Barbara Hollimon Goodson ’81, Director of Advancement, Cal Band
“Hi, Barbara? Matt was called out of town in an emergency and won’t be able to direct the Cal Band on Saturday at Stanford. We’re hoping you’ll be able to step in for him.”
Without skipping a beat I said, “Yes, of course!” After some discussion of logistics and details, we hung up and I carefully put down my phone. The reality of the situation had slowly dawned on me that in 2023, I was about to be the first female director of the University of California Marching Band. This was a dream of mine, but one I did not think I would ever experience.
In 1973, the Cal Band was forced to accept women for the first time, due to the threat of losing funding from the ASUC under Title IX. The Cal Band had been exclusively male since its inception as the University Cadet Band in 1891. To say the Band’s leadership in 1973 resisted admitting women is an understatement, yet this was the new reality.
The first cohort of 21 women in Cal Band were made to feel they had to perform better than their fellow male recruits. These women rose to the occasion and rightfully earned their places on the marching field. They also set a tone of excellence for all the recruits that followed. The envelope of alumni encouragement and support continues today.
In Cal Band, we identify ourselves by our first year, rather than the year we graduated. Our affinity is with our fellow “Newmen.” My first year was 1977, so the transition after Title IX to an inclusive group was relatively new. Then and now, I believe the males in my Newman year were as pro-women as we females were.
What was the mechanism for women to advance in Cal Band? My fellow first-year ’77, Sue Mattson, reminded me of the prevailing sentiment at the time: “We women never really bought into any ideas that were floating around about women not being up to par with men in the Band. It almost feels like our blind spot, looking back, that we expected – despite sometimes active resistance [from some men] – to be fully integrated into the structure of the Band.”
Take, for instance, calling first-year members “Newmen.” When I first heard that term, my fellow recruits and I thought, “You have got to be kidding me.” But as we made it through the Fall Training Program, I came to feel it was more of an honorific – that I could be included as a Newman regardless of my gender.
Adding to the reasons those in the all-male Cal Band resisted including women is that the Band’s marching style is extremely strenuous, and learning how to “march your spot” is rigorous. In the early days of women in Band we were told to our faces that we couldn’t march as well, play as loud, learn as fast, or perform as well as the men. In addition, the uniforms were designed for the male body, including the entire jacket, vest, and cape resting over suspenders, forcing women to completely disrobe in order to use the restroom. What do you do? You go to the bathroom “in pairs” or more, and you hold each other’s uniforms. You make it work.
So what constituted the “fighting back” element of instituting full equality for women in the Cal Band? I think it was the “you have got to be kidding me” mindset. A guy tells you to your face you are too small and weak to be a good performer. You say, “You have got to be kidding me.” And then you go out and perform better than him. You hear that since women had never been director’s assistants, teaching assistants, or served as Drum Majors, Student Directors, Public Relations Directors, Senior Managers, or Executive Committee Secretaries that it wasn’t possible. And then women who were Newmen in 1977 broke those barriers. It was because all of us, women and men, heard ridiculous statements and traditions and said, “You have got to be kidding me.”
The Cal Band Alumni Association is one of the largest and most active organizations on campus. Alumni who represent the full spectrum of personal expression support the efforts of the current Band by providing institutional memory so they can make informed decisions. We alumni relate how the Cal Band both exemplified and disregarded best practices during our tenures for perspective. We can and do learn from the past.
As with society in general, the work to promote and ensure equality for every Bandsman rested and continues to reside with all Bandsmen. This has not always been easy, yet the pushback to denigration is prevalent. Students, confronted with discrimination still say, “You have got to be kidding me.” Then they go out and change the world!
You can support the continuing diversity and excellence of the Cal Band by loudly cheering them on at sporting events, and by making a gift.
Photos one and two courtesy of Barbara Hollimon Goodson. Photo three, credit Brittany Hosea-Small.