Jump to content

For all you marketing types- SLU hiring


ARon

Recommended Posts

15 minutes ago, Old guy said:

-if I came into a boatload of money I would donate to make the Blue Light go all over both campuses where everyone would know each time the Billikens won a game/match/meet and yes, there would be a button that a player/coach/fan would press to make basically all of Midtown glow in the Blue

I cant even remember the last time that blue light lit up, sad... also this idea needs to come to fruition. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, slufan13 said:

Top priority for whoever gets this job is to put an end to the #teamblue mentality that is serving us so well

Unfortunately, this position has no control over that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Young Charles said:

I cant even remember the last time that blue light lit up, sad... also this idea needs to come to fruition. 

 

I noticed it on when walking up to the SIUE game I believe because the women's team won earlier in the day.  Could have been a different game, not sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, SLUAvtr said:

So, I WAS going to post this in the first Band thread, but since the questions were posed here again, I'll put my $0.02 within this one.  I've been waiting for the dust to settle a bit to weigh in, but there is some light in this dark tunnel.

First and foremost, to let everyone know, yes, there will be a Band there Saturday...albeit, it will be an even lighter than usual "Winter Break" Band due to all the commotion of the past few weeks.

Here's where the Band stands at the moment:

  • An interim director (under contract) has been chosen and will lead the Band through the next 3 months.  What happens after that is up to the AD to decide, but for now, there is a new, very capable director.
  • We had 2 virtual meetings on Monday internally to talk through everything.  The vast majority (students and alum), feel that we should still show up for the team and YOU, the fans.  We owe it to the team and you all to be there, regardless of any "wrongdoings" by the AD.
  • The "scripted-ness" of the game isn't going to change anytime soon (much to the chagrin of many Band members [insert point of contention]).  Whether or not the Band can re-tap into our greater repertoire instead of the cheers will remain to be seen.  I personally wish and hope that whoever takes the reins of the gameday details can FINALLY understand that you can only script the in-game stuff up to a certain point.  Each game has its own personality...it ebbs and flows, has highs, has lows, it's a living, breathing animal.  If the Bills go on a run, we should immediately roll into "SAINTS"/the fight song, get the crowd revved up!!!  THEN do your advertisements, then...let the musicians, you know, the people who KNOW what songs we have that fits the moment, and let us finish it going back into the whistle.  That's how it used to be when Dr. B and early in Austin's tenure.  Unfortunately, over the years, the [micro]management thought that scripting everything and not deviating from the script is what creates an "atmosphere" and "builds traditions".  We all know how many times we've seen the charged atmosphere just vent out of the arena faster than someone opening a door in space...let the BAND figure it out, we've done it for 40+ years!!!!
  • With all that said so far, the topic regarding the mental health issues is legit.  Quite a few of the alums are upset that they were not dealt with (STILL) and that's one of the main reasons why they're holding out and/or are just done altogether.  We discussed that this should be dealt with in an in-person meeting between the students and the AD (NOT virtually) in order to aire and address those grievances.  You have to remember, we're in a different time than we were before the pandemic.  Mindsets have changed, including the capacity to deal with high stress situations.  I myself have had to deal with it regarding my work and home life.  EVERYONE nowadays already lives at a heightened state of stress, whether its school, work, kids, health, sickness, economy, etc.  There's only so much one can take, and everyone has different thresholds.  ANY extra stress and you'll probably say, "I'm out", which is what happened.  Also, everyone is busier than we ever have been.  If there's been a schedule established for months, changing it at the last second is tough...it's even tougher during the week when you have homework, a job, etc. to juggle.  Some can do it, some can't.  Expecting 30+ people to drop everything at the drop of a hat is just unrealistic and puts undue/un-needed pressure in an already busy time.  If you knew you were going to be hosting these events, PLAN AHEAD!!!  These events had at least a month+ lead time, don't procrastinate and wait until the last minute, not too much to ask.
