Our band trailer was recently renovated, the band raised funds, and received a grant from the school district to do so. Once the renovations were finished we noticed that the name on the side of the trailer had been changed. It had always said "The Dowagiac Chieftian Marching Band" now it does not. It now says something along the lines of " Dowagiac Union Schools Chieftians." We have yet to receive and explanation on to why our original name was changed on the trailer the band owns. Our band works very hard and we take pride in our logo and trademark, this incident upset alot of students because some feel as though they are "not receiving credit" or "do not feel appreciated now that our name has been removed." Please sign the Petition to get the band the well deserved explanation and hopefully our name back!
Updates
October 21, 2020
Seeing 250 names on this list proves that our community values the identity of this band as much as all the students currently in it. This makes me feel so much better about the fight to get our name back where it belongs.
Reached 250 supporters
October 19, 2020
October 17, 2020
Seeing the numbers climb reminds me how much the original name meant to every student who spends their weekends on that bus. If we reach the next milestone, we will have the leverage needed to demand a real conversation with the district about our identity.
September 20, 2020
Seeing this much support for our band makes me feel like our pride in that trailer is finally being recognized. It proves that people understand why our identity matters to the students who pour their hearts into every performance.
Reached 100 supporters
September 12, 2020
58 Comments
That is correct, but someone higher up wouldn’t allow the band to spend their fundraiser money on the purchase of a new trailer. That is when they decided to use part of that to rehab the inside of the current trailer and use grant money to cover the cost of the exterior. The band never knew that using that grant money came with strings.
As a former alum, whose teaching career was formed from Dowagiac band, I am deeply sadden to hear this. The band and the arts deserve the same recognition athletics get, as being vitally important for the growth of every student. Give the respect back to the students who cherish activities that aren’t “sports”. I’ll still consider band a sport
Come on Dowagiac give the band some credit. As a mother of a previous band member it always made us proud to see that on the side of the trailer. Going to competitions for 4 years was nice having that on the side of the trailer.
Removing “Dowagiac March Band” from the trailer is a travesty to the program and our hard working students. If you are not going to correct the error, then the Band/student deserve an explanation as to why this unjust decision was made and how it was done without involving those that are effected the most.
No one else uses this trailer except the band. The district owns other trailers for it to use when needed. The band paid for this trailer years ago and owns this trailer. The trailer should have the bands name on it.
The company doing the renovations was authorized to make that change - follow the paperwork ...
We have always been the "Dowagiac Chieftains" and I believe it was Joe Winchester who faught help us keep the name we just had change the image to a more realistic image . Dowagiac has well earned the right to our name on anything!! We are the "DOWAGIAC CHIEFTAINS"
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Our band trailer was recently renovated, the band raised funds, and received a grant from the school district to do so. Once the renovations were finished we noticed that the name on the side of the trailer had been changed. It had always said "The Dowagiac Chieftian Marching Band" now it does not. It now says something along the lines of " Dowagiac Union Schools Chieftians." We have yet to receive and explanation on to why our original name was changed on the trailer the band owns. Our band works very hard and we take pride in our logo and trademark, this incident upset alot of students because some feel as though they are "not receiving credit" or "do not feel appreciated now that our name has been removed." Please sign the Petition to get the band the well deserved explanation and hopefully our name back!
Updates
October 21, 2020
Seeing 250 names on this list proves that our community values the identity of this band as much as all the students currently in it. This makes me feel so much better about the fight to get our name back where it belongs.
Reached 250 supporters
October 19, 2020
October 17, 2020
Seeing the numbers climb reminds me how much the original name meant to every student who spends their weekends on that bus. If we reach the next milestone, we will have the leverage needed to demand a real conversation with the district about our identity.
September 20, 2020
Seeing this much support for our band makes me feel like our pride in that trailer is finally being recognized. It proves that people understand why our identity matters to the students who pour their hearts into every performance.
Reached 100 supporters
September 12, 2020
58 Comments
Please change the name back. The Band and Band Boosters...present and former...have always worked so hard to provide our Band with the things that the School Budget didn't have money for...including the trailer.
That is correct, but someone higher up wouldn’t allow the band to spend their fundraiser money on the purchase of a new trailer. That is when they decided to use part of that to rehab the inside of the current trailer and use grant money to cover the cost of the exterior. The band never knew that using that grant money came with strings.
As a former alum, whose teaching career was formed from Dowagiac band, I am deeply sadden to hear this. The band and the arts deserve the same recognition athletics get, as being vitally important for the growth of every student. Give the respect back to the students who cherish activities that aren’t “sports”. I’ll still consider band a sport
Come on Dowagiac give the band some credit. As a mother of a previous band member it always made us proud to see that on the side of the trailer. Going to competitions for 4 years was nice having that on the side of the trailer.
Removing “Dowagiac March Band” from the trailer is a travesty to the program and our hard working students. If you are not going to correct the error, then the Band/student deserve an explanation as to why this unjust decision was made and how it was done without involving those that are effected the most.
No one else uses this trailer except the band. The district owns other trailers for it to use when needed. The band paid for this trailer years ago and owns this trailer. The trailer should have the bands name on it.
The company doing the renovations was authorized to make that change - follow the paperwork ...
We have always been the "Dowagiac Chieftains" and I believe it was Joe Winchester who faught help us keep the name we just had change the image to a more realistic image . Dowagiac has well earned the right to our name on anything!! We are the "DOWAGIAC CHIEFTAINS"
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Please change the name back. The Band and Band Boosters...present and former...have always worked so hard to provide our Band with the things that the School Budget didn't have money for...including the trailer.