Vetoing
General
If the band does not like or agree with anything the managers, conductor, or anyone else has to say/wants the band to do, it is customary for members of the band to say (à la Family Feud) "Survey says!", which is shortly followed by a crossing of the arms in an "X" shape while making a buzzer noise.
Musical
Although the conductor has musical control of the band (as outlined in the Constitution), there are certain occasions where one or more members of the band will take matters into their own hands by starting a song different than one called by the conductor. These include (but are not limited to):
- Any cheer/song being called too often
- The trombone section feels like playing Chris Sommers
- The trombone section does not feel like playing Tetris
- No cheer/song being currently called
- Dissatisfaction with any cheer/song called
- Tarantella being called
- Tarantella being previously vetoed
- The opportunity to play a cheer that relies on timing comes up
- The trumpet section (or any other section, presumably) lacks the chops to play at the time
There are also practical reasons to veto by not playing a cheer. Usually this is when the conductor has their back to the action and can't see a player injured, a puck/ball being dropped/snapped, a goal/touchdown being waived off, or any other occasion where it would be inappropriate to play.
Some of the more common vetoes are:
- Chris Sommers by the trombones to preempt Tetris
- Five Note Random to preempt any cheer
- Tarantella by an alto sax to preempt a cheer after Tarantella was successfully vetoed
- Tarantella by an alto sax to preempt Tarantella, to ensure that it is played
Active Vetoes
A drastic increase of the freshman class in 2016-2017 resulted in the creation of several new vetoes:
- Imperial March was adapted by James Milne and Dalton Towers as a trumpet veto since Tarantella has become a less common cheer.
- 436 - Stacy's Mom by the mellophones, who were salty that they didn't have a traditional veto
- Mike Joseph's Cheer by the sousaphones
All that being said, vetoing should be used sparingly for maximum comedic value, and to preserve the sanity of the conductor.