Cindy Meachum '83
Mustang Band No. 3
In 1972, my father took my brothers and me to the SMU - Texas A&M football game at the Cotton Bowl. I was 11. What impressed me most about that afternoon was the Mustang Band. At halftime, the drum major high stepped to the center of the football field, blew his whistle 3 times, and the drummers thundered onto the field playing 'Proclamation.' As soon as the rest of the band made their way into position on the field and came to a halt, the announcer said: 'High from the Hilltop at SMU, 96 Guys and a Doll, the Mustang Band!', I knew I was going to be in the Mustang Band. And my goal was to be the first girl in the band. I had a long way to go, since I was only in the fifth grade, but my goal never wavered. As it turned out, Rebecca Knight (1977) and Susanna Yarborough (1978) were the first two Mastang Band women and saxophone players. In 1979, I became the third female band member and the first female drummer.