May 2015

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE May 2014 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 122 #4 • Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com Ithaca High School, 1401 N. Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850 • FREE

In This Issue Prom dresses

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The truth about college apps 6 Composers of IHS

By TRISTAN ENGST, Staff Writer

image provided by ithaca journal

Teacher Feature: Mr. Nelson 12

As Budget Looms, Changes May Occur

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The June Tat Issue will be tler collaboration a joint the 2014-15 ebetween and the 2015ditors editors. The w -16 deadline is M riters’ ay 20!

O

A meeting in the ICSD board room in October 2014.

n April 21, the IHS Parent– Teacher Association (PTA) decided to support ICSD’s proposed $115 million budget for next year in a unanimous (10–0) vote.

IHS principal Jason Trumble told the assembled PTA that he wanted the cuts in the budget “to not impact a child in the course of a school day,” and added that “we will have the same course offerings that we have currently for all our children.” Sports offerings would also be unaffected.

Regarding the cuts, the school will lose one clerical position (which is currently unfilled) and fewer hall assistants will be employed. The Principles of Engineering and Driver’s Ed

courses will not be offered over the summer. Additionally, after-school support tutoring will receive reduced funds, but Trumble told the PTA that he “wanted that instruction happening during the school day,” and that funding for AIS services will remain unaffected.

Cuts from the current year’s budget—such as reduced preschool classes—will still remain.

Even though the IHS PTA has supported the budget, the budget will only go into effect if it receives the support of Tompkins County voters.

The final outcome will be decided by a vote held on May 19.

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ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE

May 2015

Table of Contents

Tattler Staff

News

Teacher Feature: Mr. Nelson

As Budget Looms, Changes May Occur 1

Arts

by Tristan Engst, Staff Writer

by Alex True

12

editor@ihsTattler.com

News Editor

by John Yoon

Empathy in Anger in America

3

STEM: What’s the Big Deal?

3

by Bridget Fetsko

Dare to Dress

4

by Rori Henderson

A Promposal Proposal

4

Wheelie Backpacks: Tokyo Drift

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by Elise Reynolds, Staff Writer

by Pearse Anderson

Local Musician Feature: Joseph Prusch 15

by Sterling Williams-Ceci

Student Feature: Composers of IHS 16

by James Park, Staff Writer

opinion@ihsTattler.com

Features Editor

Sophia Shi ’15 features@ihsTattler.com

Arts and Entertainment Editor

Pearse Anderson ’16 Sports Editor

sports@ihsTattler.com

Penultimate and Back Page Editor

Lindsey Yuan ’15 backpage@ihsTattler.com

Centerspread Editor

Conor Coutts ’15 centerspread@ihsTattler.com

Copy Editor

by Asiya Toorawa

Daniel Xu ’17 copy@ihsTattler.com

Photography Editors

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Bridget Fetsko ’16 John Yoon ’16

6

James Yoon ’17

artwork by ISAIAH BABATUNDE

photo@ihsTattler.com

Layout Editor

The Best: Language

by Gabe Falk

Features IHS Band: An Astounding History Uncovered 10

by Katie Henderson

May is Mental Health Month: Please Take Care of Yourself 10

by Liz Rosen

Who Is Conor Coutts? The Man Within the Suit 10

by Luca Greenspun, Staff Writer

by Lindsey Yuan

Olivia Salomon ’15

Nick Bogel-Burroughs ’15

Why Cats are Better Than Dogs: The Indisputable Truth 6

The Hall Monitor

news@ihsTattler.com

arts@ihsTattler.com

by Carver J. Jordan, Staff Writer

by Sophia Shi

Kalil Hendel ’15 Opinion Editor

The Writing on the Desk: Judgment (Every) Day 5

College and the Senior Psyche

Editor-in-Chief

Owen Zhang ’15

Kanye West: Tidal Isn’t the Illuminati 15

Opinion

2014 – 2015

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The Tattler is the student-run newspaper of Ithaca High School. It was founded in 1892 and is published monthly.

As an open forum, the Tattler invites opinion piece submissions and letters to the editor from all community members. Drop off submissions in E25 or email them to: editor@ihsTattler.com

Mail letters to:

The IHS Tattler 1401 N. Cayuga St. Ithaca, NY 14850 The Tattler reserves the right to edit all submissions. Submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of editorial staff.

