complexity and leadership opportunities due to the increased maturity of their students. In fact, Weren’s (2015) study with college band members reported that students often seek advice within their peer groups more often than seeking advice from formal leadership, which is more consistent with the findings from this study. Opportunities are provided for individuals to give feedback to one another in rehearsals, which could lead to an increased empowerment of general band members to support other band members individually. This supports research that argues that the size of a typical college marching band prevents band directors from being aware of everything occurring in the band

(Matney, 2018; Scheivert, 2018), necessitating the empowerment of students as leaders to impact various subgroups (Scheivert, 2018). Despite this, some factors of the ensemble that impact inclusivity are ultimately controlled by the band directing staff. These include show design, scheduling of rehearsals and Band Camp, and the allocation of financial resources to offset the cost of meals during periods with lots of rehearsals. Through this hierarchical structure noted in previous literature (Abril, 2012), large-scale power is

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maintained at the top of the organization, which reflects how band members at all levels conceptualize their ability to create change within their program.

Students’ Understandings of Inclusion as Analyzed through Bronfenbrenner’s

Bioecological Model

This study intended to examine how students develop understandings of inclusion, along with what influences their understandings of such. These potential influences included internal characteristics associated with the individual band member, as well as multiple layers of environmental factors that impacted students’ experiences, as emphasized in Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological model of human development.

Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) work centered on proximal processes that take place in or around the developing person. As discussed in Chapter 2, the time-consuming nature of band (Cumberledge, 2015; Matney, 2018) provides numerous opportunities to cultivate student learning over the entire course of their involvement in the organization.

Band members specifically talked about the role that the time commitment played in how they evaluated the inclusion within the band, from securing the need and opportunities for developing a sense of community to the importance of supporting band members’ mental health and academic success during busy times in the semester. For band members, these included Band Camp rehearsals and academic midterm periods.

Bronfenbrenner’s (1994; 2005) work also depicts any environment as multilayered, similar to the way in which students note that inclusion is sometimes addressed through layers of formal band structures. Consistent with both this theoretical 176

framework and the constructivist epistemology (Crotty, 1998) of this study, each student’s perspective revealed unique considerations about what influences—or does not shape—inclusion within the band program. This highlights the importance of

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) later work in highlighting the factors that cause each individual to engage with their environment differently.

Individual Band Member Characteristics

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) later works acknowledged that various factors may impact band members’ likelihood to be shaped and developed by their environment, meaning that “attributes” of the band members may “induce or inhibit dynamic dispositions toward the immediate environment” (p. 11). These may influence how the band members “invite or inhibit particular responses from the environment,” “how individuals characteristically react to and explore their surroundings,” “how individuals engage or persist in increasing complex activities,” and “how individuals view their agency in relation to their environment” (Renn & Arnold, 2003, p. 268-269). These may include social identities, or “nature-identities”, which depict states which they are in such as racial, ethnic, gender, or sexual orientation group memberships (Gee, 2000). They may also include other more transient identities, such as institutional, discourse, or affinity identities (Gee, 2000).

In discussing other band members, it appears that institutional identities, which assign authority to a person based on their given role (Gee, 2000) impact how they may respond to others. These include identities related to hierarchies such as year, performer

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status, and leadership positions. This is seen in the way that students describe specific attempts to create positive environments for new and alternate members, and how student leaders are seen as models for setting the tone of rehearsals and often addressing issues of inclusion when they are seen. Factors that impacted band members’ “selective responsivity” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 42), how students interact with their environment, were primarily seen by some band members labeling themselves as shy or introverted.

These would be identified by Gee (2000) as discourse identities. However, in relation to inclusion, some band members seemed to hold a greater sense of responsibility than others to engage with the environment in order to further inclusion. Some of this was based on the institutional identities (Gee, 2000) of leadership position or year within the band, but not all. For some White students who recognized their racial privilege, for example, they saw the formalized inclusion initiatives as opportunities to educate themselves about others’ experiences within the band and help create better spaces for others, though not all White students reported this feeling. One Student of Color avoided engaging with the formal inclusion initiatives because she did not want to be responsible for representing her race in that way and instead sought individualized mentorship opportunities to support fellow Students of Color. However, other band members with minoritized gender, sexual, or racial identities saw the initiatives as important for helping to create inclusive environments for their identities. Rather than make sweeping generalizations about what social identities influenced students to act in certain ways, one can conclude that students’ social identities, as well as their directive beliefs (Patton et

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al., 2000) about their role within the band, played factors in how they engaged in furthering inclusion within the band.

Factors that impacted students’ “structuring proclivities” (Bronfenbrenner, 2005, p. 11), or their abilities to “engage or persist in the increasingly complex activities”

(Patton et al., 2016, p. 42) present within the band similarly included year and leadership positions. An additional factor that seemed to impact students’ empowerment to persist included having deeper sense of community within smaller spheres of the band program, especially for those with marginalized identities or who were doubting their value in other parts of the band, such as those who were often designated alternate marchers.

Bronfenbrenner’s Various Systems in the Marching Band Context

Multiple intersecting systems, as depicted in Bronfenbrenner’s (1993; 2005) bioecological model, impacted students’ understandings and experiences with the band program. Rather than attempt to provide a full list of the multitude of proximal processes included in each system from each band member’s perspective, I provide a summary of those that stood out the most, either due to their repetition in multiple stories or in their relation to inclusion topics within the band.

Microsystems

Chapter Four reviews, in part, the variety of formal structures present within the band program that students must navigate in order to further inclusion in the band. These included groupings by year, sections, multiple types of student groups, and student leadership circles. The listing of multiple types of student groups within the band expands

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upon Abril’s (2012) study of high school band members in that this college marching band provides additional opportunities for students to exercise power and create change within their organizations. However, these subgroups can also serve as barriers to creating change. For instance, students reported struggling to respond quickly to conversations that occur within the Inclusion Committee due to the need to receive permission from administration for certain activities. Additionally, some band members—especially those who identified as shy or were in their first or second years in the band—reported developing close friendships only with those in their same section or year, further limiting interaction with others with shared identities and experiences.

Chapter 4 also reviews various spheres of community in which students feel deeper connection to one another, including sections, years, the band student organization, social identity groups, and study groups. The very fact that some of these groups overlap with one another, as well as pertain to aspects of individual band members’ developmentally instigative characteristics (Bronfenbrenner, 1993) demonstrates the interrelatedness between the individual and these microsystems.

Mesosystems

The mesosystem connects microsystems to one another in various ways, depending on the context (Bronfenbrenner, 1993). Some connections between microsystems are incredibly strong, such as the fact that band members note that the band student organization, committees, and social identity groups help communicate band members’ concerns and foster relationships across different sections in the band.

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Additionally, band members often discussed bonding with the band members of their same section and year, establishing a strong connection between these two microsystems.

Band-wide communication structures (represented by dotted lines in Figure 4) could also be improved in order to connect the Inclusion Committee microsystem to other organizations and students who may potentially be interested in the work it is accomplishing but lack the knowledge or experience to engage with it directly.

Exosystems

The exosystem, characterized as a system that does not directly contain an individual but influences them indirectly (Bronfenbrenner, 1993), is present in the actions of staff leadership and university-level administration. These impact the students to various degrees, both encouraging and inhibiting inclusion efforts. For example, the staff leadership model inclusive language, prioritize learning each band member’s name, and encourage the band’s formal inclusion initiatives in efforts to foster an inclusive community within the band program. They also oversee aspects of the band that some band members could improve in promoting inclusion, such as expecting band members to buy their own food during Band Camp, maintaining a hectic Band Camp schedule that potentially impacts band members’ mental health, helping actualize the Inclusion

Committee’s requests, and selecting marching band shows that seek to educate and not harm certain identity groups. Additionally, the university administrators in charge of coordinating beginning-of-year training for both new students and the band as a whole impact the students’ educational experiences with inclusion. This includes both the

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content of the training and the context (both time and people) with which it happens.

