-y * *4 -
OPINION
10
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
Earbuds: surrounded by music, far from our friends
Here comes that guy I met at the Olds last Friday. Oh no!
He's waving. I don't really feel like talking to him ...
iPhone out. Earbuds in. Head down.
No conversation.
As this familiar Guilford scene
suggests, listening to music has become
an increasingly isolated experience.
While gaining instant access to
our favorite tunes, we lose out on the
conversations and experiences that
instill the sounds themselves with great
depth.
Let's dig deeper.
First, removing ourselves from
conversations about music, we often do
not understand a song's context.
Take Notorious B.I.G.'s diss track
"Kick in the Door."
Before entering the ring with a
verse. Biggie dedicated this fight song
BY GABE
POLLAK
Staff Writer
combative first
ambiguously.
"This goes out to you and you and you," rattles off Biggie.
It's clearly a song for someone, but we don't know who.
Unless that is, we talk about the conversation going on in
the song.
"I had no idea that song was about (legendary hip-hop
lyricist) Nas until I listened to it with some friends," said
sophomore Timmy Barrows. "It made so much more sense."
It's like the difference between reading a book alone or
in class.
Oh! So, when Melville wrote about the whale, he was
really talking about fate?
Oh! So, when Biggie said, "Your reign on top was short
like leprechauns," he was really talking about Nas' early
commercial failures?
To facilitate these music-listening epiphanies —
where, like a lock's pins all clicking into place, we finally
understand and appreciate the music more — we need to
talk to each other.
Another tasty layer within the cake of music listening is
social. The power of music is also associative.
You don't just love a song because of the sound itself; you
love it because of the memories you attach to that sound.
Think about this year's summer jam, "Get Lucky," by
Daft Punk. You love it for its disco groove, but also because
it reminds you of driving fast late on a summer night, all
your friends singing along.
Listen alone and you leave behind more than your friends
— you give up music's inherent social meaning.
Already sacrificing musical depth through both a loss of
conversation and shared experience, we must ask ourselves:
how much more are we willing to give up?
Will we settle for ring tone-quality sound bites when we
could have surround-sound experiences?
And still, this issue of isolated music listening dives
even further down, resonating deeper than the bassiest
subwoofer.
Changes in how we listen to music correlate with changes
in human nature.
Here's the comparison.
Often, when we listen to music with other people, we
actively seek to understand other peoples' perceptions of
the music.
"I jump back and forth between understanding the music
from my perspective and trying to imagine how other people
are hearing it," said Raina Martens, junior and teaching
assistant for the Art, Noise and Sound First Year Experience.
This practice — attempting to understand other's
Coming soon;
Music Listening Parties
Come hang out and enjoy good food,
good music, and good conversation.
Keep an eye on The Buzz for
dates & times!
Sponsored by WQFS
viewpoints — is the root of empathy.
When listening to music alone, however, we leave this
awareness behind.
Is it any surprise, then, that college students are becoming
less empathetic?
According to a recent study by the University of Michigan,
college students are 48 percent less empathetic than they
were in the 1979, with 61 percent of that 48 percent drop
suffered in the last 10 years — the same 10 years in which
iPods have flooded the market.
"We need to pay attention to how technology affects us
and maybe anticipate better the consequences," said Dana
Professor of Psychology Richie Zweigerrhaft.
When we plug in, we are also plugging out, denying
the possibility for conversation, shared experience, and
perspective sharing.
We limit more than our relationships to the music: we
limit our relationships to each other.
"Who knows what we might miss?" said Martens.
Racist comments towards Miss America pageant-winner illustrate ignorance
BY SHELBY
SMITH
Staff Writer
Terrorist. Un-American. Miss 7-11. Miss al-
Qaeda.
This was the reaction to the crowning of
Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri.
The pageant took
I •*' ,1 place Sunday, Sept. 15 in
db Atlantic City, N.J., where
pageant was first
bom in 1921.
As I watched the
pageant, I couldn't help
but be impressed by
Davuluri's poise, talent
and ability to speak so
eloquently about every
topic that was given to
her. Even though I was
rooting for two close
friends who were vying
for the title, I couldn't
help but be excited to see someone of her
character win.
