Yellowing uniforms and tearing seams made Richard Suk realize his prized marching band does not look as flashy as it once did.
After fundraising efforts fell short, a pursuit of perfection led the director of the Marching 110 to request money from the Ohio University General Fee Committee to replace uniforms years past their prime.
“We’ve reached a crisis with the uniforms,” Suk said. “Some are so unrepairable we’ve had to pull them out of the stock.”
The lowest bid Suk could find for the new uniforms, which each include a hat, plume, coat and trousers was $172,000 — about $125,000 short the amount Suk was able to fundraise for the uniforms. Students buy their own hats, T-shirts and gloves, he said.
The band, currently with 238 members, will order 300 uniforms to make sure there are enough sizes for band members year by year, Suk said. The band has only three staff members, including Suk, who run its operations, relying heavily on student support.
“We’re under pressure to get the order in as quickly as possible. The uniform manufacturer calls me every day and asks (about the order),” Suk said. “We don’t need cash right now. We just need a university official to say, ‘Yes, we will pay this sum.’”
Jennifer Kirksey, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis, said the president’s office will not comment on funding possibilities until it receives a recommendation from the General Fee Committee this spring.
Suk said he first notified Kirksey in February that fundraising efforts had fallen short.
“Dr. Suk told us that uniforms usually depreciate over nine years … but we’ve gotten 14 years out of those uniforms,” said Zach George, president of Student Senate and chair of the General Fee Committee. “I’m definitely going to push for the 110.”
George said the request was reasonable, as the 110 gives OU a lot of “bang for the buck” by raising OU’s visibility outside the university and racking up millions of views on YouTube with videos of its performances.
The 110 has applied for funding out of the $800,000 General Fee reserve that was previously allocated to the multipurpose center, of which about $450,000 has yet to be spent, George said.
The committee helped provide the 110 with new instruments last year, allowing band members to increase the longevity of the new instruments by using them only for performances.
The 110 will perform in Rome next month as the band continues to carry OU’s name worldwide.
“We’re taking off on May 5 and coming back on May 13,” Suk said. “Not one dime of budget money pays for that. The students all pay for that themselves — $2,400 a piece.”
DD195710@OHIOU.EDU