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Business Manager

Andrew Stover ’17 business@ihsTattler.com

Advertising Manager

Liz Rosen ’16 ads@ihsTattler.com

Webmaster

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Distribution Managers

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Deborah Lynn advisor@ihsTattler.com

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE

May 2015

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Editorial

opinion STEM: What’s the Big Deal?

By BRIDGET FETSKO

A

s many of us begin to think about college, we are forced also to think of what we will do with our lives.

Parents, teachers, and friends constantly encourage high-school students to follow their dreams. However, many students find that, when they actually share these dreams with the adults in their lives, their ideas are tossed aside. Such students are usually the ones who hope to pursue majors and careers in the arts and humanities. Too often, these fields are discredited in favor of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

It seems that fields in the arts and humanities have developed a stigma. Students trying to pursue English, music, photography, philosophy, history, animation, and similar fields are frequently discouraged from doing so. At Yale University in 1991, 165 students graduated with a B.A. in English Literature.

By 2012, that number had dropped to just 62.

In contrast, the number of degrees awarded in STEM fields increased by 55 percent between 2003 and 2012. This shift has been especially visible in recent years, as many colleges and universities have strongly encouraged students to move towards STEM fields.

As I go further into my college search, I get more and more emails trying to lure me towards STEM—and find myself becomContinued on Page 7.

Empathy And Anger in America Author note: for ease of reading, the words “liberal” and “conservative” have been chosen to encapsulate either side of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act debate.

They don’t include any of the other political implications.

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s it is thankfully wont to do, another piece of legislation has brought the public into an intense debate on freedom and democracy. It’s with great care that we have to approach these discussions, which are always aflame with passion and kindled by ignorance.

SB 101, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is the law that allows businesses in Indiana to refuse services to certain customers on the grounds of religious freedom. It was approved 40–10 in March, and signed into law amidst national protest. Conservatives claim that the law is just, since religious freedom is a First Amendment right. Forcing a person or corporation to provide service to those who offend their religion infringes on religious rights. Additionally, the law doesn’t allow refusal of basic service, just services that are more in-depth, such as catering to a gay wedding. The opposing liberal side claims that denying any service is inherently wrong, and nobody else’s personal choice can infringe on another’s freedoms. If you understand the main camps in the gun control debate or the gay marriage debate it’s not a great leap to understanding the opposing views on SB 101.

Here’s the nasty thing: it’s hard to recommend that anyone should try to engage the opposing side on this issue. You know, do the very thing that comprises a debate. In the current state of things, opposing views meet like oil and water, or like saltpeter, sulfur and char-

coal. It’s frightening how comfortably and quickly we fall into well-documented patterns of polarization and extremism. The opposers are ignorant demons, we’re right because of our correct values, and moderate voices are noncommittal and confused. In short, neither side can bring themselves to seriously understand the other. It’s just too uncomfortable, the echo chamber of a homogenous community feels safe and righteous.

But rather than condemn the path of least resistance, let’s look at the obstacles and methods for change.

Any community of belief, religious or otherwise, will reward unquestioning acceptance and will demonize challengers of said belief. For example, the liberal community generally believes that no personal choice or quality makes a person any less deserving of complete respect, and that nobody’s access to full rights infringes on anyone else’s. Conservatives mostly believe that people should be free to choose (gay marriage is legal in Indiana), but not that everybody else is obligated to participate in and respect that choice. The purpose of this editorial is not to expose or defend either view. What’s important is that liberals believe in much the same way that conservatives believe: with a righteous disdain for the opposer. Both spew hateful rhetoric. Both discourage questioning. As always, extremism proves itself to be a horseshoe.

Assuming that all people are just people, and there’s nothing in the Indiana water that breeds bible-thumping fanatics, what accounts for such vitriolic differences? The answer, which kept us safe from threatening beasts in dark caves thousands of years ago, is fear of the unknown. In our world it keeps us safe from the threatenContinued on Page 7.

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May 2015

Dare to Dress

opinion A Promposal Proposal

By RORI HENDERSON

By ELISE REYNOLDS, Staff Writer IMAGE by pearse anderson

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t may feel like Senior Prom fever has only just hit IHS, but I can attest that for many senior girls, one facet has long been on the mind: the dress. In this age of Instagram, one can easily be fooled into thinking a big promposal is the most important aspect of a happy prom, but I believe that the dress still reigns supreme.

