Close call for Penn Band's gig at Lafayette

But until this week, they have never been told they could not play. When travel manager Heidi Saffer made a routine call to confirm the band's appearance at this weekend's football game at Lafayette University, she was told that not only does Lafayette no longer have a band, but they had already hired a halftime act. The band had invested $500 for a bus to Lafayette and had scheduled field and music rehearsals to prepare for the game. In addition, 55 band members had agreed to perform on a weekend when the band's ranks will be thinned by the Yom Kippur holiday. And executive board members discovered that the Lafayette athletic department had already sent sideline passes for band members. As one might expect, band members were upset. "It would be unprecedented for us not to play at a Penn football game," Band Vice President Stephen Birmingham said earlier this week. "I was kind of shocked," said College junior Tom Gordon. "I figured that marching bands are enough a part of the football game that [Lafayette] would respect the fact that we have a band even though they don't." The problem was resolved when Carolyn Schlie, the University's associate director of athletics, spoke with Lafayette Dean of Students Herman Kissiah and arranged for the band to perform with the high school band that Lafayette had already hired. "It was basically a big communication problem," said executive board member Michael Brose, an Engineering senior. Ivy League bands meet yearly to discuss intercollegiate travel and performances, but since Lafayette is part of the Patriot League football conference, their band was not included.

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