  • And you may question the validity of why the alums cared about the mental health issues, allow me to elaborate further.  The Band has pretty much always been one big family.  Yes, most would say we're like brothers and sisters, but it's more than that.  Most of the alums, whether they admit it or not, are or have served as mentors/parent-like figures for the undergrads.  Think about it, we're about the only group on campus, that I'm aware of, that has direct student/alum interaction.  This dynamic allows the alum to serve as a conduit to the undergrads in not only passing along/handing down Band traditions, which helps promote keeping the Band "staffed", but also to be that steady presence in their recently up-ended lives (think back to when you were a Freshman/Sophomore in college and disagree with me).  For example, at the very first rehearsal of the season, we try to sit undergrads/alums in every other chair in order to promote interaction and "break the ice" between undergrads/alums.  This usually the catalyst to one of the closest relationships an undergrad will EVER have in their college career, and more often than not, it usually does.
    So, when the AD decided not to address the mental health concerns of the undergrads, the family hive mind kicked in...wrong one family member (in this case multiple family members), not to mention messing with the head elder (Austin), and now you've wronged us all.  Additionally, most of us alums are parents (I are one), grandparents, educators, principals, bosses, leads, supervisors, etc., and it doesn't take much for our protective parental nature to kick into overdrive.  The proverbial beehive was kicked.  We feel it really is a mess, and some feel/felt that this MUST be addressed before any faith back can be put back into the department.
  • For those wondering/questioning how the proverbial sausage is made, ANY impact to our personnel make-up is a hard hit.  SLU is not like the football/P6/big time schools at all.  Most of those schools have a music major in individual instrumentation (e.g. woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.) and have a plethora (woo hoo, got that in!!!) of musicians to choose from.  As of this past year, if I'm not mistaken, SLU did away with all of that, sans piano and vocal/singing.  What would have been one of our ONLY good supply chains is now even further dwindled and recruiting new people becomes just THAT much harder.  We did have some discussion yesterday on how to go about bettering that, but that's for a later date.
  • One of the last topics I'd like to highlight is incentive(s), which directly relates to the recruiting/"staffing" mentioned above.  Everyone knows nothing comes free nowadays.  So, why do people choose to be in the Band and do what we do, game in, game out, season after season?  It's the same reason(s) why humans do a certain activity over another.  It's to meet the basic human need for gratification/wholeness/happiness.  Which is met/manifests itself differently for each individual.  For most students, they choose to be in the Band not just for the music and the joy of playing, but for the perks: obtaining credit hours to satisfy SLU's fine arts requirements, while additionally getting scholarships to help offset tuition (any little bit helps).  As for the alums, we use the Band as a way to satisfy our joy of playing music after our own tour of duty/college career, while having fun with our "family", taking in a game rooting for our alma mater.  Unfortunately, in recent past, most of these incentives that make all of a season's hassles (rehearsals, schedule juggling, blood, sweat, tears, etc.) worthwhile, have either been diminished and/or taken away in its entirety.  No more credit hours/$$$ for the students, less playing time/good music selection for the alums...what did one expect would happen?  The balance was upset.
    Now, the good news is that the scholarship/stipend has been reinstated for the students.  However, the class remains in purgatory, mainly because of the above situation with the music department (and not their fault, just a sign of the times).  For the alums, all we ask is to free the music selection/scripted-ness up and leave it to us so we can do what we do best...kick ass, take names, and be the stable tradition we've been for 40+ years.  

Whew, sorry for all that, but there's a lot of facets to all this.  We definitely appreciate all the support people have shown/given us, and hopefully this can turn into a good learning experience for all.  But, we are in the 'Show-Me State', so, show us that wholistically care about the Band as much as the team, Dance, Cheer, the almighty $$$, and so on, ESPECIALLY when major issues regarding students is brought to you.  Show us you can trust the Band to do the job like we've known how to do for so long.  We aren't asking for complete autonomy, just in the places it should be.  It really shouldn't be TOO much to ask, at least from my viewpoint.  K, hopping off the soapbox!

Out of good post reactions, but thank you for explaining everything I was too lazy to type, lol. This hits every nail on every head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, BrettJollyComedyHour said:

Out of good post reactions, but thank you for explaining everything I was too lazy to type, lol. This hits every nail on every head.