Finally, the academic departments that coordinate the humanities and diversity courses that some of the students found meaningful for helping them develop an understanding of their own and others’ identities in relation to inclusion influence those band members, though only to the extent with which the band members engage with such courses

(Bowman, 2013).

Macrosystems

Macrosystems represent cultural and societal influences that impact the band members’ experiences with inclusion. First of all, it is important to acknowledge the racist, classist, sexist, and heteronormative structures that exist within college band programs, as represented by the literature (Bergonzi, 2009; Broslawsky, 2017; Koza,

2018), as well as those in the United States society and higher education at large. Though the Inclusion Administrator was the most explicit in her discussion of how these identities impact students’ experiences with the arts, these influenced why a “cookie- cutter” (Cosmo) band student, the majority of what was represented in the band program, was a White upper class heterosexual man. This is shown through the assumption that students are able to fund their own meals during long rehearsal weeks, expected to tie their hair back in order for it not to be seen much underneath their hat, and why an

LGBTQ+ support group needs to exist in the first place. Though the students have found ways to push back against these inequities in their own spheres of influence, the band experience itself is still impacted by these larger societal patterns.

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An additional macrosystem impacting the band members’ experiences is the public view of the marching band. Many students explained that, though they know that being inclusive is important for the sake of the internal marching band community, portions of the inclusion initiatives were developed due to accusations of cultural appropriation or distastefulness from members of the public who lacked an affiliation with the band. This matches Giardina’s (2016) work that acknowledges that marching bands are often in the public eye and that precautions such as additional trainings have been implemented to alleviate concerns involving exclusivity or hazing (Scheivert, 2018).

Chronosystems

Finally, the chronosystem represents time, both involving band members’ individual timelines within the band program as well as societal and band-wide shifts

(Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Clearly, some of the band members’ performer status and social spheres within the band is determined by their year in the band because it often aligns with marching experience and opportunities to form deeper relationships within the band.

Some returning band members also received the opportunity to take on formal leadership positions, and all of the returning band members in this study reported having at least informal mentoring roles to newer members within the band. The band itself is located within its own chronosystem, as shown by the slow process that changes towards inclusion sometimes involve due to the attention needed by multiple student and staff groups and the growth of the logistical structures of the three-year-old Inclusion

Committee itself.

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Conclusion

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological model serves as an appropriate theoretical framework for this study due to the individuality of each of the band members interviewed, as well as the various structures within and influencing the band program itself. Many of the microsystems exist as both tools for progress towards inclusion as well as spheres of deeper community within the band, and all of these are manipulated by mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems as well. A model of

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) model as applied to the findings in this study is featured in

Figures 3 and 4. These build upon Figures 1 and 2, which demonstrate how prior literature anticipated the proximal processes present in the marching band in relation to inclusion. Through examining the findings, I noted which individual band member characteristics elicited responses from or interacted with the environment. For instance, leadership positions and year influenced how band members elicit responses from one another, how they experience a sense of influence over their environment, how they react to opportunities within their environment, and how band members persist through increasingly complex activities. Figure 4’s depiction of the mesosystem demonstrates strong and weak connections between various microsystems found in the data, while social identity groups and study groups function as additional microsystems. Humanities courses and staff leadership spheres serve as additional exosystems. Public perception concerns and issues related to social class play roles in students’ understandings of inclusion, adding to present literature that addresses racial and gender disparities in music

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education. Finally, an additional factor presented in the chronosystem is the slowness of change towards inclusion as depicted by the participants. In these ways, this study builds upon what prior research states may impact college marching band members’ perceptions of inclusion.

Figure 3. Band Member Characteristics Found in Study

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Figure 4. Band Environmental Characteristics Found in Study

Band Members’ Understandings of Inclusion

In direct response to Research Question 1, the students generally characterized inclusion as a feeling: a sense of comfort, an ability to be oneself, feeling a part of the

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group, and a lack of exclusion. This is very consistent with ACPA’s characterization, in part, which describes inclusion as a place in which members can “feel safe, respected, motivated, and valued” (Love, 2016, p. 1) and NAfME’s “building strength” among members (“Mission and Goals,” 2016, para. 6). The students also discuss providing opportunities for others to be heard, primarily through student leaders or committee members communicating concerns to the band directing staff, which aligns with

NASPA’s characterization of “access [and] voice… at all levels” (“About NASPA,”

2019, para. 7). However, it is important to note the necessity for formal structures in which this voice is given to band members, whether that be through student leadership, committee members, or close relationships with the band directors.

All of the three organizations’ definitions of inclusion involved incorporating diversity in some way (“About NASPA,” 2019; Love, 2016; “Mission and Goals,” 2016); this is where the band members’ descriptions differed significantly. Some spoke about microsystems, mesosystems, or exosystems of the band program that impacted band members’ experiences with inclusion, while others identified the importance of incorporating social identities within the group. The latter aligns more with NASPA’s and NAfME’s definitions of both diversity and inclusion in the listing of specific identity groups (“About NASPA,” 2019; “Mission and Goals,” 2016). ACPA’s depiction of diversity as one that “may vary by geography or institution” (Love, 2016, p. 1) better aligns with the students’ depictions of diversity as it relates to inclusion, as a band members’ definitions of inclusion within the band can be impacted by social identities

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such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status, or more transient or environmental factors such as placement in the band, section, committee involvement, or academic courses taken.

It is important to note how the band members discussed financial situations, socioeconomic status, and social class and the various definitions of these terms represented in the literature, especially because this characteristic was by far the most- discussed social identity. During discussions of the need for band members to buy their own meals during Band Camp, some band members used an immediate definition of financial status by sharing that students who live on campus do not have access to cooking appliances or campus cafeterias, while others discussed how some band members do not “come from a financially sound place” (Justin) or lack parental support.

Some students also discussed the opportunity for their families or schools to fund private lessons, or lack thereof, in their high school programs.

Though all of the students’ stories related to finances in some way, some of the depictions of their own or others’ financial situations relate more to socioeconomic status, “the social standing… of an individual or group,… often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation” (American Psychological

Association, 2020, para. 1), and others pertain more to social class, “a relative social ranking based on income, wealth, education, status, and power” (Leondar-Wright &

Yeskel, 2007). Stuber (2010) noted that social class privilege may be easier than race or gender for students with privilege to discuss, because social class can be more easily

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relativized and obscured rather than painting privilege in a black-white dichotomy.

Similar to Stuber’s (2010) work, the upper-class students in this study reported having many “blind spots” and being unaware of the experiences of less-advantaged peers until interacting with them directly in band.

The professional organizations’ depiction of inclusion as action was less apparent in the student’s definitions of inclusion, though actions taken—or not taken—towards inclusion were discussed throughout our interviews (“About NASPA,” 2019, para. 7;

Love, 2016, p. 1). This distinction in language may seem unimportant, but this difference in definitions may impact band members’ conceptualizations of band itself as already an inclusive community—an entity that already exists without working towards it. Though some of the band members identify ways they were working towards creating inclusive environments, some others identify the inclusion of band as a static and current state that is maintained by the people in the group as well as formal structures. Even some of the students’ understandings regarding why action towards inclusion should occur, such as accommodating the needs of minoritized band members or protecting the public image of the group, demonstrates the tendency to focus on preventing individual exclusive acts rather than interrogating larger structures of power and privilege, similar to that which has been observed in other studies about social justice education (Taylor, 2017).

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Students’ Understandings of How to Create an Inclusive Environment:

Recalibrations Towards Inclusion

As discussed in Chapter Four, students primarily evaluated band as an inclusive environment through a general sense of community and smaller microsystems

(Bronfenbrenner, 2005) of deeper relationships, especially if they held primarily majority social identities. However, some students also spoke about the importance of acknowledging and increasing representation of identities often depicted as more visible—race and gender—within the ensemble. In addition, they identified opportunities to further inclusion in ways that were either already happening or that they wished were happening. These actions towards inclusion involved increasing their awareness of others’ experiences within the band and navigating formal band structures. These themes address both Research Question 2 (How do college band members evaluate the quality of inclusion of the band program?) and 3 (How do college band members understand their roles as responsible for developing inclusive environments within the band program?).

