11/01/94
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
STANFORD -- Twenty-one members of the Stanford Band, which was in Los Angeles for the next day's football game at UCLA, performed outside the Los Angeles County courthouse Friday, Oct. 28.
Robert Shapiro, the lawyer heading the defense team representing double-homicide suspect and former football great O.J. Simpson, was not amused.
Shapiro and other people involved with the legal proceedings had to walk down a musical gantlet of sorts, as band members lined both sides of the walkway as people returned to court after the lunch break.
Shapiro called the performance "a new low in tasteless behavior."
Athletic Director Ted Leland did not allow the players who took part in the "unauthorized" performance to take the field Saturday during the UCLA game, which Stanford lost, 31-30.
The band later issued a statement that read: "Twenty-one members of the Stanford Band acted independently and without the knowledge of band management when they played outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse. It is the opinion of the band management that they exercised poor judgment in choosing to represent themselves as the band and as members of the Stanford community in such a manner.”
The 21 band members extended an explanation of intent to Leland and an apology “for their misrepresentation of the band and of the university." No further university action against the students is planned.
The four students facing misdemeanor charges in connection with the May 16 vandalism of the outdoor artwork Gay Liberation are scheduled to make their next court appearance Thursday, Nov. 3.
The four - Mark Butterfield, Brian Dallimore, Robert Gardner and Jason White - are expected to resolve the case in some manner either before or at the hearing, said Diane Doolittle of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
The student still facing felony charges in connection with the vandalism, Thomas Irwin, is due back in court on Nov. 15. Another student, Todd La Rocca, pleaded no contest to the same charges and will be sentenced Nov. 29.
Stanford's annual charitable giving campaign concludes Friday, Nov. 4. Employees who want to participate but have procrastinated are being asked to return the forms before the deadline, said Sally Pinkner of Community Relations.
Last year, 622 faculty and staff gave a total of more than $179,000. This year's goal is to increase both the number of participants and the amount raised.
Groups that will benefit this year are the Arts Council of Santa Clara County, Bay Area Black United Fund, Combined Health Appeal of California, Earth Share of California and the United Way of Santa Clara County.
For more information, contact Pinkner at 725-3330.
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