The Colorado State University Marching Band will suspend the routine popularly know as the “trombone suicides,” according to University officials.
In the routine, trombone players line up shoulder-to-shoulder and alternate swinging their instrument and ducking.
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“The marching band faculty and the director of the school of music, theater and dance, had reviewed some concerns about the safety of students in the band routine known as Trombone No. 5,” said Gary Ozzello, CSU vice president for external relations.
The review ended in suspension.
A few years ago the name of the routine officially changed to Trombone No. 5, to be more appropriate, but the performance has been a marching band tradition since 1995.
Current members of the marching band said they were unable to comment because of a contract restriction.
However, some student fans said they find the change unnecessary.
“If someone got hurt that’s the risk you run,” said Jose Diaz, sophomore business marketing major. “They should just keep doing it anyway. It’s tradition at this point and everyone else does it.”
Senior English Linguistic major Austin McKenzie said he found the suspension to be unwarranted.
“If you screw up and hurt someone that’s kind of a lack of skill, just like cheerleading or football,” McKenzie said.
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Members of the University would not confirm a specific instance that led to the suspension.
Ozzello said the marching band’s top priority was safety of their players.
“We’re always cognizant of any and all safety concerns and continually review anything related to our program to address any issues,” Ozzello said.
Collegian Reporter Tatiana Talesnick-Parafiniuk can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @TatianaSophiaPT.
bois234 • Sep 6, 2016 at 2:11 am
They should continue to do it……but in SUPER-SLOW MOTION.
No possibility of injury, and the tradition continues! 🙂
Laurie Hanlon • Sep 3, 2016 at 4:46 pm
My son is a current Bruce who had the honor of doing trombone suicides last year (his freshman year). They were a HUGE factor in him wanting to go to CSU since the very first time he saw them performed in Denver’s Parade of Lights when he marched as a freshman in high school. He and all his fellow Bruce’s LOVE doing them, have NEVER been forced to do them, and except for some minor bumps/bruises and an occasional backache there has not been any serious injury. The section leaders have worked very hard over the last few years to continue to make them as safe as possible and minimize risk of damage to the schools trombones. The cheers from the crowd whenever these are performed is always deafening…it is a great way to pump up the fans before any Football game! It would have been a great way to open the new Football Stadium in 2017!!!!
The Bruce’s all said they would be more than willing to sign a liability waiver to continue the tradition if safety/liability was the real concern. All the Bruces typically have wanted to do them, but they have never forced anyone and have always allowed members to sit out if they are not feeling up to it on a particular day for any reason. As someone noted in another reply Chearleaders get hurt, Poms dancers probably get a pulled muscle here and there, and football players…well…you get the point.
The school siting “safety” concerns is simply the “politically correct” thing to say so they make the decision was about concern for the students vs. protecting their bottomline in $ to repair any trombones damage (which typically they put on the students anyway). We pay over $1600/yr in general fees to the University to support all kinds of activities. If they took just $1 out of those fees for “Number 5 Repair Fund” that would be $30,000 a year, more than enough to cover the cost of repairs.
I can only hope that the CSU/Colorado community rises to the occasion and lets the administration know that this is not acceptable, and protest for them to bring them back, and SOON!
Marissa Isgreen • Sep 3, 2016 at 2:02 pm
Gary Ozzello is not the VP for external relations. The VP for external relations is Tom Milligan.
mia • Sep 3, 2016 at 1:15 am
Has anyone ever been hurt at CSU performing this routine?
Jon Hanlon • Sep 3, 2016 at 7:12 pm
I can think of exactly one injury directly related to suicides, but we immediately made changes to the routine (two to be exact) to ensure that it never happened again AND that same person has been very vocal that citing “safety concerns” is very poor and dishonest reason to discontinue a 20 year old tradition. And as somebody whose face has been hit by other people’s trombone slides a few times, it doesn’t hurt and anyone who claims otherwise is being a drama queen.
Source: Current CSU trombonist who is friends with said person.
Laurie Steele • Sep 2, 2016 at 11:52 pm
NFW! #embarassing!
Allie Wilde • Sep 2, 2016 at 10:18 pm
As a former Bruce and CSU alumna, this is VERY VERY disappointing and an outright disregard for a time-honored tradition of the band. This makes me sick to see that political correctness has found its way into the spirit of Colorado State University. When I started back in 2007, EVERYONE was well aware of the risk of suicides and we were all properly trained by our section leaders and the great Dr. Steven Moore on the importance of safety. But clearly, a tradition dating back 25 years means nothing to the spineless, self-centered directors and president/heads of the music department. You are only trying to cover your own butts rather than maintain the amazingly fun, crowd-rallying, wholly CSU spirit No. 5. Disgraceful, sickening display of political correctness. C-State, I am disappointed. I will always be proud to be a Ram, especially since I was a Bruce when the infamous Trombone Suicides were known coast to coast and the defeating sounds of the cheering crowd got louder when all of us Bruces lines and began shouting ‘left down left down left down…’ and the drum line simbals crashed to the beginning of No. 5. I will tell my children that the PC police have ruined the once great CSU marching band. Pathetic!!!
funkytown • Sep 6, 2016 at 3:56 am
It doesn’t have anything to do with pc correctness. It has to do with the university cya. The University is legally separating themselves so nobody’s parent can sue them for damages. That’s all. I’d continue to do what you want…just know that the band directors are probably not going to make them a sanctioned part of the show. It sucks….but there ya have it.
Denise Morgan • Sep 2, 2016 at 11:23 am
Then we should stop having cheerleaders standing on top of each other. The football players should stop hitting each other and we shouldn’t be allowed to play rugby or soccer anymore either. This is just crap. It is entertaining to the crowds and if the students in the trombone section doesn’t want to participant they should be allowed to opt out. When will this stop?
Allie Wilde • Sep 2, 2016 at 10:20 pm
We were allowed to opt out…by not joining the Bruces. However, suicides were the main reason many of us joined (the other being a part of something bigger, and the music, and the sexy uniform!)
Denise Morgan • Sep 6, 2016 at 2:16 pm
Then I think someone should start a petition to get it back and soon!