Regarding Research Question 2, students mostly evaluate band as an already inclusive environment, synonymous with their depiction of the sense of community they experience within the band. Considering they understand inclusion primarily as feeling like a part of the group and like they can be themselves, they evaluate the inclusion in the band as primarily positive. However, some students also noted the necessity of celebrating and acknowledging social identities more directly in order to feel like a true part of the group, considering some of their marginalized social identities. Regarding 190

Research Question 3, the band members acknowledged that everyone is responsible for helping develop the inclusion within the band program, especially through learning about others’ experiences, though those in certain positions and existing within formal structures have specialized opportunities to do so. As the above section already addressed the sense of community felt by band members in conversation with relevant literature, this next section will specifically address the three themes pertaining to opportunities to improve students’ evaluations of inclusion, as well as opportunities for students to make change towards inclusion within the band.

The Need to Make Identity Visible

A small number of students—all with at least one minoritized identity within the ensemble—acknowledged that making social identities more visible within the group, whether those actions be through celebration or representation of various identities, furthers inclusion. This was demonstrated as especially important to those with marginalized identities, as increased acknowledgement or representation of their identities helps them feel incorporated and included within the organization. Scheivert’s

(2018) study of major college band programs echoes the need for this increase in representation at the band director level itself, specifically regarding gender and racial diversity. Considering it was not the Inclusion Administrator’s job to assist directly with faculty or staff hiring processes, and this study focused on a current band program led by a White man and a staff comprised primarily of White men and women, this band program serves as an example of the need for increased diverse representation,

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specifically regarding the visible identities that students pointed out. That fact that nothing available publicly on the CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association,

2020) website defines a commitment to diversity or inclusion outside of a Diversity

Committee, let alone a definition of these terms, suggests that more could be done on the level of this professional organization to foster professional growth and achievement for those who would embody diverse identities on the podium. This also demonstrates a need for education on these topics for all college band directors in order to create inclusive environments within their ensembles. Though efforts can be made to improve diversity and inclusion amongst student groups, as this band demonstrates, broader efforts could improve diversity from the top down. Additionally, band directors of any identities must be mindful of those students who they are selecting to serve as leaders in the program, including how implicit bias may play a role in selecting students with majority identities more likely to fit the historical and traditional image of a band member, as noted by one study participant.

Literature also states that university-level educators can help improve students’ ability to serve as socially responsible leaders in a group by inviting conversations about difference (Dugan et al., 2011; Johnson, 2015). Currently, conversations about diversity appear to be communicated within the band program in several ways: through beginning- of-year formal training, through individual or group conversations within smaller peer groups within the band, within the Inclusion Committee and sometimes through other committees, and through a zero-tolerance policy communicated to all band members.

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However, the band members also noted that marching shows have centered on celebrations of various social identities, and that some band members have asked questions about whether certain songs performed by the band could be classified as cultural appropriation. Both of these observations demonstrate that band directors must engage with conversations about diversity and inclusion through the pieces that they perform. Additionally, conversations about inclusion could be revisited during the middle of the year as morale drops (Matthews, 2017) and potential issues may have arisen different from those present at the beginning of the year when formal training occurred.

Incorporating conversations about inclusion into the central fabric of the group’s conversations throughout the season could help students develop a stronger sense of civic identity and socially responsible leadership (Dugan et al., 2011; Johnson, 2015).

Some students also found it meaningful to know that either themselves or others could be seen as inspirations to younger students with marginalized identities because of their shared minoritized identities. Due to, in part, the fact that this study did not explore the band’s community engagement efforts, it was difficult to assess how Luminais and

Williams’s (2016) finding that marching band “rall[ies] community support” (p. 232) applied to this group. Considering the celebration and representation of marginalized social identities is important to the inclusion of some band members, exploring how— and who—the band interacts with in the community could be an additional opportunity to explore increasing the visibility of marginalized social identities beyond simply the performance field.

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Actions Towards Inclusion: Learning About Others

Opportunities for learning about others and how to help include them are present in the band program, matching Abril’s (2012) depiction of band as a “social learning space” (p. 446) in which band members can contemplate their identities. Students learned about these identities through vicarious experiences of watching others lead or address inclusion (Luminais & Williams, 2016; Westlake, 2015). They also learned through direct experiences interacting with people different from them, often referred to as

“diversity experiences” in the literature (Engberg & Porter, 2013; Parker & Pascarella,

2013). This is consistent with literature calling student affairs professionals and faculty members to emphasize that learning about diversity and inclusion should not be assigned solely to a specialized office, but that is the role of everyone to foster this learning among students (Engberg & Porter, 2013; Munin & Dugan, 2011). In fact, some of the band members claimed that their only interactions across certain types of difference occurred within the band program or social interactions related to it, though humanities courses served as powerful exosystems that influenced other students’ more nuanced understandings of inclusion.

However, for many students, their learning about inclusion ended with developing an awareness of various band members’ struggles within inclusion. Some discussed helping address individuals’ concerns as well. Comparing these conceptualizations with

Harro’s (2000) Cycle of Liberation, many students are situated within the “Waking Up”

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and “Getting Ready” stages as they become increasingly aware of other band members’ experiences and perceptions of inclusion or exclusion.

Consistent with Broido’s (2000) work on ally development, students saw these stages as a learning process as they grow in understanding of their own identities and the privileges and disadvantages they are afforded through those. Edwards (2006) notes that this learning process should allow students to see the interconnectedness of forms of oppression. Some band members in the study connected the fact that the hair policy harms Women of Color and is impacted by both gender and racial oppression, other opportunities to connect various types of oppression do not show up in the students’ stories. For example, students demonstrated the most concern about students with less money or from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, though they did not make the connection, as the Inclusion Administrator did, between socioeconomic status or social class and race.

Though “Waking Up” (Harro, 2000) is a paramount stage of social justice education and initiates many approaches to building inclusivity, many more opportunities for creating inclusion exist beyond building awareness. The fact that many students’ discussions of action towards inclusion stops at the “Waking Up” (Harro, 2000) stage shows a need for further challenging of hegemonic dominant ideologies (Brown, 2004), such as those that might focus on integrating diverse individuals into an exclusive system rather than challenging preexisting assumptions or systems on a larger level. These include “Building Community” in working with others (Harro, 2000), seen through

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students’ discussions with one another about how to support a band member, the informal

LGBTQ+ band member support group, and students’ involvement with the Inclusion

Committee. “Coalescing,” during which students “organize, plan actions,… educate, and motivate [uninvolved] members” and “act… as role models and allies for others” (p.

623), primarily occurs through the student leaders who strive to serve as role models and allies, as well as the Inclusion Committee’s decision to write a letter to the band staff explaining the change towards inclusion they would like to see (Harro, 2000). “Creating

Change” involves initiating “new assumptions, new structures, new roles, and new rules consistent with a more socially just and equitable philosophy” (p. 623), changing preexisting structures in order to create a more inclusive environment (Harro, 2000). The establishment of the Inclusion Committee itself could be seen as an implementation of a structure to advance inclusion, though many students observed that their spheres of influence—commonly based on section membership or their student organization—did not often extend towards changing overarching structures such as the uniform policy or alternate system that band members viewed as exclusive. This presents future opportunities for coalition building between staff and students in order to adjust systems on the band-wide scale, whether those include how shows are designed, who is chosen for leadership or as a performer, or how the band members are expected to present themselves.

Examples of efforts towards inclusion exist across almost all stages of the Cycle of Liberation (Harro, 2000). However, the fact that many of the students’ conceptions of

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actions towards inclusion remain focused on increasing their awareness of others’ experiences demonstrates opportunities for growth in diversity and social justice education. It also illuminates the need for the continual empowerment of the Inclusion

Committee and other structures that have the potential to create policy- and structure- based change within the band program. Edwards (2006) critiques the term “ally,” as it may be used for self-serving or altruistic reasons, which acknowledges that students may be learning about others’ concerns for the sake of learning and awareness rather than to create structural change, though formal structures and lack of further education could also be getting in the way of further pursuits of inclusion.

