Columbia University’s marching band has reportedly self-cancelled.
According to the Ivy League college’s newspaper, The Columbia Spectator, the infamous troupe said in a letter that it voted to disband after a Saturday meeting to address anonymous Facebook posts accusing band members of misconduct.
“The Band has maintained a club structure founded on the basis of racism, cultural oppression, misogyny, and sexual harassment,” the letter read. “While substantial efforts have been made in recent years toward undo-ing decades of wrongdoing, we as a Band feel ultimately that it is impossible to reform an organization so grounded in prejudiced culture and traditions.”
The letter from the band, which had a reputation for pulling pranks, said: “The current Band hopes that the Band’s dissolution will provide relief to the present suffering of the Columbia community and time to heal from the decades of harm caused by this organization.”