The UW-Madison Marching Band has two traditions – a tradition of wild popularity with fans and, according to university administrators, a tradition of “crude and lewd” hazing-related behavior.

After incidents on the band’s bus on a return trip from Ann Arbor, Mich., the weekend of Sept. 23, involving “vulgar behavior, lewd dancing by semi-nude men and highly sexualized banter,” UW-Madison chancellor John Wiley put the band on probation. According to a story in The Wisconsin State Journal, further incidents would lead to a ban on travel and, possibly, suspending performances.

According to the article, lewd behavior is a recurring problem in the band. University officials cited incidents in previous years, such as band members telling a woman to suck on a sex toy, women being forced to kiss each other to gain access to bus bathrooms, and older band members demanding that younger band members run errands and refill their beer cups.

These incidents shift the public focus from the band’s performances to its bad behavior. Punishing the whole band is an appropriate course of action because, given the recurring nature of these incidents, the individual culprits are part of a larger problem.

Understandably, no one wants to name names and get their friends in trouble, but band members who knew about the behavior and didn’t come forward were only propagating it.
In his handling of this situation, Wiley went out of his way to send a message to other organizations that such conduct is unacceptable. The band, like a sports team, represents Madison and even the UW System. Lewd acts by a few members, and tolerance of them by the rest, cast a negative light on the university.

In the end, any kind of punishment probably won’t put a complete stop to hazing, at least not in less-supervised places. But holding the whole band accountable sends a message that no one should participate in degrading behavior or allow it to continue.