Consistent with other literature (Mayhew et al., 2016), the way that some band members spoke about their involvement in the Inclusion Committee and other conversations across difference illuminated the challenge of fostering beneficial diverse peer interactions. First of all, diversity must be present in order to have diverse peer interactions in the first place (Engberg & Porter, 2013). Though students and the gatekeepers alike observed that the diversity of the band was improving, underrepresentation of racial and gender minorities in certain leadership positions decreased the likelihood that interactions across difference would occur at all levels of the organization. Additionally, not all students benefit equally from diversity experiences

(Mayhew et al., 2016). This finding is mirrored by one students’ reluctance to have to represent their entire minoritized community in a formal setting, in addition to the

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amount of time this places on students who already have busy schedules without this extra labor.

Actions Towards Inclusion: Navigating Formal Structures

In direct response to Research Question 3, most—though not all—of the students acknowledged their ability to develop inclusion within their specific spheres of influence.

However, the microsystems which they were able to manipulate varied widely based on their relationships with other staff and student leaders, leadership positions, and involvement in various student groups. In acknowledgement that formal structures impact the types of actions towards inclusion the band members feel they are able to take, and the size of the band program as a whole, the principles of socially responsible leadership development are both challenged and affirmed. The band members acknowledged that all of the band members are responsible for developing the band as an inclusive environment by reaching out to others who need help and developing an awareness of potential barriers to inclusion. This is consistent with Komives et al’s (2009) claim that all students, not only those who hold formal leadership positions, are potential leaders. The processes that take place to further inclusion within the band, both the learning processes that each band member must undergo individually and the processes towards larger policy-oriented change, seem to demonstrate that leadership is also a process instead of a position (Komives et al., 2009). However, general band members are only capable of furthering inclusion to the extents allowed within their spheres of influence, whether those be manifested through their section, committees, or leadership positions.

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Consistent with Taylor’s (2017) findings that students’ learning about inclusion tends to focus on individual efforts towards inclusion rather than collective action, the students in the study often discussed individual examples of accommodations for band members, such as reaching out to band members who looked like they were separated from the group or helping cover the cost of section outings if a band member could not afford them. However, the students acknowledged that these individual efforts only went so far in helping foster inclusion on a larger scale. Therefore, many of the efforts towards inclusion occur within formal structures.

Some of these more formalized structures that help address inclusion within the band involve students, such as those that occur within the section, other student groups, or through the authority among student leaders. In this way, the students push past

Dagaz’s (2012) notion that band members build community across diverse socioeconomic status groups. They not only build relationships across this type of diversity, but they discuss and take action to explore how to support band members in lesser financial situations, such as providing breakfast for small fees on rehearsal days, choosing social opportunities that are free for all members, or exploring transportation options for students who need it. Luminais and Williams’s (2016) finding that a high school marching band comprised primarily of Students of Color “empower[ed] youth” and “buil[t] community” (p. 232) aligns with the band members’ observations that they can help impact inclusive change both for individual band members and across their various spheres of influence.

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Luminais and Williams (2016) also discuss the positive role that peer mentorship plays in creating social justice for students. In this study, some of the student leaders saw themselves in peer mentor roles, responsible for overseeing the affordability and inclusivity of their section. For some, that leadership manifested in changing old jokes and traditions that could be seen as offensive by some band members. For others, their leadership roles involved ensuring that required supplies suited all band members’ skin tones and hair types, or encouraging band members to get involved in the Inclusion

Committee to let their voices be heard. Though Luminais and Williams (2016) discussed student leader peer mentorship roles as ones that disrupt top-down styles of learning, the findings in this study complicate that by pointing out that the student leaders are ultimately chosen by and answer to the band directing staff within a structured hierarchy

(Abril, 2012). Some noted that underrepresentation of Students of Color in leadership positions and personal disconnections between existing student leaders and the staff limited the approachability and ability to make change for some band members.

Additionally, though the student leaders receive training on accommodating various learning styles, opportunities for peer mentorship could be deepened within the band program if students were trained and equipped to discuss topics of social identity and justice. Currently, these trainings exist on a surface level at the beginning of the season for all band members, while student leaders could be equipped to mentor students in discussing these issues further instead of simply learning through experience.

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As previously mentioned, the band members also pointed out some structural changes towards inclusion that could only come from the professional band staff, top- down. This aligns with Munin and Dugan’s (2011) inclusive design framework, which states that a space and its structures must be inclusive in the first place in order to foster understanding about inclusion. Three principles of inclusive design, including diversifying pathways of communication, diverse approaches to leadership and cross- cultural considerations, and considering implicit messages, were shown to impact the band members’ experiences with inclusion. Regarding the importance of diversifying pathways of communication (Munin & Dugan, 2011), limited communication about the goals and accomplishments of the Inclusion Committee prevents some band members from joining the committee and limits all band members in their ability to understand some of the concerns regarding inclusion present in the band in the first place.

Approaches to leadership are still seen as very top-down, from the band directing staff to the student leaders to the general members, though committees and student organizations provide multiple opportunities for involvement and more leadership opportunities not directly assigned by the band directors. Finally, the band directing staff is becoming more conscious of the implicit messages they send to students, most notably represented in shifts towards more inclusive language.

Students’ comments about university-level training about inclusion provided at the beginning of the year illuminated considerations present in the literature about diversity training and education. King, Gulick, and Avery (2010) note the importance of

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contextualizing experiences, which is echoed in the students’ categorization of the formal training as surface-level and their informal experiences interacting with other band members as more educational. However, students’ observations that the training was more meaningful when scenarios were provided, especially when they were able to process these scenarios in groups of band members they already knew well, provide a model that the university—and other universities—could use in future trainings. They should be mindful of the content and audience of the trainings and seek to incorporate these conversations into groups that have already established a sense of community with one another, in order to help students feel more comfortable sharing their true thoughts and feelings about the experiences. These trainings could also be more differentiated towards each organizations’ experiences, as the band members are navigating different structures that help or harm inclusion efforts than other spaces on campus.

Implications for Further Research

In general, research on the student experience within marching band programs at the collegiate level is lacking. This required me to explore literature on high school band members’ experiences in conversation with literature on college students’ leadership development and social justice education. Between these bodies of literature exists this study, which could benefit from other studies similar to it or studying various aspects of the student experience in college marching bands.

Given the identities discussed at length by the students and administrators, future studies that center social class, race, gender, and sexual orientation in band could expand 202

on these findings by further interrogating how these identities may influence band members’ experiences. A mixed-methods study of socioeconomic status and social class within college marching bands would help illuminate trends within numerous college band programs that limit or promote the participation of students from lower socioeconomic statuses or social classes within the band program. Following the works of Broslawsky (2017) and Koza (2008), studies that apply critical methodologies such as

Critical Race Theory, feminist theory, or queer theory to college marching bands could also help identify additional formal structures within college marching bands that inhibit or promote these types of diversity within the ensemble.

Other factors related to inclusion that could not be explored more deeply due to the constraints of the study, were mental health and time management. Many of the band members discussed the community that they built within the band, especially during times of extreme time commitment and stress, such as Band Camp or midterms. Studies related to band members’ mental health, education about mental health, and actions band programs have taken to support band members in this regard could generate further resources for this population. Considering how often Band Camp was referred to as a stressful yet exciting time for many band members, especially those new to the band, a deep study of this week alone could highlight opportunities for further support by band programs themselves and other university administrators.

Though the sampling and methodology of this case study suited the focus on student band members’ understandings of the college marching band experiences, other

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case studies with different sampling procedures may highlight other areas of growth for college marching bands as a unit. For example, the current band program studied is led by dozens of other full-time professional and administrative staff members; understanding their perspectives on inclusion within the band program would interrogate how their various positions can help foster inclusion within the program. Additionally, given how much of the band members’ time is spent interacting with their fellow section members, a case study concentrated on examining a higher percentage of one section’s members may reveal different social dynamics and how various band members’ experiences and identities impact those dynamics.

