Dear Echo Editors,
I’ve been hearing a lot of criticisms of Airband from my classmates and professors recently. They’ve said that students put too much time into it and they allow it to drive a wedge into friendships. I just wanted to write to The Echo to share my opinion on all of this.
Let me say first that I love Airband. It’s Taylor’s most unique tradition! It’s something that everyone can get excited about. I love working together with my wing and my sister wing to have a great performance.
I’ve heard some people say that Airband takes up too much time. That’s just not true! My wing started practicing for Airband in February. We practiced for two hours, two times a week for the first few weeks. As Airband got closer we moved up to five practices a week. That is a reasonable time commitment for just about anyone. It isn’t even a whole-semester commitment! Even athletes can commit to that because most of them are business majors and don’t have much homework to do anyway.
Some people also say that we focus too much on Airband and not enough on homework. My parents, in particular, have asked me a lot of questions about this. I don’t understand their frustration. I’m passing all my classes! Besides, several of my wing’s Airband rehearsals were 11 pm – 1 am. That’s great because it doesn’t even interfere with my normal homework schedule at all. If it causes me to miss a few hours of sleep, I just get an extra shot of espresso at The Bean the next morning. I also chose to attend Taylor because of its unique community. If I just wanted a diploma, I could have just gone to a community college.
Finally, I’ve heard some other students criticize how we treat each other at Airband rehearsals. I disagree with this criticism 100%. It’s just healthy competition! Besides, Airband is a great opportunity to represent your wing. If you don’t want to commit to what the wing is doing, then you probably don’t live in Wengatz and Olson anyway. Our Airband captains also work super hard on choreographing and making every rehearsal run smoothly. They’re people too! If they have an outburst and make someone upset, it’s hardly their fault! Airband is a big deal and needs to be prioritized over other things if you even want a chance at winning.
In the end, the time, commitment, and emotions that go into practicing for Airband are worth it! I would recommend that every Taylor student do it at least once in their 4 years at Taylor. Every year I look forward to my parents visiting for the weekend and having my moment on the stage!
Sincerely,
Jonathan Stiver