For sure!  It's definitely a hot mess, and I didn't even mention the unceremonious "retirement" and "honorary Band members" incidents that took place the past men's and women's games...I'm particularly irked by the latter..SUPER uncool!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, SLUAvtr said:

Compliments of '05.  Starts at the 1:39:15 mark...I'll let you watch and react.

Thanks, yeeeesh that does sound cringey. @Pistol I appreciate you guys doing a deep dive on the situation. I swear @Midtown Madness is a better publication than the PD for SLU sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, SLUAvtr said:

So, I WAS going to post this in the first Band thread, but since the questions were posed here again, I'll put my $0.02 within this one.  I've been waiting for the dust to settle a bit to weigh in, but there is some light in this dark tunnel.

First and foremost, to let everyone know, yes, there will be a Band there Saturday...albeit, it will be an even lighter than usual "Winter Break" Band due to all the commotion of the past few weeks.

Here's where the Band stands at the moment:

  • An interim director (under contract) has been chosen and will lead the Band through the next 3 months.  What happens after that is up to the AD to decide, but for now, there is a new, very capable director.
  • We had 2 virtual meetings on Monday internally to talk through everything.  The vast majority (students and alum), feel that we should still show up for the team and YOU, the fans.  We owe it to the team and you all to be there, regardless of any "wrongdoings" by the AD.
  • The "scripted-ness" of the game isn't going to change anytime soon (much to the chagrin of many Band members [insert point of contention]).  Whether or not the Band can re-tap into our greater repertoire instead of the cheers will remain to be seen.  I personally wish and hope that whoever takes the reins of the gameday details can FINALLY understand that you can only script the in-game stuff up to a certain point.  Each game has its own personality...it ebbs and flows, has highs, has lows, it's a living, breathing animal.  If the Bills go on a run, we should immediately roll into "SAINTS"/the fight song, get the crowd revved up!!!  THEN do your advertisements, then...let the musicians, you know, the people who KNOW what songs we have that fits the moment, and let us finish it going back into the whistle.  That's how it used to be when Dr. B and early in Austin's tenure.  Unfortunately, over the years, the [micro]management thought that scripting everything and not deviating from the script is what creates an "atmosphere" and "builds traditions".  We all know how many times we've seen the charged atmosphere just vent out of the arena faster than someone opening a door in space...let the BAND figure it out, we've done it for 40+ years!!!!
  • With all that said so far, the topic regarding the mental health issues is legit.  Quite a few of the alums are upset that they were not dealt with (STILL) and that's one of the main reasons why they're holding out and/or are just done altogether.  We discussed that this should be dealt with in an in-person meeting between the students and the AD (NOT virtually) in order to aire and address those grievances.  You have to remember, we're in a different time than we were before the pandemic.  Mindsets have changed, including the capacity to deal with high stress situations.  I myself have had to deal with it regarding my work and home life.  EVERYONE nowadays already lives at a heightened state of stress, whether its school, work, kids, health, sickness, economy, etc.  There's only so much one can take, and everyone has different thresholds.  ANY extra stress and you'll probably say, "I'm out", which is what happened.  Also, everyone is busier than we ever have been.  If there's been a schedule established for months, changing it at the last second is tough...it's even tougher during the week when you have homework, a job, etc. to juggle.  Some can do it, some can't.  Expecting 30+ people to drop everything at the drop of a hat is just unrealistic and puts undue/un-needed pressure in an already busy time.  If you knew you were going to be hosting these events, PLAN AHEAD!!!  These events had at least a month+ lead time, don't procrastinate and wait until the last minute, not too much to ask.
  • And you may question the validity of why the alums cared about the mental health issues, allow me to elaborate further.  The Band has pretty much always been one big family.  Yes, most would say we're like brothers and sisters, but it's more than that.  Most of the alums, whether they admit it or not, are or have served as mentors/parent-like figures for the undergrads.  Think about it, we're about the only group on campus, that I'm aware of, that has direct student/alum interaction.  This dynamic allows the alum to serve as a conduit to the undergrads in not only passing along/handing down Band traditions, which helps promote keeping the Band "staffed", but also to be that steady presence in their recently up-ended lives (think back to when you were a Freshman/Sophomore in college and disagree with me).  For example, at the very first rehearsal of the season, we try to sit undergrads/alums in every other chair in order to promote interaction and "break the ice" between undergrads/alums.  This usually the catalyst to one of the closest relationships an undergrad will EVER have in their college career, and more often than not, it usually does.
