Obviously, the number of band members have decreased every year since Oliver has arrived and this is mostly because the band is poorly funded. Since the band will have new direction next year, and without a doubt, benefits such as stipends will be out of the question for next year for sure, making it even more dificult to retain the current people participating. Therefore, I assume that it's going to take a damn long time before the band is ever going to be successful again. Why would Oliver leave now so suddenly? I think it definitely has something to do with his relations with the university, whether it be with the fine arts department, athletic department, or the university as a whole. He didn't even bother to tell us to remain in marching band despite his departure and why should he? I think he's pretty pissed off about the whole situation here and this was enough for him to step aside.

But again, why should I speculate about all of this stuff. Although it's natural for myself and other band members to think of reasons for why Oliver quit, it's really none of my business and I really don't care to know the 'real' reason why he's leaving. I'm just a little stunned and hurt that he's leaving because it feels like he's giving up on the band in a sense. I almost gave up, but I came back partly because Oliver personally encouraged me to do it, saying that I was needed. Now he's the one thats leaving. Think about how that makes people like me feel.

So yeah, there will be more factors for me to decide upon coming back. The most important one is if our drum line director, Keith Lloyd is coming back. If he's not and Parks takes over, I won't come back for sure. But we'll also have to see about how good this new director will be and that will be among many other factors left for me to decide if I should give it another year. This was a good year and I'm glad I did band again. However, I'm not so sure about how bright the future will look and I really don't want to be left in the dark.