For many girls (including myself), prom-dress shopping started back in October or November. Although most only looked casually at that time, the unspoken pressure to find the perfect dress still lingered in the backs of their minds. There is an abundance of worries that accompanies looking for the perfect dress: Is it true to my everyday style but different enough for people to take notice? Does it accentuate my best features without drawing attention to parts of myself I don’t like? Can I dance in it and not split a seam? Will someone wear the same dress as me?

I know I was not alone in any of these fears, and I have the group chats and Facebook messages to prove it—dozens of links to dresses sent among friends and acquaintances, seeking approval and asking if one dress could truly meet all the criteria. Most shopping and sharing took place late at night, and even if you were intoxicated by a gown one night, by the next morning, looking at it made your head throb and you thankful that you didn’t buy it on a whim. Conversations were rife with secrecy and jealousy, and I know that I hoarded some of my favorite websites in fear that someone would steal my dream dress before I even knew it existed.

Something that was meant to cut down on the stress of accidental twinning, the IHS Prom Dress Facebook page, was created a little under four months before the actual event. For those who do not know, the Facebook group is meant as a space for any girl attending the senior prom to claim her dress by posting a picture of it.

Good in theory but not in practice, the page fosters a mild sense of competition. I found a dress I loved relatively early in the process, but after seeing some of the other girls’ picks, I couldn’t help but wonder if mine was really up to par. There are only a few common styles of dresses posted, and you can feel a little odd straying from any of the favored looks. It is easy to see what almost all of the chosen dresses are not. Frilly ballgowns in bright colors or white are unpopular options, and as are short dresses.

Back in sophomore year, I remember seeing my senior friends post Facebook pictures from their prom. They all looked so beautiful. At the time, I thought that there was no way our class could ever look that incredible, but as I think of all the dresses my friends and classmates are choosing, I am beginning to realize it is not just likely, Continued on Page 7.

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A low exposure @pearseanderson promposal.

t’s that time of year again. While girls frantically search for dresses and troll Pinterest for the perfect updo, guys are racking their brains to craft the perfect promposal. There is little doubt that they are often thoughtful, creative, and fun. However, the public nature of many promposals may have undesired results—from the act itself to its subsequent broadcasting on Instagram and Snapchat, promposals can also be time-consuming, disruptive, and awkward for all involved.

The “promposal” as we know it is a relatively new phenomenon—the Washington Post reports that the word’s first appearance in a newspaper was in 2001. Since then, the practice has steadily grown in popularity before going viral in the past five years or so. Perhaps not by chance, the growth pattern of the promposal coincides with the growth of social media platforms. These parallel trends beg the question of whether promposals are more for the people involved or for the responses of their followers and friends. A public promposal can force a “yes” from a prospective date, saving the embarrassment of a promposer but ultimately resulting in a less-thanenjoyable experience for both prom-goers. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with the public nature of many promposals, except that in situations where a dramatic event is not desired by both parties, it can cause discomfort for the only two people who truly matter in the situation.

In the name of avoiding this discomfort, I recommend that we all relax a little. It’s not a marriage proposal; it’s a proposal to take a bunch of color-coordinated photos and maybe slow dance a little. Promposees, say yes to someone who you know will make your prom experience fun, not strained or stressful. Promposers, you shouldn’t have to worry either. There’s a good chance their answer won’t depend on how many Hershey’s Kisses you used to spell Continued on Page 7.

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opinion

May 2015

Wheelie Backpacks: Tokyo Drift

The Writing on the desk

By PEARSE ANDERSON

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heelie backpacks are the coolest pieces of gear around, though tuxedos make a close second. Try to name something better. (Seriously. Email arts@ihstattler.com with your ideas and watch as they fall short of wheelie backpacks.) Although these wheeled pillows of heaven aren’t for everyone, they can assist many students in terms of utility and style.

The wheelie backpack makes a presence before one can even see it coming. Much like the hum of “The Lonely Shepherd” by Tate Langdon or the double knock from Frank Underwood, the sound of the wheel against the floor forbodes its presence. Passersby and friends will recognize you, the proud user of a wheelie backpack, from the signature sound of plastic wheel against linoleum. This also gives folks a chance to move aside for you to pass.

So you emerge in H-Building rolling your backpack, and your friend turns and sees you. Wow, they might think, look at that trim and firm backpack. That’s right: without your back to support the pack, many wheelie backpacks have a metal or firm fabric frame built into their body for support. This prevents your backpack from devolving into a beanbag as so many do. The frame also gives the item style: nice corners and a certain verticality missing from most backpacks. As such, wheelie backpacks are often confused for suitcases or briefcases (which is clearly a compliment). Wheelie backpacks also tend to be able to store more because of their frame and build, and their contents can be more easily accessed once they’re put down.

