Apparently River City’s going to have a boys’ band! Let us rephrase that: UWO is going to copy “The Music Man” and institute its own walloping marching band. Right now the search is on for a new Professor Harold Hill (you will remember he was a con man, his ultimate con being the purchase of instruments and uniforms, though no music instruction was provided). Chancellor Leavitt is cheering it on. I hope the band plays Give Them the Old Razzle Dazzle. It would be appropriate.
Had it not been for Marian the Librarian, Hill’s ploy would have gone a’glimmerin and he would have left that little Iowa town sad, wise, and suspicious of anyone coming up with a newfangled notion.
“The Music Man” taught us three lessons. First, that damned boys’ band was gonna be expensive ($750,000 just to warm up). Second, the plain folks out there (dare we mention students?) are not that readily enthusiastic just because they hear the noise and see the glitter. And third, failed promises sometimes distract us from what is really important – the quality of education the University provides – quality, a newfangled idea!
Maybe a fourth: can we find a Marian the Librarian to save us from this folly?