Finally, a multi-case study of different types of college marching bands with a methodology similar to this one would highlight differences in students’ understandings of inclusion based on various characteristics of the program or university. Considering the hierarchy that separates performers from alternates found in this band program, it would be interesting to explore how relationships between band members shift in a non- competitive program in which all interested students are accepted into and perform in the band. Additionally, considering Luminais and William’s (2016) findings that a high school band primarily comprised of Students of Color promoted social justice at levels that this band did not, incorporating bands at Minority-Serving Institutions, particularly

Historically Black Colleges and Universities that have a storied history of marching bands of their own, may reveal differences in students’ understandings of inclusion.

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Implications for Practice

This study provides implications for practice for student band members, in addition to student affairs professionals and band directors. Though it is uncommon in research to include a section on implications for students, the goal of my study to center student perspectives necessitated this section in addition to implications for university staff and faculty.

Implications for Student Band Members

Throughout this study, ten band members shared their perspectives on inclusion within a specific marching band. Overwhelmingly, they discussed the sense of community they felt within the band, as well as deeper spheres of community they felt within smaller groups within the band program. Though not as often included in their literal definitions of inclusion, they also identified many steps that they or other band members had taken to further inclusion within the band program. The study also revealed that students navigated various formal structures in order to make progress towards inclusion, though some progress could also be made by individual general members.

Additionally, progress towards inclusion could—or was already—being made through learning about others and making identities visible.

To understand the idea that inclusion already exists within the band program and could be improved upon requires dialectical thinking (Dugan, 2017), the holding of two truths at the same time. This requires a certain complexity of thinking, and I encourage band members to use the analogy of tuning in an attempt to understand inclusion within 205

the band program. They are all playing the same note, aiming for the same goal of inclusivity, though there are numerous tuning processes and adjustments to make to ensure that each instrument fits within the sound.

I encourage band members to contemplate the power they have within the ensemble, as each band member has certain types of power afforded to them through their participation in band, whether that be through a formal leadership position, influence within a friend group or section, a student organization or committee, or as a returning band member. Even the new members possess a certain type of power, considering the journey they have already taken to develop their skills on an instrument enough to perform at a college level, especially if an audition process keeps some members out of the ensemble (Koza, 2008).

All band members can contemplate the issues presented in this study—regarding shyness, performance status, social class, mental health, racial and gender representation, and so on—and determine what is within their power to influence. That could range from cultivating individual supportive relationships with band members influenced by these factors to advocating for ways to support them within the section or band program. As a band member matriculates through future years in band, they may contemplate how they can leverage the various powers they gain—whether that be through committee or student organization participation, a formal leadership position, an increased comfort with speaking with a band director, or casual mentorship with younger members—to further inclusion in other ways they may not have been able to before. In this way, students will

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be developing themselves as socially responsible leaders responsible for navigating processes to cause change “on behalf of others and society” (p. xii) regardless of formal position (Komives et al., 2009). Harro’s (2000) Cycle of Liberation depicts a guide that a band member could use for identifying inclusion issues in the band and multiple processes and levels through which they can address them.

Band members interested in furthering inclusion may explore various ways to learn about others’ experiences and make identity visible. In this way, the idea of centering “one note” in the tuning process needs to be expanded to acknowledge that many different factors impact each band members’ experience within the group and that one-size-fits-all policies may not work for everyone within the group. Though many band members reported learning about others’ experiences through informal dialogue, this study and prior research shows that these “diversity experiences” do not equally impact all students (Mayhew et al., 2016, p. 194). This is because students with marginalized identities may tire from having to explain their experiences repeatedly to those students with more privileged identities. Therefore, band members may get involved in other spaces that will allow them to learn about inclusion to supplement their informal interactions with peers. This could look like exploring diversity/inclusion/social justice education programs at their university, relevant media, or taking one of the humanities courses about which the other band members spoke so highly. These steps will likely involve making certain social identities more visible, which would allow the band

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members to explore ways to navigate for more celebration and representation of identities within the band.

Implications for Student Affairs Professionals

Research shows that marching bands are important facets of the university landscape due to their public relations appeals (Giardina, 2016), risk management concerns (Matney, 2018), recruitment opportunities (Cumberledge, 2017; Johnson, 2014) and potential to foster a sense of belonging amongst students involved (Johnson, 2014;

Luminais & Williams, 2016; Madsen et al., 2007). This study adds to prior perspectives on the college marching band environment by showcasing the multiple factors that influence students’ perception of inclusion within it, along with university administration function as an influential exosystem.

The band program analyzed for this study stands apart from other band programs reviewed in the literature due to its specific inclusion initiatives, particularly through the establishment of an Inclusion Committee. Though leadership education literature calls all faculty and staff members to help students understand inclusion and their own power to impact change towards inclusion (Munin & Dugan, 2011), college band directors note that they lack training about how to support students in this way within their doctoral programs (Scheivert, 2018). Therefore, partnerships between student affairs professionals with more training and knowledge about diversity/inclusion/social justice education and band directors are likely to be necessary to start conversations about inclusion within the marching band setting. Given the strong sense of community that the band members

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discussed within the study, student affairs professionals may need to slowly cultivate relationships with the band director, student leadership, and general members in order to gain the band members’ trust to encourage them to process the improvements that could be made towards even more inclusion.

Additionally, given the importance a few band members placed on making identity visible, opportunities to partner with student affairs units that lead workshops about these topics, such as a leadership office or a multicultural center, should be made more available to the marching band students throughout the semester. The spring semester (the marching band “off” season) could also serve as a time to incorporate marching band members into “emerging leader” trainings or other curricular or cocurricular programs offered by the university. These can help them process how their identities impact the change they are able to make in their band program during a time when they are not overwhelmed by the busy marching band schedule.

Regarding learning about inclusion, students noted that their informal experiences interacting with peers were the most useful to them, though many of them also understood why the formal trainings existed. The students valued opportunities to make meaning of what they were learning through discussing their responses to theoretical scenarios, so these should be built into future inclusion trainings with all students.

Additionally, as one student reported that they felt more comfortable having conversations with peers when they had already developed a sense of community with them, university administrators could explore how to incorporate a sense of community

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into other future trainings, such as collaborating with first-year peer mentor groups to conduct trainings a few weeks into a semester rather than inundating students with trainings before they have opportunities to develop community amongst their peer groups.

Implications for College Band Directors

In general, the implications for college band directors involve exploring how to intentionally create opportunities through which students can have the learning experiences described above. Though the development of an Inclusion Committee provided a space in which students could intentionally learn about and advocate for inclusion within the band program, the committee itself can only go so far. Due to the small size of the committee, the necessity for band members to select into participating, and the logistical challenges of any student committee, there exists a need for more dialogue opportunities about inclusion amongst the general band student body. In collaboration with student affairs professionals or other relevant university administrators, band directors could consider other opportunities to foster more intentional dialogue about inclusion, such as training student leaders as social justice peer leaders or bringing in a facilitator to work with individual sections to process their own perceptions of inclusion represented within them. Through providing these opportunities to explore inclusion within pre-established formal structures and spheres of community, students can both grow deeper in their understandings of inclusion and continue to talk with one another about how to foster inclusion within their spheres of influence.

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Finally, the professional development of band directors themselves around the topic of inclusion must be taken seriously. Considering that doctoral programs do not typically train aspiring college band directors in topics related to student support

(Scheivert, 2018) and that the professional association for band directors lacks even a definition of inclusion on its website, unlike that of student affairs professional organizations or the premiere K-12 music education organization (“About NASPA,”

2019; Love, 2016; “Mission and Goals,” 2016), there is clearly work to be done in this area. Perhaps learning from related professional organizations about their definitions would be a good place to start, in addition to providing mentorship programs for underrepresented band directors in order to encourage membership and retention of diverse representation in the field.

