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Ohio State to form task force after band scandal

Teacher Maggie Maloney and students cheer for the Ohio State Marching Band as they march to the stage at Columbus Commons in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, July 25, 2014. The band was practicing for its Picnic with the Pops performance. Maloney teaches at the Our Lady of Bethlehem school and childcare program which attended the practice to support a band member named Matt Gaal who used to attend the same school. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Jonathan Quilter)
Teacher Maggie Maloney and students cheer for the Ohio State Marching Band as they march to the stage at Columbus Commons in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, July 25, 2014. The band was practicing for its Picnic with the Pops performance. Maloney teaches at the Our Lady of Bethlehem school and childcare program which attended the practice to support a band member named Matt Gaal who used to attend the same school. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Jonathan Quilter) Teacher Maggie Maloney and students cheer for the Ohio State Marching Band as they march to the stage at Columbus Commons in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, July 25, 2014. The band was practicing for its Picnic with the Pops performance. Maloney teaches at the Our Lady of Bethlehem school and childcare program which attended the practice to support a band member named Matt Gaal who used to attend the same school. (AP Photo/The Columbus Dispatch, Jonathan Quilter)

By Associated Press 1 min read

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio State University says a task force will be formed to help bring changes after the firing of its celebrated marching band’s director amid allegations he ignored rampant sexual harassment.

The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1AjaGfp ) that task force members will be named within days. They will study how to reverse a band culture of sexual harassment and objectionable traditions.

The university dismissed director Jonathan Waters on Thursday after a two-month investigation concluded that he knew about but failed to stop rituals that included students being pressured to march in their underwear, sing lewd songs and perform sexually themed stunts that yielded often-explicit nicknames.

The university has said former state Attorney General Betty Montgomery will lead an independent follow-up review to the probe by the university’s Office of Compliance and Integrity.