 "Photo: Leroy Mikell")
They rehearse for hours without stopping. They march until there legs won't move, and every Saturday they put on there uniforms, strap up there instruments and put on those grit faces, all for free.
That's right, students in the North Carolina A&T Marching Band, fondly referred to as the "Machine," march with no scholarship dollars, and it's beginning to take its toll.
"It [not having scholarships] has affected the overall membership," Assistant Director Aaron Campbell said.
"Even students who have wanted to come to A&T have gone to other places, especially considering today's college educational costs."
With the band not having scholarships to offer, there are fewer students staying longer than they used to. Schools like Bethune-Cookman can offer their students $5 thousand dollars, $10 thousand dollar, and sometimes full ride scholarships for the members of their band.
"I've seen quite a few people leave over money," junior French horn player Marlon Perry said.
"I feel like the band puts in too much work not to have scholarships. And the little that we do have really isn't much."
Band Director Dr. Kenneth Ruff understands his students concerns, but also sees both sides of the situation. Ruff played in the Marching Machine when he was a student here at A&T.
"Now that I'm in the roll of director, I can see what the past directors have had to go through," Ruff said.
"The students aren't in the meetings with the administration, and I can see how a student would be frustrated, but I have faith that the program will get better."
While Ruff and Campbell continue to encourage students to do they're best and try to be patient while change takes place, the band faces criticism from the general public because of its size.
After the 2002 movie "Drumline," Campbell said the band saw a surge in membership. Historically however, the bands size has remained relatively consistent.
"In 2003, our membership was about 220 people," Campbell said. "People say that the band is small, but it's historically only been about 150 people."
Regardless of the bands size, it faces more issues than just scholarships. As if not having money for the students wasn't enough, the band has had a few run-ins with administration.
In the fall of 2006, a department on campus had made plans to relocate the band from their traditional seats to the visiting bands side, and place the visiting bands in the horseshoe.
The main problem, besides the lack of consideration to tradition, was that the decision was made without any input from the band.
"We already don't have much as a band now," senior drum major Justin Moore said, "and we have to deal with things like tuba's being held together with tape. On top of not having scholarships, to take away the one thing we have to look forward to [band battles across the stadium] makes it seem as though the University doesn't really hold the band in it's heart like they say they do."
While Ruff sees a change on the horizon, the change may be too late. Moore says that if money isn't invested into the program in the next 10 years, there will not be a program.
Overall, Ruff feels as though it's really about education. The band is educating the administration about its needs, and the administration is listening.
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