Not all of America shared my enthusiasm.
Twitter was bombarded with racist tweets
about Davuluri.
"And the Arab wins Miss America.
Qassic," wrote @Granvil_Colt.
@EJRBuckeye said, "Well they just picked
a Muslim for Miss America. That must've
made Obama happy. Maybe he had a vote."
Here's my personal favorite, from
@JAyresl5: "I swear I'm not racist but this is
America."
This level of racism is not new within the
pageant industry.
"I had a contestant tell me there was no
way that Miss Virginia (a state preliminary
to the Miss America pageant) would crown
a black girl two years in a row," said Hester
Fletcher, director of the Miss Virginia
Dogwood Pageant, in an interview with The
Guilfordian. "IFs sad."
Having a Caucasian military member as a
contestant also fueled the fire.
"I saw tweets about how Miss Kansas is
the 'real Miss America,"' said Asian pageant
contestant Laetitia Hua to The Guilfordian.
"On one side you have the Caucasian blond
who can shoot a gim. Then you have a
woman of Indian descent who graduated
from med school.
"People's anger stems from the fact that
the woman who seemed 'more American' in
terms of stereotypes didn't win."
Yet no contestant is "more American"
than the other. According to the rules, every
contestant must be a citizen of the United
States, making them all American.
But this is more than an issue of citizenship.
This is about perceptions of what is culturally
American.
"I experience racism on a monthly,
sometimes weekly basis because I look
Asian," said Hua. "Even in the states, where
I have been living for over ten years, many
people see me and ask, 'Where are you from?'
But I'm an American."
We live in a country culturally dominated
by Caucasian traditions. Anyone who is not of
European or mostly Caucasian descent must
place a label in front of her or his American
status like "Asian," "African," "Indian" or
others.
Also, we can't seem to accept that a woman
who was bom in Syracuse, N.Y., raised in the
United States, attended the University of
Michigan to become a doctor and espoused
a platform of "celebrating diversity dirough
cultural competency" could truly be American
because they don't look white enough — and
therefore, not American enough.
However, our new Miss America has not
been quiet about this issue.
"I have always viewed Miss America as
the girl next door, and the girl next door is
evolving as the diversity in America evolves,"
Davuluri said during the Miss America finals.
Indeed, despite traditional racism. Miss
America has evolved along with the "girl
next door" image. Past winners include
African Americans, Asian Americans and
Native Americans — Norma Smallwood, a
Cherokee, took the crown in 1926.2014 marks
the first Indian American and the second
Asian American to win.
"Race is not a factor when I judge,"
said pageant judge Penny Smith to The
Guilfordian. "The fact is, Nina was extremely
consistent across all the categories. She had
enthusiasm and passion for the organization."
Though disturbed, racial minority
contestants are not discouraged from
pageantry.
"I know that as long as I work hard and
persevere past my obstacles, everything will
fall into place," said Miss America contestant
Chrissy Ching to The Guilfordian. "Is there
a chance I may encounter people similar to
the infamous 'tweeters?' Maybe. However,
as long as I am the best 'me,' that's all I can
control."
I'm not discouraged, either. As a queer,
non-Christian pageant girl. I'm inspired
to see someone like Davuluri win what is
known as the "Super Bowl of Pageants." It
lets me know that someone like me could be
in such a position one day.
In the meantime, we can learn from
Davuluri. As a society, we must take control
of our thoughts and words to realize there is
no one definition of what a Miss America —
or any American — should look like.
Sai^nnahDaie (yfFotoWd
Miss New York is an Indian.. With all do respect, this Is America
Kaleb llehan Poiow
©k^dblstocfecute
Man our president nor our new Miss America isn't even American I'm sorry but
Miss Kansas I salute you your the real American #MlssArrrerica
De La Bubiarford
©BJayne^MkltRaln
Congratulations Al-C3aeda. Our Miss America Is one of you.
tiu* wio 'BTiBa'aoi—aau'iL'