When the Iowa State Marching Band toots its horns practicing on Clyde Williams Field, some students living in nearby dorms swear under their breath.

Archana Chandrupatla, a freshman in engineering, lives on the second floor of Friley Hall in Hutton House, which is close to the field where the band often rehearses.

Do rehearsals annoy her? “Hell yes,” Chandrupatla replied.

Chandrupatla doesn’t enjoy having the band practice at such a close distance to her room. “I don’t hate the band. At the game they’re pretty decent,” she said. “It just pisses me off. We study all night, and sometimes I try to take a nap in the afternoon and they’re out there blowing their horns and it’s hard to sleep. It’s really getting on my nerves.”

Chandrupatla isn’t the first to complain. In years past, water balloons and shots from pellet guns were fired at the marching band by annoyed students living in the dorms.

Terri Fuller, a senior who plays piccolo in the marching band, said students seem to be more accepting of the band this year. “It’s been worse. It’s much nicer this year. Years past it’s been awful,” Fuller said. This year things have been relatively quiet.

Fuller said freshmen living in Friley and Helser halls tend to be more annoyed with the band at the start of the semester, but usually grow accepting. “I think they’re accepting us more. They have to. We have nowhere else to go.”

Martin Province, associate band director, said he doesn’t feel practices are unfair to the students who live in that area. “I don’t think that it’s really an inconvenience. It shouldn’t be.”

The band always practices facing away from the dorms, and only turns toward the dorms when a specific drill takes them that way, Province said.

“There is really nowhere else on campus to practice,” Province said. “If they find us another space…I’ll be glad to use that space,” he said.

The marching band practices on the field from 4:10 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. nearly every afternoon, Monday through Friday. The last rehearsal for the semester on the field will be Nov. 15.

Practicing at the football stadium is not an option.

“There is no way we could do that because of the grass field,” he said. Grounds keepers would not look kindly on the daily traffic.

Province said he hasn’t received any complaints about the band this semester, but he is willing to discuss the matter if someone wants to talk to him.

Scott Wheatley, a residence assistant in Helser Hall, said the marching band occasionally creates problems for those who live close to the field, especially those with rooms facing that direction.

“I’m willing to put up with it. Many other students are also,” Wheatley said.

Chandrupatla said when the band starts to practice on the field, the noise level makes it difficult to watch television or listen to the radio.

It’s also sometimes hard to talk on the phone.

“When my dad called me on the phone, he asked me, ‘What’s that?’ It’s the band again,” Chandrupatla said.

Wheatley said the noise level isn’t always a nuisance. “If you close the window you can still study.”

And Wheatley said, there are actually times he enjoys having the band just outside his door. “Sometimes I like to hear the music because it reminds me of the football games.”