Your friend signals to the math help room in Upstairs-H, and in one swift motion, you convert the wheelie backpack into a shoulder-strap backpack. That’s the genius of the wheelie backpack: it has straps when you need them but a handle when you don’t. Before, you could cross any terrain your shoes were ready for, but with the wheelie backpack, you can accomplish that same feat without any of the back pain.

Wheelie backpacks cannot be used in every situation, and several factors have to be taken into consideration before one dons a wheelie backpack. They are surprisingly heavy and can be uncomfortable because of their stiff frame. Most have an extendable towing handle, but if you are taller or shorter than the target demographic, wheeling the pack behind you might be physically awkward. Speaking of awkward, many claim that using a wheelie backpack is “social suicide” to begin with. However, I’d like to think that IHS is an accepting community.

I’ve seen people be perfectly tolerant of anyone with a wheelie backpack as long as the backpack owner is respectful and not hitting people with it or taking up too much room. Being proud of your wheelie backpack goes a long way, too. This confidence can often urge people to like your backpack as much as you do.

Despite these drawbacks, there still needs to be a wheelie backpack revolution. Their spectacular sounds, sleek style, and versatility should make them a clear candidate for the backpack of tomorrow.

However, if too many people catch on to the idea, wheelie backpacks might make G-Building even more crowded. So purchase now and purchase quickly before the ingenious idea spreads out of your reach.

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The Writing on the Desk: Judgment (Every) Day

By CARVER J. JORDAN, Staff Writer

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very day, I’ll see someone walking down the hall, I’ll read a post on Facebook, or I’ll hear someone say something, and it will just piss me off. Why do I get so mad about things that don’t really matter? I don’t know if it’s a problem with me (maybe because of my childhood), or if it’s a problem with my generation. I’m sure there are other people out there who get angry for no good reason, aren’t there?

That’s the thing, though—I don’t feel as though I get angry for no reason. I don’t like to think about everything as a competition, and I try not to, but then why do I choose to compare myself to everyone around me? Or judge others for their actions instead of focusing on my own? Why is it that when I see a pair of jeans made to look as though it has a selvedge line when it doesn’t, I smirk and feel proud of myself for recognizing the cheap denim? Why is it that when someone else in a beginner architecture class designs an extravagant house with the towers and turrets of a castle, I see someone who lacks taste and subtlety? Why do I get angry when someone is actually able to make the term “not to be cliché” clichéd in itself ? It’s none of my business, really, but I make it so.

Maybe I’m just not a nice person; I’ve heard that enough to believe it. I can’t accept that, though, when I try my hardest to be different while at the same time I try not to stand out— it’s a constant struggle back and forth. My last Continued on Page 9.

opinion Why Cats Are Better Than Dogs: The Indisputable Truth 6

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE

May 2015

By ASIYA TOORAWA

M

y personal epiphany with this truth came about one summer when I bounded down the stairs holding a puppy at arm’s length while he was peeing freely in every direction. I remember my 11-year-old self grimacing at the all-too-happy puppy grin sprawled across Tucker's face—he was quite clearly proud of his urinary accomplishments. It was then that it dawned on me that cats were irrefutably better than dogs. Now, I will explain why.

1. Felines do not simply dish out loyalty like their canine counterparts. For cats, the occasional paw swipe with extended claws shows off their wolverine skills. Aggravated swishings of tails show character. Once they know their human can be trusted, they (sometimes) adopt more friendly practices in order to display affection.

2. Cats are generally low maintenance. The hygienic creatures groom willingly, and will not send gobs of drool flying into the open air. Their clean habits mean that they never need to be bathed. Unlike dogs, cats don’t even have to be walked. In fact, if you’ve ever attempted to walk a cat, you’ve probably found that the cat is, in fact, walking you. A profound concept.

3. Ellen DeGeneres has Cat Week. Yeah, you guessed it: no Dog Week.

Continued on Page 8.

College and the Senior Psyche

By SOPHIA SHI

Note: This is a response to Frank Bruni’s oped, “How to Survive the College Admissions Madness”, published on the New York Times web site on March 13.

