OrangeBand
The Butterhouse Band performs Friday night during the OrangeBand-sponsored concert at Guzman's.
A non-partisan group has its roots here in Harrisonburg that advocates discussion between people with different views and beliefs on controversial issues. Is this just a dream or is this a reality?
In February 2003, a small group of James Madison University students got together to discuss the lack of civic engagement on the campus. They decided to form a group to discuss meaningful, contemporary issues, which at the time was the possible war in Iraq. Five weeks later, these students began holding forums and passing out orange armbands. The bands were personalized by students to reflect their views on the issue. In the course of that week, over 2,000 community members, students, and professors attended the forums and wore the armbands. The armbands sparked constructive conversation throughout the community.
February 2004, a year later, saw the OrangeBand Initiative, Inc. finally becoming a nonprofit organization in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Over the next year, OrangeBand coordinated four more Action Campaigns and had over 7,000 band wearers.
The OrangeBand Initiative promotes conversation and discussion over any meaningful topics that students and adults feel are important. Everyone is welcome to participate in OrangeBand. The organization encourages participants to don an orange armband (hence the name) and decide on an issue of importance to them. When asked about the band, people strike up a conversation, sparking interest in the topic. These conversations are meant to be a way to learn from an opposing view. OrangeBand wants people to get a better understanding of why a person thinks what they think.
OrangeBand makes it very clear that they are a nonpartisan group. They are completely uninterested in advocating any beliefs from inside the program. OrangeBand strives to hire a very diversely opinionated staff. The organization seeks to make a neutral meeting ground for people of all beliefs, political standpoints, and viewpoints. They encourage participants to form their own opinions and be clear about them.
On Friday, Jan. 27, James Madison University held an event to kick-start OrangeBand's Anti-Apathy Campaign. On OrangeBand's official website, the Anti-Apathy Campaign is described as "an attempt to create a communitywide atmosphere of civic engagement by promoting social capital and civil discourse - that's fancy talk for saying getting involved starts with hanging out with folks and talking about things you care about." The event was at the new club Guzman's, located on Route 33 West, and featured Dangus Kahn and the Tornadoes, Midnight Spaghetti and the Chocolate G-Strings, The Butterhouse Band, Intense City, and Caleb Einwechter. Ellie Spaulding, who attended the show, said, "I had fun at the OrangeBand concert; the bands were actually really good and it wasn't over crowded." The show raised money for the Anti-Apathy Campaign by charging a $5 entrance fee at the door.
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