The University of Wisconsin football team’s next scheduled game at the University of Michigan’s Big House is set for Nov. 20, 2010. Given their luck there the past two years, the UW Marching Band might want to think about sitting that one out.

But then again, that’s a long way off.

And if indications from UW Band Director Mike Leckrone prove to become reality, there might indeed be a culture change within the now infamous marching band by that time. Yesterday, the Herald’s news department reported on specific changes Leckrone and the Offices of the Dean of Students have enacted, including hiring a “liason” to assist students in dealing with the stresses of being both a student and a band member and reorganizing supervision on road trips.

However, the Wisconsin State Journal printed an editorial three days ago calling for the UW administration to fire Leckrone if the hazing culture fails to end. While I respectfully disagree that the situation is as simple as that, there is no doubt Leckrone faces an incredible amount of pressure from here on out.

The State Journal’s editorial offered a simple “either-or” choice: “Either Leckrone gets the band to stop the senseless, repulsive hazing of younger members, or UW officials replace Leckrone with someone who can.”

But the situation isn’t as simple that. If anybody can get a group of 315 overworked college students to act like perfect little angels 24/7, that person deserves a book deal, television show and a lot more than the salary Leckrone is receiving.

Should UW fire football coach Bret Bielema for the actions of a fullback who beat up his girlfriend on Regent Street? Should UW Housing Director Paul Evans get kicked by the wayside if kids don’t stop puking in the dorm bathrooms? My gut tells me neither of those would happen. And if indications from several band members are true, Leckrone is highly respected within the band, even more so than by UW fans and alumni. Bringing in a new director would not necessarily give band members the same type of motivation to perform at their best on or off the field as Leckrone offers.

At this point, the pressure to end the hazing should not be as much on Leckrone as it is on the upperclassmen and section leaders within the band. Leckrone and UW were forced to suspend the band for this fall’s Penn State football game, leaving the group the laughing stock of the nation, including a sarcastic mention on ESPN’s College Game Day. That game against Penn State was definitely different — the band’s sounds blasting out of Camp Randall’s speaker sounded more like noise than music. Having the group there in person, though, is something special.

Leckrone has taken steps in the right direction, and while he should do his best to ensure responsible conduct when the band travels, his job title is band director, not babysitter. Band members need to step it up themselves or face losing one of the university’s most visible and praised individuals. I would be shocked to hear a band member endorse the notion of firing Leckrone, but his fate now rests almost entirely in their hands.

In some sense, Leckrone and the band are lucky the university went through a transition of leadership from the first incident on the Michigan trip two years and the one this fall. Back in 2006, then-Chancellor John Wiley threatened to enact a change in leadership should any other incidents occur, writing to Leckrone, “We either solve the problem now, and the band you have built to such legendary proportions survives, or we look at virtual extinction for a significant period of time.”

Had Wiley still been chancellor this fall, the band could have faced a much greater punishment than the one-game suspension they endured this time around — and certainly Leckrone’s job was in much greater jeopardy under Wiley. Lucky for all of them, Dean of Students Lori Berquam and our current chancellor, Biddy Martin, are giving them another shot.

So marching band, just stop it. Please. Not just for fans’ sakes or Leckrone’s sake but more so for your own. Over the years, the UW Marching Band has built a storied tradition and legacy that, if cut off, would serve the university a great disservice. The band deserves to have its fun, but must be responsible about it — and keep it all out of Ann Arbor.

Tom Schalmo ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism.

Due to a reporting error, this column should have said the UW marching band was suspended for the football game against Ohio State. We regret the error.