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ollege admissions: the elusive industry whose near-universal impact and effect has made itself into a painful rite of passage. It has manifested into SAT cram classes, overcharging consultant programs, and the dashed dreams of many teenagers. Each year, a new class inherits the responsibility of this stressful tradition, and each year, we hear the same old placations: “It’s out of your control; there’s no point worrying over it.”

“Undergraduate doesn’t matter; graduate school is what employers really care about.”

“It’s not the most important decision you will make in your life.”

“College is what you make of it.”

“You’ll learn to love it wherever you go.”

“Any college would be lucky to have you, and if they don’t accept you, it’s their loss.”

This is essentially the same as going through a bad breakup and hearing your friends say, “He or she wasn’t right for you anyways.” That’s nice. It’s probably true. But when you are in battle, you don’t have time to objectively evaluate the metaphysical and repercussive meanings of your choices.

All you can do is react viscerally, and anyone who dismisses it with retrospective or soothsaying advice is not helpful at all.

Within one week, two adults gave me Mr. Bruni’s article to soothe my college admissions woes. It did not comfort me at all; in fact, it made me even more upset (probably because I was beginning to think about all the points in this article). For while Mr. Bruni shared stories of personal vindication—of the boy who ended up working at the same office as a classmate who went to Yale and of the girl who was rejected from her top four schools but had a “lifechanging realization” that rejection was “survivable”—I and many of my classmates Continued on Page 8.

THE BEST: Language

By GABE FALK

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mong the world’s most aesthetically pleasing languages rank such tongues as the songlike Italian, the harsh and throaty Russian, the flowing Arabic, and—Welsh. Honestly, Welsh does belong among the world’s most fantastic languages, with words from the truly bizarre “pendramwnwgl” (headfirst) to the strangely artful “popty ping” (microwave). It’s small wonder that it is still spoken by some 740,000 British citizens who reside in towns such as Ystradgynlais and Llanfair­ pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­ drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

(Okay, that last one was created as a publicity stunt, but the town’s original name was Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, which honestly isn't that different.) In my opinion, narrowly edging out ffrwydrad, anghyfansoddiadol, rhyngwladwriaethol, thynghediaeth, and ysgyfaint (Google them), the best word in the Welsh language is “chwyrligwgan”, meaning merry-go-round and pronounced something similar to “whirligigan”.

Diolch am ddarllen, ac yn mynd yn dysgu Cymraeg!

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Editorial: Empathy And Anger in America Continued from Page 3. ing ideas. The hateful preacher and the bleeding heart hippie are familiar and comfortable. We know how to combat them, and we presume to understand their differences.

And so, once the enemy is framed as such, as nothing more than a familiar archetype, it’s a small step to forgetting their humanity entirely.

How do we avoid this? The obvious and important key is empathy.

In religion vs. secularism, as in all things, the more revolting a position appears, the more critical it is to understand it—not the kind of understanding which assumes a safe distance, but understanding which assumes sameness. Trace the history of American Christianity and discover how escaping its influence is akin to dissolving your own mortar. Educate yourself on the issues that you never have to deal with because of your particular privileges.

Take some time to figure out how you sound to those on the other side of an issue. Most importantly, recognize that when it comes to sensitive issues, people will say and do things that are indicative not of the quality of their character, but of the quality of their surroundings.

When you know this, not only can you understand and communicate with the “enemy” more effectively, but you can also recognize which of your beliefs are less intrinsic than you thought.

The debate over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is only special because it is so representative of every American debate.

If we use it as a chance to develop our rhetoric and create a new atmosphere of constructive discussion, we could learn universal lessons that apply to all public spheres. It’s in the hands of the common debater to understand the prejudices that exist in themselves and others, and to strive against them. Let this debate be our last argument, and our first discussion.

opinion

May 2015

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STEM: What’s the Big Deal?

Continued from Page 3. ing more and more irritated. Colleges are especially focused on trying to increase the number of women (such as myself) and minorities in their STEM majors. Although I respect those who pursue degrees in science, engineering, or mathematics, I hate being made to feel lesser for not wanting the same for myself. Both men and women trying to pursue the arts and humanities are looked down upon because of the paths they have chosen. It’s awesome that there are increasing opportunities in STEM fields, but that doesn’t mean STEM is the best choice for everyone.

Colleges should focus less on making students feel like STEM is the only—or even the best—option. Instead, schools should present all of the majors and career paths they have to offer students and make it clear that these options are open to everyone. Colleges, parents, and educators need to understand that the best option for each individual student may be different, and that there is no right or wrong answer. Students should be encouraged and supported in their efforts to discover and follow their dreams.

