Do you ever hear about the group that is present at our basketball games? No, I do not mean the Spirit Squad. I am talking about the group that has the instruments in their arms and is being conducted by one of our very own students here at CSU Bakersfield. The group that spends most of their nights rehearsing and playing their hearts out in order to build a sense of school pride. It is CSUB’s Pep Band that is making all of that noise in order to enhance our experience at these games.  

  Our Pep Band is made up of both music and non-music majors who devote their time to our school in order to liven up our games. These are students who juggle up to twelve classes, as music majors take seven to 12 classes regularly, and/or work full-time. This group also currently has 40 students enrolled who meet every Thursday night at 7 p.m. 

  Think of it though, some of these students are here from 8:45 a.m. until their rehearsal and/or a game is over. That makes for almost a 12 hour school day. Most of these students are in at least three ensembles due to their love for music, and the growth they receive by working with their conductor and with one another. It is the dedication of our students in the Pep Band that keep our games going. Remember being in high school and having a field show that everyone was obsessed with? I sure do. But, did we think of thanking the students then? No.  

  Here we are now at a university where we are blessed to have a band to cheer for our teams. It may not be a large-scale field show, but when did we last look over to our Pep Band and see what they had going on? When was the last time the spotlight was on our band?  

  With that being said, when was the last time we all thanked our Pep Band? When was the last time we attended a band or orchestra concert? We all regularly attend a basketball game to cheer on our school’s team, but what about the group that sometimes makes up half of our audience? How many of our students are at the band’s events? 

  Now that these questions have been raised, if we want to change our culture and promote unity, then shouldn’t we start by acknowledging the group that cheers the loudest? Our loud, enthusiastic, talented Big Blue Rowdy Crew?