Strengths and Limitations

This study is limited in several ways. First, the qualitative methodology used in this study is not intended to create findings generalizable outside the context of the specific case (Jones et al., 2014). The themes found in this case may not be found in studies of other college marching bands, due to the individuality of each band member and the characteristics that comprise the band program. Additionally, confidentiality concerns limited my ability to highlight intersectional identities for many of the students.

Therefore, researchers, band directors, and student affairs professionals should not assume that these themes and conceptualizations of inclusion are present in all band programs. 211

This study was also limited by the participants chosen for the study, as well as those who volunteered to participate in the first place. Though I employed purposive sampling based, in part, on race/ethnicity and gender, the participant sample was still limited in that it lacked trans- or nonbinary individuals, Black or African-American students, or students who disclosed having a disability. Due to students’ knowledge of the content of the study during the recruitment period, students may have opted into or out of participating in the study for purposes specific to their experiences with inclusion

(positive or negative) in the program, which could also have skewed the data.

Additionally, it should be noted that any ten students’ stories cannot adequately represent the perspectives on inclusion present in a band program comprised of over 300 students, in addition to dozens of faculty and administrative staff, no matter how diverse or purposive the sample may be. As a White cisgender woman from an upper-middle class upbringing, who attributes my primary development in college to my band experience and related student organizations, my beliefs, assumptions, and identities most likely influenced how I interpreted the data found in the study (Creswell & Poth, 2018; Jones et al., 2014).

I encountered an additional challenge regarding assigning pseudonyms and multiple identities for students, especially due to the case study methodology of this study. Though the institution’s identity is confidential, the gatekeepers and I were concerned that members of this specific band would be able to identify study participants based on their multiple experiences and identities within the group, even despite the use

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of pseudonyms. As a result, I removed pseudonyms completely from some specific stories, modified some identifying information, and chose to label students as “Band

Members of Color” rather than naming their specific racial and ethnic groupings. These actions feel ironic amidst one of the findings that states that students with marginalized identities want their identities to be more visible, but confidentiality concerns necessitated these decisions.

The strengths of this study lie with the use of case study methodology in collecting multiple forms of data and multiple units of analysis, as well as the centering of college student band member perspectives. By allowing student interviews to predominate as the primary method of data collection and the driver of my analysis process, I was able to center the perspectives of a student population not deeply studied, while also using contextual data through other sources to provide a rich case description.

Even given the above limitations, this rigor and validity highlights the findings as significant conceptions of inclusion for college band members and provides the above implications for future research and practice.

Conclusion

Through a qualitative case study approach, this study examined college student band members’ understandings of inclusion. Whereas preexisting studies primarily address high school students’ experiences in band, and additional research exists on college students’ socially responsible leadership development and social justice education, I addressed a gap in the literature by centering college students’ 213

understandings and evaluations of inclusion within the band program, along with the roles they believed themselves to play in furthering inclusion within the band program.

Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological model served as a theoretical framework, demonstrating that individual band member characteristics and multiple levels of systems in the band members’ environments influence their understanding of inclusion. Individual band member characteristics included primarily leadership positions and year, though performer status, shyness, social identities, and whether an individual felt a deep sense of community also impacted their sense of belonging and inclusion within the group. The study noted various microsystems, including social identity groups, the band student organization, study groups, band committees, instrument sections, performance ability groupings, years of membership groups, and student leadership circles. These all interacted with one another to both foster a sense of inclusion as well as provide structure that inhibited or allowed the students to further inclusion within the ensemble.

The metaphor of tuning, or “recalibration,” was used both by participants to refer to periods of learning and change, and it serves as an overall representation of the students’ perceptions of inclusion. The band members all seem to be playing the same note, defining the term in similar ways by conceptualizing it as a sense of community and comfort within the ensemble. However, various steps can be taken to further inclusion, including navigating formal structures, developing an awareness of others’ experiences, and making identity visible through increased representation and celebration of difference. Through these steps, especially representing and celebrating differences, the

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idea of requiring all band members to conform to only one idea of a band member’s actions, background, and identities must be challenged.

Harro (2000) calls anyone engaged in furthering inclusion to think beyond the development of awareness and to continue the journey by seeking more widespread changes that must be formed by navigating formal structures. As evidenced by this study, this journey for band members can be aided significantly by an increased awareness from all stakeholders within the ensemble, including top-level band and university professionals who are capable of changing existing structures, music selection, and formal training to acknowledge students’ needs for education and support. Megan summarized this sentiment when she said that “everybody is responsible for helping” create an inclusive environment within the band because “if it just falls on one person, that’s a lot” of responsibility. Through students exercising inclusive practices in their spheres of influence, seeking to create larger structural changes through the various student groups and committees to which they belong, and education and involvement from band and university professionals, college band programs can continue recalibrating towards an ideal of inclusion that incorporates all identities and experiences into the group.

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Appendix A. Oral Recruitment Script to Students

Hello!

My name is Alaina Peters, and I am a Higher Education & Student Affairs Master’s student at Ohio State. For my master’s thesis, I am conducting a research project to explore college students’ experiences in marching band. I am particularly interested in and would welcome perspectives of students who represent a variety of experiences, including from diverse groups and identities. I am interested in this topic because I grew a lot through my own college marching band experience at Arizona State University, especially by collaborating with my peers, but I often wonder what that looks like for different bands at different universities.

To further understand the experience of band members at your university, I would like to get band members’ perspectives on their experience by conducting two 45-60 minute interviews with each participant. Interviews may take place in person or over a videoconferencing platform (ex. Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout, etc.). In order to thank you for your participation in the study, you will receive a $10 Amazon gift card for each interview you participate in.

In addition to conducting interviews with some of you, I also plan on observing some [inclusion] committee meetings. If you attend one of those meetings that I am observing, you will have the option to complete a consent form to allow me to observe you in that setting.

If you are interested in completing an interview, keep an eye out in your university email for an interest form within the next few days, and please fill it out as soon as possible. I’ll stick around for a little bit after practice today in case anyone has any questions, but you can also feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions as well.

Thank you for your time!

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Appendix B. Recruitment Email to Students

Dear [Institution] Marching Band Member,

If you are interested, please complete the following form: [link]. Your name, the name of your school, and other identifying facts will not be shared with anyone, including [institution] band faculty/staff. I look forward to speaking with you about your band experience. Please feel free to reach me by phone or email if you have any questions about this project.

Thank you for your time,

Alaina Peters Master’s Student, Higher Education and Student Affairs College of Education and Human Ecology The Ohio State University 360.561.0603 [email protected]

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Appendix C. Participant Consent Forms

Consent to Participate in Interviews (Students, Staff, & Faculty) The Ohio State University Consent to Participate in Research

Study Title: A Study of Band Members’ Perceptions of a College Marching Band Community

Researcher: Dr. Rebecca Crandall

Sponsor: N/A

This is a consent form for research participation. It contains important information about this study and what to expect if you decide to participate. Your participation is voluntary. Please consider the information carefully. Feel free to ask questions before making your decision whether or not to participate. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to sign this form and will receive a copy of the form.

Purpose: This research study seeks to understand how college band members develop a sense of community within a college marching band. Dr. Rebecca

Crandall, along with a graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program at The Ohio State University, will facilitate this project.

Procedures/Tasks: Participation involves: • Engaging in two interviews. Both interviews will be conversational in nature and will last between 45-90 minutes. Researchers will audio record and transcribe each interview. A paid transcriptionist may also transcribe interviews. • Have the ability to provide feedback to the researcher on the themes collected from observations and interviews, a process known as member checking, during the second interview.

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Safeguards for ensuring the privacy, confidentiality, and proper use of data are summarized below.

Duration: The research project will occur during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. The time commitment will be, at the most, three hours.

You may leave the study at any time. If you decide to stop participating in the study, there will be no penalty to you, and you will not lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. Your decision will not affect your future relationship with The Ohio State University.

