Note: Thoughts expressed in the columns and letters of the opinions section are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of the CW editorial staff.

There is a very fine line between freely expressing an unpopular opinion and ignorantly employing shock tactics to draw attention or spice up otherwise poor writing. I’m not sure where Mr. Folk’s opinion from Friday falls on this scale, but I do know that it is unnecessarily insulting and tactless. It is directed not only at an organization that very visibly represents this University, but also at the large group of students making it up, and who deservedly take a tremendous amount of pride in the work put in and the final product achieved – which Mr. Folk so insensitively lambasted. However, Mr. Folk, you did raise a question that legitimately deserves an answer: what exactly does the Million Dollar Band (of which I am a member) do, in halftime and otherwise?

Please allow me to enlighten you (as well as any other curious, if less ill-mannered, readers). The MDB rehearses 6 days a week throughout the first semester, in addition to our two-week camp and other commitments, totaling about 250 hours of work in all kinds of imaginable weather conditions. We perform at football games, pep rallies, high school contest exhibitions, fundraisers, parades, and other school functions, all without the benefit of any kind of band room or indoor facility. We learn and perform three halftime shows each year, in addition to our pregame show and our very recognizable cheers and stand tunes. We take pride in everything we do, but the halftime show is what we spend the majority of our time on, the very culmination of our hard work. So you must understand that when you insult the band and our halftime programs (albeit with tired Lindsey Lohan similes), you are demeaning each individual member of the MDB and the amount of work we do to properly represent the University.

As to your question of halftime formations, I realize that you personally might not be able to comprehend anything more complicated than straight lines and four-letter words, but I assure you that the sets (as they are properly called) we form do legitimately make sense. Most simply put, each set contains a variety of shapes interacting with each other. Very few of the sets we march could be named as one shape, but that does not at all cause the MDB to look like “Picasso on crack.” Rather, the complexity of our sets match the music we are playing remarkably well, forming one synergistic halftime show.

Now, I respect your right to make suggestions for improvements to our halftime shows. Really, I do. But I hope you realize that the three examples you gave (Ohio State, Texas, and Tennessee) all came from those schools’ PREGAME shows. It is a completely different genre from halftime, which you readily admitted, so I would appreciate a little more journalistic effort from you in this department, especially when the pride and dedication of so many are at stake.

Bottom line, you have every right to state your opinion. But the next time you’re considering ignorantly trashing one of the University’s finest and most recognizable organizations, take more than five minutes to write the article and actually do some research.

Daniel Harris is a senior majoring in communication studies.