Parents, students worried about effects of DeKalb marching band suspension

Marching band students in DeKalb County fear a taint on their reputations, and on their potential to earn college scholarships, as a result of recent revelations of "inappropriate" activity at two high schools.

"We've got a lot of kids who are going off to college, and this could affect their scholarship ratings," Keith Sailor, the band booster president at Southwest DeKalb High School, said Thursday.

Officials said Wednesday they have documented rule violations at two high schools but wouldn't give details. That prompted a suspension of marching band activities at the district's 21 high schools. The head office ordered it during an investigation that could take two months to complete. All marching band events will be canceled, except in special cases, until it's over.

For musicians such as Stephen Nesmith, the suspension couldn't have come at a worse time.

A shy teen, he blossomed among his fellow trombonists at Southwest DeKalb. Practice taught him discipline, and the academic requirements gave him goals. He fears a loss of that camaraderie and regimen, said his mother, Gloria Nesmith. Also, it's his senior year, and he is looking forward to music-related studies in college and worries what the vague revelations will do to his prospects.

"I've not seen him so worried about anything," Gloria Nesmith said.

She added that the timing of the suspension was terrible -- first because this is the time of year students apply for band scholarships, and second because they are now studying for midterms.

DeKalb officials began asking questions after Southwest DeKalb graduate Robert Champion died in an alleged hazing incident connected with his role as a drum major at Florida A&M University. Another Southwest DeKalb graduate at FAMU, Bria Hunter, suffered a broken leg in another alleged band hazing incident. Two of the accused in her case also were from Southwest DeKalb, although the school district's findings revealed no incidents at the high school.

The two student-related incidents that DeKalb school officials documented prompted more questions, school system spokesman Walter Woods said. "And the superintendent [Cheryl Atkinson] reached the conclusion that we needed a full investigation."

Officials are being deliberately vague about what happened because they want to encourage tipsters to come forward, Woods said.

Numerous parents called their principals after Wednesday's announcement, some with questions, some with complaints and others "that came forward with information and said, ‘I want you to look into this,' " Woods said.

Sailor, at a meeting he called Thursday night that drew about 50 band parents to Pesos Mexican Cantina near Southwest DeKalb, urged them to call Atkinson's office. "Ask why is it that my child is being suspended from band programs without any evidence or anything," Sailor said.

One of the parents, Jacqueline Miller, whose son is a French horn player in the band, emphasized Sailor's point.

"You need to tell us why you went to this extreme," she said, although no school district officials were at the meeting even though Sailor said they had been invited. "We need to know."

Wednesday's announcement cast some uncertainty on other events, such as the Metro Atlanta Spring Jamboree, a battle of bands that draws up to 12,000 attendees and raises thousands of dollars for the schools. About 10 bands were scheduled to compete in the event in April.

Reggie Brayon, the event's producer and creator of "Drumline Live," said even if band activities resume before spring, the unspecified infractions that led to the suspension could drive down ticket sales and participation.

Brayon, a former band booster president at Southwest DeKalb, said Wednesday's announcement "made it sound like the whole county, all the schools, were full of hazing."