Dare to Dress Continued from Page 4. but guaranteed that everyone will look amazing that night. And, ladies, the next time you are searching for your dress or comparing one you already found to those on the Facebook page, don’t judge and don’t worry. I can guarantee an underclassman will look at a picture of you from prom night and hope they can manage to look just as incredible when their time comes.

Promposal Proposal Continued from Page 4. out “Prom?” in their first-period class. And girls—if you think promposals are fun, don’t sit around waiting for a boy; ask someone! Whomever you ask will most likely just be relieved that they’re off the hook. Participate in promposal culture because it’s something that you find exciting and enjoyable, not because you need that perfect Instagram shot or your friends pulled out all the stops for theirs. Let’s consider the promposal an option rather than a necessity, and focus more on the event itself than the way we obtain our dates.

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May 2015

College and the Senior Psyche Continued from Page 6. still had no idea where we would end up next year.

I do not mean to speak for all collegebound seniors, but I would like to provide some insight on why rejections and waitlists are taken so seriously and personally by students and parents alike. We can acknowledge that the system is flawed, but we remain severely affected by its results.

It is common knowledge that the elite college admissions process is highly subjective. Most American universities use a “holistic” evaluation of each student, accepting essays and artistic or scientific supplements in addition to transcripts and test scores. However, with this human evaluation comes human bias. I completely respect admissions officers and the difficult judgments they have to make, but they will never be able to be impersonal.

And yet, they can be. No one will ever know why they were waitlisted or rejected. Now, it looks like not many will be able to see why they were accepted, neither: In January 2015, a group of students at Stanford University realized that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act allowed them access to their admissions files, but now Stanford and Yale University are destroying all the files they have on hand. Constructive criticism is something that we are taught to provide, and yet, there is absolutely no explanation behind decision letters. Why were your friends accepted to their dream schools early while you were left for the regular decision slaughterhouse? I have hypothesized about legacy boons and hidden quotas and statistical padding and the possibility that my admissions officer may have a horrible ex-girlfriend who shares my name, but in the end, I don’t know why I was accepted to some colleges and not others. And that lack of knowledge, correspondence, and genuine apology can be dehumanizing.

We have invested thirteen years of our lives into our mandated education. We have studied for tests until the wee hours of the morning, donated time and energy to community service projects, and participated in extracurriculars every day of the week, partly for self-development, but also for self-marketing. December 31 is

opinion the day we package the rewards and the recognitions and the recommendation letters and the pseudo-revelatory essays all up into a Common App PDF and ship it off, along with a hefty application fee, to the schools to which we hope to gain entrance. An underwhelming click three months later, and— A “no” is disappointing; a “we have decided to postpone a decision on your application” is a disappointing euphemism (and also makes colleges sound like even worse procrastinators than we are). But if I’ve learned anything in Economics this year, it’s that an investment with high risk that gives a low return is a terrible investment. It feels like a loss.

Above all, the most infuriating aspect of a rejection or waitlist is the fact that it undermines a fundamental part of the American Dream: the idea that if you work hard, you will deservingly succeed.

We all work hard in our respective disciplines, but luck and bias cherry-picks the playing field. When your future (literally, the next two to four years) is in someone else’s hands for seven months, it is nervewracking to know that you have no control over the course of your immediate life. Of course, that could be said about life in general. But after living in a predictable, routine school setting for so long, it can be jarring.

The most deprecatory thing anyone has said to me about this process is, “You haven’t experienced any true failure in life, so this will be a positive learning experience.” This statement is flawed on at least two counts: It assumes that (1) not being admitted to your top school is a failure, and (2) I have never been emotionally hurt by any circumstances in my life. Obviously, everything is mollified in retrospect. I learned a lot from the admissions experience this year, and I am excited about graduating high school and starting a new, independent chapter in my life.

I am determined and ambitious. I know that my school will not define me, that I will milk my four years of college as much as possible, that time heals all wounds, and all of those other clichés that I swatted away two months ago.

Yet I implore my elders to not dismiss us as idealistic, self-absorbed, narrowminded teenagers who don’t have the capacity to comprehend their futures.

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I mean, we don’t. But no one else does, either. In the college admissions cycles of the future, please be considerate of the students who have to submit themselves to this tidal wave of overworked worry. After all, you cannot pull a person through a riptide. They must swim along the shore to safety by themselves.

