'It's the reality': UNC marching band and dance team's season ends with furloughs

Following staff furloughs, the Marching Tar Heels’ season has been suspended indefinitely due to budgetary cuts, along with that of the Carolina Girls dance team, which falls under the same umbrella as the marching band. 

UNC Athletics had previously announced its staff would be taking budget cuts, reducing its staff, and leaving some permanent full-time positions unfilled.  

“We’ve basically furloughed all of our staff that were working with the drum line, guard and dance team,” Jeffrey Fuchs, the director of University bands, said. “It’s the reality of the times, and it’s all hinged on the fact that without performance opportunities, as much as we hated to do it, it made sense at this time.”

The dance team was entering its second year with the marching band and with new coaches Cory Morgan and Summer Renner. One of Morgan's main concerns was how the decision would affect the four seniors across the dance team. 

“The seniors are kind of the backbone of the team,” Morgan said. “We are really sad that it turned out this way, but they will always be a part of our team and our future and our legacy that we are trying to create here, so we are really thankful for them for being a big part of that while they were here.”

These changes come amid announcements regarding attendance at home football games. The UNC athletics department announced on Sept. 22 that Kenan Memorial Stadium will be opening to fans at seven percent capacity for football games. Seniors from the band, dance team and cheer team will be allotted tickets as fans on Oct. 10, when UNC takes on Virginia Tech. 

“I’m sad that my final year as a Carolina Girl did not turn out like I had hoped, but I know that decisions such as these are never taken lightly,” Naijha Nsehti, a senior captain of the dance team, said. “Right now, what is most important is the health and safety of our students and community.”

The dance team had been practicing remotely through Zoom before the announcement. Although there are clear difficulties that come with holding a dance practice remotely, the coaches lauded their team for keeping camaraderie despite the unusual circumstances.

“The Zoom practices still kept the team a team, which was really cool,” Renner said. “They were taking it upon themselves to have like one-on-ones with each other just to get to know the new kids. I think that’s really important.”

The band initially planned to hold socially distanced meetings before UNC pivoted to online-only classes. Fuchs and his team had also made the decision to not risk playing brass or woodwind instruments.

As the band runs in conjunction with a one-hour class, in-person meetings or practices were no longer an option. Both Fuchs and the dance coaches clarified that the band members and dancers have already completed all of the requirements for the class. Fuchs did not close the door on a return for the team if they were able to begin performing at games.

“If the reality comes to pass that they will perform, we will reengage their staff members accordingly,” Fuchs said. 

Fuchs said that his main goal all along has been to preserve as much of the senior experience as they possibly could, and provided the students with advice on how to deal with hardship. 

“There's two ways to handle adversity," Fuchs said. "One is to react to it, and the other is to respond to it. I think that we all have to respond to what's going on and continue to make the best of what is given to us.

“My hope would be that they would look back at their last three years and how many great experiences they’ve had and not let this one fall take away from all the positives they have experienced.”

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