Risks and Benefits: By participating in this study, you will have the opportunity to think about what you have learned from your experience in your college marching band so far, including how you have learned to collaborate with people with identities and backgrounds potentially different from your own. Reflecting on these concepts should allow for a better understanding of your own development and beliefs about college marching band. There is minimal risk involved in this study. During the research, participants may process through challenging experiences they have had in relation to finding a sense of community within the band or helping facilitate that for others. In the event that this occurs, the investigators will have resources from the university’s counseling center on hand.

You will also receive a $10 Amazon gift card at the end of each interview, regardless of your completion of the interview questions or desired interview length. For interviews conducted in person, the payment will be provided in person. For interviews conducted online, the payment will be provided via email.

Confidentiality:

Efforts will be made to keep your study-related information confidential. However, there may be circumstances where this information must be released. For example, personal information regarding your participation in this study may be disclosed if required by state law. Also, your records may be reviewed by the following groups (as applicable to the research): • Office for Human Research Protections or other federal, state, or international regulatory agencies; • The Ohio State University Institutional Review Board or Office of Responsible Research Practices; • The sponsor, if any, or agency (including the Food and Drug Administration for FDA-regulated research) supporting the study.

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All information used in publications and other public forums will be kept de-identified to protect your privacy; each participant will be given a pseudonym that researchers will use for material prepared for all publications and other public forums. The only individuals that will have access to collected observation and interview data are Dr. Rebecca Crandall and Alaina Peters. These will be the only individuals will access to the data and will keep such information in locked file cabinets or on password-protected computers. Your de-identified information will not be used or shared with other researchers.

The ensure accuracy of the researchers’ interpretation of the information you provide, the researchers will ask you if you would like to review initial themes collected from the research.

Incentives: By law, payments to participants are considered taxable income.

Participant Rights: You may refuse to participate in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

If you choose to participate in the study, you may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits. By signing this form, you do not give up any personal legal rights you may have as a participant in this study.

This study has been determined exempt from IRB review.

Contacts and Questions:

For questions, concerns, or complaints about the study, or you feel you have been harmed as a result of study participation, you may contact Dr. Rebecca Crandall ([email protected] or 770-265-4050).

For questions about your rights as a participant in this study or to discuss other study- related concerns or complaints with someone who is not part of the research team, you may contact the Office of Responsible Research Practices at 1-800-678-6251. Signing the consent form:

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I have read (or someone has read to me) this form and I am aware that I am being asked to participate in a research study. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have had them answered to my satisfaction. I voluntarily agree to participate in this study.

I am not giving up any legal rights by signing this form. I will be given a copy of this form.

Printed name of participant Signature of participant

AM/PM Date and time

Printed name of person Signature of person authorized to authorized to consent for consent for participant participant (when applicable) (when applicable)

AM/PM Relationship to the participant Date and time

Investigator/Research Staff

I have explained the research to the participant or their representative before requesting the signature(s) above. There are no blanks in this document. A copy of this form has been given to the participant or their representative.

Printed name of person Signature of person obtaining obtaining consent consent

AM/PM Date and time

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Consent to Participate in [Inclusion] Committee Observations (Students, Staff, & Faculty) The Ohio State University Consent to Participate in Research

Study Title: A Study of Band Members’ Perceptions of a College Marching Band Community

Researcher: Dr. Rebecca Crandall

Sponsor: N/A

Purpose: This research study seeks to understand how college band members develop a sense of community within a college marching band. Dr. Rebecca

Crandall, along with a graduate student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program at The Ohio State University, will facilitate this project.

Procedures/Tasks: Participation involves: • Being observed while in [Inclusion] Committee meetings. Researchers will take notes during these meetings.

Safeguards for ensuring the privacy, confidentiality, and proper use of data are summarized below. Duration: The research project will occur during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters. The time commitment will be, at the most, three hours. You may leave the study at any time. If you decide to stop participating in the study, there will be no penalty to you, and you will not lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. Your decision will not affect your future relationship with The Ohio State University.

Risks and Benefits: By participating in this study, you will have the opportunity to think about what you have learned from your experience in your college marching band so far, including how you 234

have learned to collaborate with people with identities and backgrounds potentially different from your own. Reflecting on these concepts should allow for a better understanding of your own development and beliefs about college marching band. There is minimal risk involved in this study. During the research, participants may process through challenging experiences they have had in relation to finding a sense of community within the band or helping facilitate that for others. In the event that this occurs, the investigators will have resources from the university’s counseling center on hand.

Confidentiality:

The ensure accuracy of the researchers’ interpretation of the information you provide, the researchers will ask you if you would like to review initial themes collected from the research.

Incentives: By law, payments to participants are considered taxable income.

Participant Rights: You may refuse to participate in this study without penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled.

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For questions, concerns, or complaints about the study, or you feel you have been harmed as a result of study participation, you may contact Dr. Rebecca Crandall ([email protected] or 770-265-4050). For questions about your rights as a participant in this study or to discuss other study- related concerns or complaints with someone who is not part of the research team, you may contact the Office of Responsible Research Practices at 1-800-678-6251. Signing the consent form: I have read (or someone has read to me) this form and I am aware that I am being asked to participate in a research study. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and have had them answered to my satisfaction. I voluntarily agree to participate in this study. I am not giving up any legal rights by signing this form. I will be given a copy of this form.

Printed name of participant Signature of participant

AM/PM Date and time

Printed name of person authorized to Signature of person authorized to consent consent for participant (when for participant applicable) (when applicable)

AM/PM Relationship to the participant Date and time

Investigator/Research Staff I have explained the research to the participant or their representative before requesting the signature(s) above. There are no blanks in this document. A copy of this form has been given to the participant or their representative.

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Printed name of person obtaining Signature of person obtaining consent consent

AM/PM Date and time

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Appendix D. Interest/Demographic Survey

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this study. Please respond to the following questions so I may learn some more information about you. You are free to skip any questions that you do not wish to address. One-word answers or short phrases are perfectly fine, though you may elaborate more if you wish.

Please note that completion of this form does not mean that you are guaranteed to participate in the study, depending on the number of people who complete this form. I, the researcher, will follow up with each person who fills out this form regarding whether they have been chosen for an interview.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please contact Alaina Peters at [email protected].

What is your name?

What is your email address?

What instrument do you play?

What is your year in the marching band?

Please list any leadership positions and/or special responsibilities you have—or have previously held—within the marching band, including membership in organizations affiliated with the band.

What is your academic program?

What is your year in your academic program?

How do you describe your race and ethnicity?

How do you describe your gender?

How do you describe your sexual orientation?

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How do you describe your socioeconomic status?

Have your parents or any other family members attended college before?

Please provide any other details about your personal background and identity that you see as relevant or important to you that you would like me to know.

“I have read the full recruitment email and am interested in being interviewed twice for 45-60 minutes either in person or over a videoconferencing platform. I understand the purpose of this study and that I may ask questions at any time to [email protected]. ”

• Yes • No

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Appendix E. Observation Protocols

Full-Band Rehearsal

Time Content of Description Observer Comments Observation (including Observer (S = setting, Actions) P = people, A = activities)

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Inclusion Committee Meeting

Physical Setting (draw diagram):

Participants:

Activities/Interactions:

Conversation Topics:

Subtle Factors (Informal/unplanned activities, nonverbal communications, what did not happen):

Observer Comments/Actions:

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Appendix F. Student Interview Protocols

Interview 1 “This is Alaina Peters interviewing [PARTICIPANT NAME] at [LOCATION] at [TIME], studying college students’ experiences in marching band.”

Main Questions/Areas for Discussion Possible Follow-Up Questions Interest in Music/Band: • What was the • What instrument do you play? joining process like • What year are you in? for you? • How did you get interested in performing in college marching band? Relationships Within the Band • If you were to take a • Can you tell me a story about a time when you new band member had a really positive experience within the band, under your wing, when you really felt like a part of the group? what advice would • Compared to the feeling you had during that you give them about experience, are there any times when you’ve felt fitting in? really excluded from the group? • [if they indicated • Can you describe your relationship to other they hold a students in the band? Who do people typically leadership position hang out with? within the band] I’m • Can you describe your relationship to [other] interested in student leaders in the band? learning more about • Can you describe your relationship with the band your leadership director and other senior staff? How would you position that you describe the typical relationship between students indicated on the and those staff members? sheet. Can you tell me about your position and what it entails?

