On Stolarik, On Controversy

Disclaimer: None of this is based on official information, only word of mouth. It's my reaction to everyone else's reaction, and is not in any way meant to reflect or represent the thoughts or opinions of anyone but me.

I'm upset.

No, I'm not mad that Dr. Justin Stolarik has accepted the position as director of the Pride. No, I'm not mad that it won't be Dr. T. (I am sad that she will be moving on, but I'm not angry.) I'm honestly not even sure if I'm mad that it sounds like the student opinion wasn't heavily regarded.

I'm mad because I was just woken up by a text saying, "Wakefield should have read your blog post." I'm mad because, as of writing this, the only news I've heard about the position is from Twitter and Facebook - and it's mostly people complaining about it. I haven't gotten an email (and that's not a huge deal - whoever is working on the announcement probably wants to craft it carefully.)

Fellow Pride members, with all due respect, I ask you to CHILL. 

We all love Dr. T, that much is clear. She had the highest student turnout at her interview, we've all had the chance to talk to her one on one, and we know her teaching style. Because of this, she was a shoe-in. The bias was strong. But not strong enough.

Think about who was on the selection committee. Dr. Wakefield, Dr. T's mentor and the reason she came to OU in the first place. He knows Dr. T better than any of us and would be able to assess her fit for the job possibly better than the rest of the committee. Then there's Coach Thrailkill. That's the big one. You all know how I feel about Thrailkill's band - it's the golden age of the Pride. That man knew how to make the Pride cool, entertaining, and fun to be in. The Pride was his baby.

I trust both of these men completely. Wakefield is an extraordinary musician and conductor, and Coach would never do anything to compromise the quality of the Pride. Put simply, they know more than we do. The selection process involved more than picking a name out of a hat. Whoever the committee decided on, they must have been wholly convinced it was the right decision.

So now I say, welcome and congratulations, Dr. Stolarik! I didn't go to your interview, so I don't know you or really anything about you. All I know is that the committee liked you.

So am I upset that Dr. T didn't get the job? Upset isn't the right word. I don't even think disappointed really describes my feelings there. I'm sad to see a friend go, but I also want to congratulate her. She's moving on, too, and I'm sure she'll succeed wherever she ends up. I'm damn sure of that.

The Pride is going to change. It was always going to change. We're getting a new director. And that's not upsetting. It's exciting.

What's upsetting is how I found out. A text. A tweet. An angry Facebook status. Leaking information early never ends well.

What's upsetting is the number of threats to quit I've seen already. I said in my last post that retention is awful. If you say you're going to quit because of the new director, you're not helping. Stay and help the band through its transition period using your prior experience. We, not the director, are the lifeblood of the band. The band is strong if we're strong.

Let's not look to the future with fear of change, but excitement for new possibilities. Don't give up because we didn't get Dr. T - be joyful because we got Dr. Stolarik. It's going to be great.

This'll probably spark some anger in some of you. Not all of you will agree with me (in fact, I think few of you will.) But Twain be damned, I'm saying it. I have more thoughts on the matter, but I don't want to stuff this post full of them. I'm willing to talk to anyone about my thoughts in person, through Facebook, through comments here, etc. If you have any questions or comments, don't hold back.