    So, when the AD decided not to address the mental health concerns of the undergrads, the family hive mind kicked in...wrong one family member (in this case multiple family members), not to mention messing with the head elder (Austin), and now you've wronged us all.  Additionally, most of us alums are parents (I are one), grandparents, educators, principals, bosses, leads, supervisors, etc., and it doesn't take much for our protective parental nature to kick into overdrive.  The proverbial beehive was kicked.  We feel it really is a mess, and some feel/felt that this MUST be addressed before any faith back can be put back into the department.
  • For those wondering/questioning how the proverbial sausage is made, ANY impact to our personnel make-up is a hard hit.  SLU is not like the football/P6/big time schools at all.  Most of those schools have a music major in individual instrumentation (e.g. woodwinds, brass, percussion, etc.) and have a plethora (woo hoo, got that in!!!) of musicians to choose from.  As of this past year, if I'm not mistaken, SLU did away with all of that, sans piano and vocal/singing.  What would have been one of our ONLY good supply chains is now even further dwindled and recruiting new people becomes just THAT much harder.  We did have some discussion yesterday on how to go about bettering that, but that's for a later date.
  • One of the last topics I'd like to highlight is incentive(s), which directly relates to the recruiting/"staffing" mentioned above.  Everyone knows nothing comes free nowadays.  So, why do people choose to be in the Band and do what we do, game in, game out, season after season?  It's the same reason(s) why humans do a certain activity over another.  It's to meet the basic human need for gratification/wholeness/happiness.  Which is met/manifests itself differently for each individual.  For most students, they choose to be in the Band not just for the music and the joy of playing, but for the perks: obtaining credit hours to satisfy SLU's fine arts requirements, while additionally getting scholarships to help offset tuition (any little bit helps).  As for the alums, we use the Band as a way to satisfy our joy of playing music after our own tour of duty/college career, while having fun with our "family", taking in a game rooting for our alma mater.  Unfortunately, in recent past, most of these incentives that make all of a season's hassles (rehearsals, schedule juggling, blood, sweat, tears, etc.) worthwhile, have either been diminished and/or taken away in its entirety.  No more credit hours/$$$ for the students, less playing time/good music selection for the alums...what did one expect would happen?  The balance was upset.
    Now, the good news is that the scholarship/stipend has been reinstated for the students.  However, the class remains in purgatory, mainly because of the above situation with the music department (and not their fault, just a sign of the times).  For the alums, all we ask is to free the music selection/scripted-ness up and leave it to us so we can do what we do best...kick ass, take names, and be the stable tradition we've been for 40+ years.  

Whew, sorry for all that, but there's a lot of facets to all this.  We definitely appreciate all the support people have shown/given us, and hopefully this can turn into a good learning experience for all.  But, we are in the 'Show-Me State', so, show us that wholistically care about the Band as much as the team, Dance, Cheer, the almighty $$$, and so on, ESPECIALLY when major issues regarding students is brought to you.  Show us you can trust the Band to do the job like we've known how to do for so long.  We aren't asking for complete autonomy, just in the places it should be.  It really shouldn't be TOO much to ask, at least from my viewpoint.  K, hopping off the soapbox!

Love love love this post. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully the new person can do something to address the traffic issues.  Not really marketing  related.  But It took over 40 minutes to get into the parking garage.  There were a lot of people still trying to get into the game halfway through the first half.  I could see where a first time fan or a casual fan would’ve bother coming back.  Then you have to wait 30-45minutes just to exit.  I don’t know what can be done but it’s not a good situation.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/6/2023 at 2:28 PM, wgstl said:

That light should be going till midnigt at the earliest too.  Speaking of, do they still do the light? Haven't noticed in a while. 

They do. I saw it this evening coming home from U City on I64 and am looking at it right now as of 10pm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...