Cats are Better than Dogs Continued from Page 6.

4. During times of emotional distress, cats will often comfort you.

For example, if you puke, they might kindly trod over and cough up a hairball—or leave you a half-dead bird as consolation.

5. Cats are methodical hunters who will bring you their quarry as gifts. Dogs (see Dug from Up) will simply spot animals and, after a brief, stunned pause, chase doggedly after them in hopes of success.

These random acts of kindness are the proof for the undeniable fact: cats > dogs.

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opinion

May 2015

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The Writing on the Desk Continued from Page 5. article was on the terrible truth of sexual assault at highschool parties (by the way, I’m still open for any comments or suggestions on that piece). I’m probably judged by others for my obnoxious tendencies and blatant rudeness at times, and I’m trying to fix that. Apparently, there isn’t a lot you can do to change people’s opinions of you.

Honestly, I blame my judgment of others on poverty.

When you grow up actually having to understand money (appreciate isn’t the right word, considering how much trouble it is), maybe even having to use the eighty dollars that you saved for a whole year when you were eight for groceries, you start to resent those who never had to feel the same worry. When sleeping over at a friend’s house was a treat because they had luxuries you didn’t: their own rooms, tall ceilings that you didn’t hit your head on every day, or a house that didn’t have black plastic covering the sides to block out the wind. It was always sad to see a friend’s new house being built because our hometo-be just sat stagnant and unfinished above the house we lived in. It’s naive of me to think I’ve turned out better as a result because I also feel like it’s given me grounds to support my constant annoyance with those around me.

It’s funny how even after all this contemplation and awareness, I dig myself into a deeper hole as I expend more energy judging others and they expend more energy on things that should probably matter more to me, like grades. I think the overwhelming majority of Facebook posts now just make me want to hit things, and that’s my problem, I know, but why can’t people be more interesting? If I have to read another college-page post about how so and so “likes to go out and party!!!” but “also likes to have a quiet night in and watch Netflix” and even sometimes “do their homework”, I think I may take my mother’s words too literally (I can hear her voice now: “You can’t control others’ actions; you can only

control your own”), drop out of college, and get a job.

I know that I shouldn’t judge people whom I know nothing about—or anyone, I suppose—but sometimes, they do things that I just can’t get over. Why does she have to use those ten-cent words that she learned during SAT preparation? Why does he tell some convoluted story after every comment he makes in class, as if it were show and tell? Why did they bully you and elbow you as a joke that began because you were told you look Jewish, even though you’re not?

Maybe she’s forced to speak like a professor because her unrelenting parents never eased up, and he wants to tell stories because no one will listen at home, and maybe by now they’ve moved on and never even saw it as bullying, and it doesn’t matter why they targeted you because it’s time to stop dwelling, to stop blaming other people for the issues you have with them, even if they deserve the blame. Because ultimately, you’re going to end up where you belong; now is the time to determine where that is and what you’re going to put your energy into. So the next time I see or hear some typical, conventional, or uninspired comment, statement, or action, I’m going to begin by asking myself if passing judgment or getting angry is worth it, and it probably won’t even be worth the second thought.

In a society based on expression, I want to stop making decisions with the goal of impressing others—with my clothes, my voice, my words, my attitude, or my personality. And I’m not blaming anyone but myself for not doing that already, but I know others are guilty of the same. I know that I’ve cast judgments on other people in hopes that they’ll change something about themselves and improve in my view. But it’s not my place; nor is it anyone else’s.

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May 2015

IHS Band: An Astounding History Uncovered

features T

By KATIE HENDERSON

May Is Mental Health Month: Please Take Care of Yourself

By LIZ ROSEN

W

hat makes you happy? What do you do to take care of yourself?

I’m asking because May is Mental Health Month. Around 22.4 percent of Americans live with mental health problems, which range in severity from anxiety and depression to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Chances are that you or someone you know has dealt with mental illness and its effects.

Living with mental illness can be very difficult for a wide variety of reasons. Severe mental illnesses can interfere with one’s ability to complete tasks, hold jobs, and interact with loved ones. Correct diagnoses are at times elusive, and even when one is diagnosed, treatment is imperfect.

Many people choose a combination of two types of therapy, and receive both counseling from a professional therapist or support group and some sort of psychopharmacological prescription.

