Writing 150: it’s an interesting class. We’re working on opinion editorials for the student paper, the Daily Universe, right now. Since for some reason my paper keeps coming out all formal and stuffy when I try to write it on pages (there’s probably too much of an association with my anthropology and psychology papers, which were always extremely dull), I decided to write it on here, to give myself a more informal feeling. And now that I’ve done that, I guess I’ll post it. It’s already written and all; why waste a perfectly good post?
The Art Revolution
I’ve played the violin since third grade. I guess you could say I come from a musical background- my whole family are music geeks. My parents met in marching band. So on my first day of high school, I walked into the band room and immediately felt at home. Orchestra became my life; it was where I made friends and where I could escape the stressful tedium of other classes. Our orchestra was probably the most tightly-knit group in the school. I know kids who either avoided or got off drugs and alcohol because of orchestra. Our class changed lives. Then, in my senior year, something terrible happened. The orchestra program of Apex Middle, our feeder school, got cut because of budget problems. That meant we would have no incoming freshmen for orchestra, which put our own program in danger of withering up and dying. Our class immediately jumped into action; we spent the whole period organizing a group that would bring attention to the need for music and arts programs in our county. We called it the Wake Arts Equity Organization. We spread the word at concerts and by taking groups of musicians to perform at other schools- our facebook page accumulated about five hundred members. But even after all that we did, Apex Middle still couldn’t get their orchestra back and other school’s arts programs continued to be cut. As I looked around at these schools, I couldn’t help but notice that it was always the arts to go first. After all, music and dance aren’t as important as math and reading, or even athletics, right? WRONG, actually. You couldn’t be more wrong.
Of course, this isn’t an isolated event. School arts programs are being cut all over the country because of slashed budgets. And we’re letting it slide! Come on, guys! We should be supporting the arts in every way possible. The solution to this problem is glaringly simple: we follow the laws of supply and demand. When demand goes up, supply has to go up as well. So let’s demand the arts!
Some of you may be thinking, ‘Why should I? I’m a busy person, I never got into band or drama anyway. Why should I care?’ When people say things like that, it honestly makes me want to cry. Why should you? There are SO MANY REASONS! First of all, the arts improve life skills like critical thinking and teamwork. There have been multiple scientific studies linking music to heightened spatial thinking abilities. Musicians even tend to have more complex brains than other people! World-renowned neuroscientist Oliver Sacks even wrote a whole book on how music affects the brain, titled Musicophelia. I own it, and it’s one of my favorites. Participation in the arts even leads to better life decisions. The Texas commission on drug and alcohol abuse reported that students who participated in band or orchestra had the lowest lifetime and current use of substances like alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. When you’re in band or orchestra, you learn how to listen to others and work effectively in a group. They now how to step back and not only look at, but understand the big picture. A recent article in the New York Times stated that “students who study the arts seriously are taught to see better, to envision, to persist, to be playful and learn from mistakes, to make critical judgments and justify such judgments”. This couldn’t be more true. People in arts see the world differently. When I first took up photography, the world suddenly became even more gorgeous. I noticed tiny details in everything around me and think, “oh, that would make a nice picture”. When you look at things through the eyes of an artist or an actor, it changes a lot. You get a different perspective that most people miss out on completely.
If all of that hasn’t persuaded you that arts are important, I don’t know what will. So let’s move on to what we can do to keep the arts in the lives of people all over America. As a BYU student, I realize that you don’t have much free time on your hands, not to mention money. So while donating thousands of dollars to your local arts program would be great, it’s just not feasible for most of us. What you can do, however, is show an interest in the arts. Instead of playing world of warcraft for the afternoon, walk around the Museum of Art here on campus. I explored the MOA my first day here at BYU, and it was so much fun (ps… its a great date idea too!). You could take a fun class like photography or pottery, or even dance. I’m in beginner tap dance right now and it is the highlight of my week. You could attend one of the plays or concerts at the HFAC (also a great date idea). Tickets are super cheap, and they’re always worth it!
See what we’re doing here? Supply and demand. If we make the arts even more popular than they already are, we can save them! It takes little effort on your part, and it benefits you as well. Living an artistic lifestyle is good for everyone. You can make a difference- if enough people realize that the arts are so vitally important, then we can start an arts revolution. We can emphasize the arts in schools, especially for young children. Imagine if kids all over america were exposed early in their lives to the arts? They would grow up being able to see the beauty of this world. They would truly be the leaders of our future, the kind of future that is better than what we have now.
The arts should be appreciated for their own intrinsic reasons. As Cindy Anderson, a member of my ward back in North Carolina, said, “A school without the arts is like survival on bread and water, with no taste, aroma, no color or hue, no joy, no passion.” The arts introduce people to the richness and diversity of life. According to Edward Pauly, the director of research and evaluation at the Wallace Foundation, “There is no substitute for listening to jazz, seeing “Death of a Salesman” performed, reading “To Kill a Mockingbird”, seeing the Vietnam War Memorial. Those powerful experiences only come about through the arts.” Its true, and I speak from experience. I’ve gotten emotional at war memorials, fallen in love with characters in books, and spent hours listening to Holst. I’ve been in plays and even tried my hand at sketching. I can’t imagine a world without art… it would indeed be the dullest thing ever.
