College band director opposes 'naked van'

DAVIS, Calif., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The new director of the student band at the University of California-Davis says he doesn't approve of the band's so-called naked van tradition.

Cal Aggie Marching Band director Tom Slabaugh said it wasn't until a 2007 road trip that he learned about the band's tradition of stripping down to their underwear while traveling in a university vehicle, the San Francisco Chronicle said Monday.

In a memo to his fellow university officials, Slabaugh detailed how band members ignored his repeated requests to put their clothes on following the 2007 incident.

Slabaugh also accused band members of defacing posters in the college's rehearsal room and taking part in banned hazing rituals.

The director's lawyer, Chad Carlock, told the Chronicle that such questionable activities prompted his client to take stress leave. Carlock said he is hopeful university officials will follow through with their initial promise of granting Slabaugh powers to deal with the student infractions.