I have to say, Saturday did not start off well.

I awoke at 6 a.m. thinking that the pounding in my head was a headache. My wife and newborn son also awoke to the noise.

It turns out it was a band competition going on at Illinois State University. I live several blocks away, and the drum corps was easily heard through my closed windows.

After calling the ISU Police Department, I was informed that this entire competition had been pre-approved by the ISU Music Department and the ISU administration. Technically, there was nothing they could do.

As my one and only true day off, I would expect to be able to sleep past 6 a.m. without any outside disturbances. It's a shame that for this one event, ISU has no consideration for those of us who reside around the campus.

What would have been wrong with starting this band competition after 8 or 9 a.m.?

I realize this is a once a year event at ISU, but this needs to be addressed for future instances - for the sake of those who choose to live near campus, as well as support ISU events.

Josh Lowe

Normal