For the past ten weeks, the Stanford Band has been on indefinite suspension, putting not only our summer plans as Dollies, but our plans for the next year into disarray and chaos. When we were chosen to be Dollies in March of last year, we made this commitment with the expectation that we would be performing at the same events as the previous year’s dollies had done: football games, volleyball games, basketball games, charity events and other rallies.

As Dollies, we are given only one year, a year in which we willingly put a great deal of our social and academic lives on hold in order to perform with the Band and to represent Stanford University. The personal sacrifices the five of us have made are considerable: classes have been put off, jobs have been turned down, internships cut short, and opportunities to travel changed to accommodate what we expected to be a traditional Dollie summer and year.

Imagine our shock and disappointment when, upon preparing to come back to campus for the six-week rehearsal period in which we prepare our new dances for football season - a considerable task of learning over 30 dances - we were forbidden to formally rehearse for the upcoming season. Furthermore the University has denied us rehearsal space on campus - most specifically the use of our brand new dance studio in the new Band Shak.

By continuing the band suspension, the administration is not only robbing the Dollies and innocent band members of our chance to practice and perform, but they are demoralizing our faith in the administration’s ability to make fair decisions which punish the guilty and respect the innocent. Additionally, we find the lack of communication between the administration and the band management to be unprofessional.

Although we fully respect the hard decisions the administration has to make, we, as Dollies and as Stanford students, do not appreciate the administration’s continual postponement of rational decision-making. For the past weeks, we have been waiting with baited breath for any word with regard to the future of our Dollie year, and again and again the University has delayed and stalled. Whether or not we will be allowed to rehearse or perform and when has not been revealed to us. Increasingly distressing is the fact that we feel there is nothing we can do to expedite or remedy the situation. In conclusion, we can only hope that the administration will recognize its students’ best interest as its top priority.

We can only hope that the Band, one of the largest all-volunteer student service groups on campus, which brings energy, spirit, and fun to the student body, will be released from suspension. We can only hope that the individuals responsible will be punished appropriately, and that we, as Dollies, have not sacrificed our Freshman spring, our summer, and the entirety of our Sophomore year for nothing.

Respectfully yours,

The 2006-2007 Dollies