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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

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just terrible that the university is pulling the wool over our eyes! I was fortunate enough to have had him as a professor and he was great!!! I wish him the best and that he goes to a university that is lucky enough to have as great of a professor as he is!
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

Maybe they should fire Prescott or Coltman which ever made the decision to fire Chapman. What he did is as common as walking across the street and actually the person responsible for his dismissal should feel honored that his staff is being approached by much bigger programs. I'm sure if the guy did take the job he wouldn't have left without trying to help get a good replacement. Business has changed and its time the current Department head realizes that.

For that matter how about the Prez when he decided to take the job at FAU did Jeb tell him to take a hike, pack your crap and get out.

The wrong person was fired keep Chapman get rid of idiot that fired him.
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

i agree! I wish there was something I could do because he was great to all of his students. BOO!
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

Because someone started a thread just on this topic - the unfair firing of the FAU band director - I will paste in my comments from another thread below.

(I would like to ask the starter of this thread (and perhaps the moderator) if they would remove the director's name from the subject line and body copy to prevent any fall-out from hurting him later on, thanks to Google and such.)

I have been planning to write President Frank Brogan about my feelings regarding the band director and his dismissal.

I wrote to Brogan days after the news leaked. I received a brief response weeks later, not from Brogan but from William Covino, dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. I thought that was somewhat rude. (The letter is reproduced below.)

Brogan did not step in and stop the unfair firing of the band director. His subordinate restated the lie that the director had resigned. But the director again (to me personally) reiterated that he was forced to resign by FAU.

The FAU response letter glowed about the money FAU is sinking into the band and how plans are under way to find a good replacement … bla, bla, bla … but the letter did not answer my questions, nor explain why a good man was fired simply for applying for a much bigger job elsewhere (and being honest enough to inform his superiors).

Since the incident, Brogan has not approached the band (as he did many times in the past), and I think he has only been on the basketball floor during a women's game. Why has his support suddenly waned?

Orders (made by the current director) for new instruments and other needs were canceled by the school. Supposedly, the purchases are on hold until another director is hired.

The new hire will be required to bring in new music and routines because much of what the band now used is arranged / copyrighted by the current director. Talk about spinning wheels.

Also, plans to attend away basketball and football games are on hold and perhaps canceled. The band had planned to be at any men's or women's NCAA Dance games. Word is, the band would still go to any Dance games this year. At least two trips to away football games had been planned, but nothing is certain now.

The current director, a real FAU supporter who made the band into a major cheering section as well as a form of entertainment, ill be employed by FAU until the end of the spring. He told me he would be willing to let everything blow over and continue as director and really likes his students and the school. He has a lot of support from his students, but they have been instructed (by FAU) to keep their mouths shut.

I hope the students realize they have every right to speak out about this travesty and use public pressure to keep this man in his job. Nothing can be done to them by FAU - in punishment for their opinions - that would not result in FAU losing lots of bucks in court.

But will the university swallow its pride and do the right thing?

Here is the response letter:

Dear Mr. Markey:

President Frank Brogan has asked me to respond to your January 12 email, and I am pleased to do so. Thank you for your interest in Florida Atlantic University and its band program.

This fall, FAU took steps to revitalize its marching band program. The University invested approximately $250,000 and human resources to expand the original program, which debuted in fall 2005 with new traditionally styled uniforms and a new band director - (name removed). This investment has also allowed us to field a full-size pep band, which is currently playing at a number of FAU basketball games.

We were saddened to receive Mr. Chapman?s resignation letter; however, we are pleased he will remain at FAU through the spring in order to prepare the band for the next season of performances. At this time, the College of Arts and Letters is posting the position and will bring in qualified candidates with great vision to fill this important role. We are committed to developing a nationally recognized band, and we are looking forward to the FAU band maintaining a presence on campus and in the community and continuing its growth and strides toward the next level of excellence.

Sincerely,

William A. Covino
Dean
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters


I can post my original letter - which, in part, asked why it was all right to fire the band director but not other officials who simply thought above moving up (including Brogan, who got the FAU job while he was vice governor) - if anyone wants to read it.
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

From what I can understand from rumblings and some grad assistants of Dr. Chapman's is that Dr. Prescott was not the one who did the firing, I am pretty sure it was Coltman.

It is a very sad thing and we will miss him bunches. This whole things just throws so many wrenches into the band its not even funny. We will have a new director who will want to do things his/her way. Even though we only had 1 year we started to develop traditions (pep rallys through campus at night, playing in the stands among the crowd, playing the fight song at the begining and end of every practice to get pumped up, ect). We will get new music. Also we recorded all of our half time songs and had plans on releasing a commercial CD after we had 3 years of half time shows, so who know what will happen with that. Plus with the school worried about finding a new band director it puts a hold on writting the half time shows for next year as well as planning to travel to a few away games, and purchasing new instruments.

He is a VERY good teacher and even non-music people who I know that have had him for jazz and other classes loved him!

~Daphne Markey

AEA
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

I read in the UP last week that someone actually organized and held a protest of the shooting of that raving Indian River Towers student. Why? Because of the injustice of yet another police shooting of a black man.

But …. ah … well … the lunatic was … well … not black. Caucasian, in fact.

Oops. What a waste.

It would be nice of a protest of some sort were held in favor of keeping a valued educator on campus.

'Anyone there want to run with that idea?
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

I think Chapman should re-apply for the position screw Coltman. LET HIM CONTINUE TO MAKE FAU GROW 8-)

FIRE COLTMAN SHOULD BE SEEN ON POSTERS AROUND THE CAMPUS IF SHE IS RESPONSIBLE.

Let him build the traditions he started and finish the plans. If he still wants to go then let him make the choice.
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

this is just terrible...
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director


BMarkey said

I read in the UP last week that someone actually organized and held a protest of the shooting of that raving Indian River Towers student. Why? Because of the injustice of yet another police shooting of a black man.

But …. ah … well … the lunatic was … well … not black. Caucasian, in fact.

Oops. What a waste.

It would be nice of a protest of some sort were held in favor of keeping a valued educator on campus.

'Anyone there want to run with that idea?

Please excuse me for being so slow in comprehending this one. Can you please elaborate?
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Feeling regarding the firing of the band director

All I know about the "black" shooting protest is what I read in the University Press.

http://tinyurl.com/rqt4a

He's not black?

By Rachael Joyner
Issue date: 2/16/06 Section: News

The same day Zachary Carroll was shot, yellow fliers started showing up all over the Boca campus.

"Show your opposition to this act of racism and police brutality," they read. "It is our duty as students, teachers, and campus employees to demonstrate against this crime. We must show that we will not tolerate, excuse, or ignore this kind of behavior."

The fliers called for a protest at FAU police headquarters on Friday, Feb. 10, at 1:00 p.m. The only contact information was a cell phone number for a guy named "Mike."

FAU police Lt. Chuck Aurin called the phone number and spoke to anthropology major Michael Prysner. Aurin asked Prysner why he wanted to protest racism in this instance.

"We are sick and tired of police officers shooting black people," said Prysner, who's white.

Aurin replied that Carroll is white.

"Oh…I didn't know that," he said.

The conversation ended pretty quickly after that, Aurin said.

Perhaps that's why only four students showed up for the protest, which ended less than 20 minutes later.
Prysner said he was confused because, "all the reports on the Internet said he was black and everyone in my classes said he was black."

But he's still defiant about his protest: "You see this kind of thing too often. I was really upset about it, so I decided to do this protest."

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