Longhorn Band must play divisive song
But UT says it will form a separate band that will not perform it
Next fall, University of Texas at Austin students who play on the football team or watch in the stands can choose whether to sing the “The Eyes of Texas” at the end of the game.
But members of the Longhorn Band will be required to perform the university’s embattled alma mater, according to a news release posted on the Butler School of Music website Wednesday.
The university also announced it is creating a separate, not-yet-named university marching band starting in fall 2022 whose members do not need to play the song to participate. It’s the latest development in a debate over the university’s alma mater that has deeply divided students and alumni.
“We need to celebrate and nurture what makes UT special, and the Longhorn Band is one of those great organizations that shape our campus culture, elevate school spirit and provide amazing opportunities for our students,” UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell said in the release. “Our multi-million-dollar commitment over the next five years will support the Longhorn Band in restoring — and even going beyond — its former glory, while also providing strong support for our entire portfolio of university bands.”
Students in both the Longhorn Band and the newly created university band will receive $1,000 scholarships on top of merit scholarships that will continue to be awarded. Section leaders in all bands will receive a minimum $2,500 scholarship.
According to the release, which was first reported by The Daily Texan, the new approach was born out of ongoing financial issues and concerns with “The Eyes of Texas,” which ramped up in earnest last year in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer. Black students and athletes called on the school to stop playing the song, citing that it originally debuted at a campus minstrel show where performers likely wore blackface.
Last July, Hartzell said the song would remain, but the university would organize a taskforce to study its history. That entity’s report, released last month, found the song was not “overtly racist,” but did premiere at a minstrel show where students likely wore blackface and performed skits that perpetuated racist stereotypes of Black people.
Band members had previously refused to play the song at events due to its history and origins.
According to emails obtained by the Texas Tribune, the debate over the song had also sparked anger and frustration among hundreds of donors and alumni who emailed Hartzell pleading with him to keep the song. Dozens of donors mobilized to keep the song and others threatened to pull funding.
Those emails also show the song caused internal conflict between administrators in the Butler School of Music.
“Longhorn Band students and faculty are in the middle of a university-wide and national re-examination of values and cultural symbols,” Doug Dempster, dean of the Fine Arts School, wrote in a statement on the university’s website in October. “A range of well-informed convictions on this issue need to be considered respectfully as conscientious and honorable. But given the long-standing traditions and mission of a university spirit band, this disagreement needs to be resolved before the Longhorn Band can return to public performance.”
UT-Austin spokesperson J.B. Bird said the release published Wednesday represents the university’s views and did not answer emailed questions.
UT-Austin has multiple university bands besides the Longhorn Band and the Longhorn Pep Band, which performs at basketball and volleyball games. University bands include concert bands and ensembles. There could be opportunities for the Longhorn Band and the university bands to perform together.