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Salience of Social Identities • Why do you think [refer to demographic sheet, completed prior to you are most interview] conscious of those? • When you completed this questionnaire, you • Are there other wrote down some characteristics (called band-related identities) about yourself, which you may or may contexts in which not think about often. When you’re in band- the level you think related settings, what identities are you most about those conscious of? identities is different? (hanging out with band friends, rehearsals, travels) Influence of Band Experience • How do you know • What do you think you have learned from you’ve learned this? working with peers with different identities and • What do you do backgrounds, in the marching band setting? differently as a (What knowledge or experience?) result of what you’ve learned? Conclude interview, thank them for participating, let know they are welcome to remove anything at any time, discuss/schedule follow-up interview (if applicable) “When used in my study, your responses will be identified only be a pseudonym. Would you like to pick your pseudonym?”

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Interview 2 Member Checking • Show 2-page profile of band member experience and themes analyzed from Interview 1 to participant • Ask participant if they have any questions or clarifications they would like to ask/provide • Ask any clarifying questions needed of the participant

Supplemental Questions • Some researchers have noticed that students’ perceptions of inclusion are impacted both by formal learning experiences, where you might be learning about facts or concepts from an authority on the topic, and informal experiences, where you might be learning these topics simply by interacting or talking with other people. • Can you tell me about any formal learning experiences about inclusion you have experienced during college? What stood out to you the most? • Can you tell me about any informal learning experiences about inclusion you have experienced during college? What stood out to you the most?

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Appendix G. Staff/Faculty Interview Protocols

Band Director

Interview 1

“This is Alaina Peters interviewing [PARTICIPANT NAME] at [LOCATION] at [TIME], studying college students’ experiences in marching band.”

Main Questions/Areas for Discussion Possible Follow-Up Questions Interest in Music/Band: • What is special to you • Can you tell me about your journey with about college marching music? band? • How did you end up in the position you are • What is special to you in today? about this college • How did you get interested in performing in marching band? college marching band? Background Within Own College Marching Band • • I’d like you to think back to your own college marching band experience. Can you tell me a story about a time when you had a really positive experience within your band, when you really felt like a part of that group? • Compared to the feeling you had during that experience, are there any times when you felt really excluded from the group? Relationships Within the Current Band • How would you • Can you describe your relationship to describe the importance students in the band? of connecting with your band students on a personal level? How does this occur? • If you were to take a new band member under your wing, what advice would you give them about fitting in?

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Inclusion Perception – General and Within Band • When I say the word, “inclusion,” what does that mean to you? • How would you hope to see your definition of inclusion play out within the marching band? How does this compare with the reality of the band? • If you notice issues with inclusivity in the band, how do you go about addressing those? Have you done this? • How do you think students in the band might define inclusion? Inclusion Initiative within the Band • How are you personally • I understand that the marching band is involved in this working to develop inclusion initiatives. process? Could you tell me the story about how those came about? • Where are you currently at in that process? • What do students think about it? How do you know? Diversity & Equity in Relation to Inclusion • Since we know that there is an inclusion goal within the band, I’m curious to know what those terms mean to you. How would you define diversity? o How does diversity relate to your definition of inclusion? How do you observe that relationship playing out in the band? • How would you define equity? o How does equity relate to your definition of inclusion? How do you observe that relationship playing out in the band? • When you think about inclusion, are there terms other than those that we have discussed that are important to the way you define or perceive it?

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Salience of Social Identities • Why do you think you [have band director complete identity questionnaire are most conscious of identical to student recruitment questionnaire] those? • When you completed this questionnaire, you • Are there other band- wrote down some characteristics (called related contexts in identities) about yourself, which you may or which the level you may not think about often. When you’re in think about those band-related settings, what identities are you identities is different? most conscious of? (hanging out with band friends, rehearsals, travels) Influence of Band Experience • How do you know • What do you think students learn from they’ve learned this? working with peers with different identities • What do you think they and backgrounds, in the marching band do differently as a setting? (What knowledge or experience?) result of what they’ve learned? Some researchers have noticed that students’ • perceptions of inclusion are impacted both by formal learning experiences, where you might be learning about facts or concepts from an authority on the topic, and informal experiences, where you might be learning these topics simply by interacting or talking with other people. • Can you tell me about the formal learning experiences about inclusion that students experience within the band? What do you think stands out the most to them? • Can you tell me about any informal learning experiences about inclusion that students experience within the band? What do you think stands out the most to them?

Conclude interview, thank them for participating, let know they are welcome to remove anything at any time, discuss/schedule follow-up interview (if applicable)

“When used in the study, your responses will be identified only be a pseudonym. Would you like to pick your pseudonym?”

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Interview 2

Member Checking • Show 2-page profile of band director’s experience and themes analyzed from Interview 1 to participant • Ask participant if they have any questions or clarifications they would like to ask/provide • Ask any clarifying questions needed of the participant, especially regarding observations of rehearsals

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Inclusion Administrator

Interview 1

“This is Alaina Peters interviewing [PARTICIPANT NAME] at [LOCATION] at [TIME], studying college students’ experiences in marching band.”

Main Questions/Areas for Discussion Possible Follow-Up Questions Career Path • What is special to • Could you tell me about your career journey you about this college and what led you to this position? marching band? • What was your knowledge and experience with the arts, and music specifically, before you had this position? • What do you know about inclusion in the arts?... in this specific band program? Relationships Within the Current Band • Can you describe your relationship to students in the band? • Can you describe your relationship with the band faculty? What about other band staff? Inclusion Perception – General and Within Band • When I say the word, “inclusion,” what does that mean to you? • How would you hope to see your definition of inclusion play out within the marching band? How does this compare with the reality of the band? • If you notice issues with inclusivity in the band, how do you go about addressing those? o Have you done this? o How have you seen students do this? • How do you think students in the band might define inclusion?

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Inclusion Initiative within the Band • How are you personally • I understand that the marching band is involved in this working to develop inclusion initiatives. process? Could you tell me the story about how those came about? • Where are you currently at in that process? • What do students think about it? How do you know? Diversity & Equity in Relation to Inclusion • Since we know that there is an inclusion goal within the band, I’m curious to know what those terms mean to you. How would you define diversity? o How does diversity relate to your definition of inclusion? How do you observe that relationship playing out in the band? • How would you define equity? o How does equity relate to your definition of inclusion? How do you observe that relationship playing out in the band? • When you think about inclusion, are there terms other than those that we have discussed that are important to the way you define or perceive it? Influence of Band Experience • How do you know • What do you think students learn from they’ve learned this? working with peers with different identities • What do you think they and backgrounds, in the marching band do differently as a setting? (What knowledge or experience?) result of what they’ve learned?

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Some researchers have noticed that students’ • perceptions of inclusion are impacted both by formal learning experiences, where you might be learning about facts or concepts from an authority on the topic, and informal experiences, where you might be learning these topics simply by interacting or talking with other people. • Can you tell me about the formal learning experiences about inclusion that students experience within the band? What do you think stands out the most to them? • Can you tell me about any informal learning experiences about inclusion that students experience within the band? What do you think stands out the most to them?

Conclude interview, thank them for participating, let know they are welcome to remove anything at any time, discuss/schedule follow-up interview (if applicable) “When used in the study, your responses will be identified only be a pseudonym. Would you like to pick your pseudonym?”

Interview 2

Member Checking • Show 2-page profile of inclusion administrator’s experience and themes analyzed from Interview 1 to participant • Ask participant if they have any questions or clarifications they would like to ask/provide • Ask any clarifying questions needed of the participant, especially regarding observations of rehearsals

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