While the public is well aware of the fact that therapy is not a cure-all solution for everyone, it is less obvious Continued on Page 13.

he IHS Concert Band, led by Nicki Zawel, is composed of approximately 115 musicians and is known throughout the area as an astounding group of students who go above and beyond all expectations of a traditional high-school band. It is a fantastic group for the public and for its members, who grow as musicians and people by being part of it. Since its beginning in 1917, the band has evolved and at times been extremely different from the ensemble that we know today.

One such period was from 1955 to 1967, when the ensemble was led by none other than Frank Battisti, who founded and conducted the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) Wind Ensemble for 30 years after his time at IHS. Known throughout the world as an author, great musician, and expert on wind music, Battisti is “one of the most respected champions of music for winds in America,” according to the NEC.) During his tenure at IHS, Battisti led the Concert Band to national recognition as one of the best high-school bands in the nation. Battisti commissioned 24 new pieces for the band, some composed by Pulitzer Prize winners. The Concert Band also played at famous musical venues such as the Eastman School of Music, the New York World’s Fair, and Continued on Page 14.

Student Feature

Who Is Conor Coutts?

The Man Within the Suit

By LUCA GREENSPUN, Staff Writer

S

o often in life, we pass by the likes of great minds without pausing to stop and think: who are they, where did they come from, and how did they get here? I met Conor Coutts ’15 the fall of my freshman year. Since then, my fascination with Conor and his involvement in the community has grown exponentially. Wandering the halls as a young student, I was mesmerized by Conor’s presence in almost anything school-related I could think of. Hearing his name associated with upcoming events, seeing his name on flyers, and, most notably, watching him converse with teachers and faculty as though they were his peers proved very fascinating. Having watched Conor Coutts strut these halls (usually in his signature shirt and tie) for almost two whole years, I have come under the impression that he is indeed one such great mind: one who lives a life of exploration and outreach.

Conor was born in Washington State, and lived there for eight years.

From there, he moved to North Dakota to live with his mother on an Indian reservation, Conor being one-fourth Native American heritage.

When talking about his time on the reservation, Conor spoke about the land and people with a passion that could only have formed from experience.

“It was a totally different culture because it was a very poor culture— Continued on Page 14.

features

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May 2015

11

The Hall Monitor Interviews and Photographs by LINDSEY YUAN

What is one lyric that sums up your life right now?

Andrew Jin ’15 “Inside my mind couldn’t find a place to rest until I got that Thug Life tatted on my chest.”

Claire Derry ’15 “An avalanche is coming and I do not feel prepared.”

Eli Zhang ’18 “I can’t tell you what it really is; I can only tell you what it feels like.”

Jonathon Hawthorne ’16 “Bickin back bein bool.”

Maddie Wissoker ’16 “This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, fifteen percent concentrated power of will. Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain, and a hundred percent reason to remember the name.”

Gabrielle Duffett ’16 “I love it when you call me Big Poppa.”

Max Fink ’17 “There is nothing quite as wonderful as money; there is nothing quite as beautiful as cash.”

Tommy Sipple ’15 “Livin’ on a prayer.”

Sarah Couillard ’17 “Each little clam here know how to jam here under the sea.”

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May 2015

features

Teacher Feature: Mr. Nelson

By ALEX TRUE

elementary-school reading teacher and my dad was a botany professor at a community college. I didn’t want to do it for a long time, but I eventually succumbed. I don’t know why I chose to become a teacher at that point, but I was doing some graduate work at SUNY ESF in land-use planning and got disillusioned with the type of work I was doing, so I enrolled in a teaching program.

AT: What do you like to do in your spare time?

MN: Well, I have two seven-year-olds and a son who is eleven, and they take up a lot of my time. In my personal time, I sing a lot of barbershop. I am in a group now that is just forming, but I have been in lots of groups. This past Friday actually, I was at a barbershop convention up in Geneva.

image by bridget fetsko

I

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Mr. Nelson poses with APES student, Pearse Anderson, and his favorite animal, the Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty.

f you have ever taken APES or Zoology, you know all about Mr. Nelson’s menagerie of animals, strange taste in music, and jokes. I was lucky enough to sit down with the beloved APES teacher to learn more about his life, teaching, and fun memories.

government. I learned so much from being in student government. We had a formal business meeting once a week, and had a student leadership field trip to Lansing, the capital of Michigan, where we got to introduce bills and elect officials in the actual senate chambers. It was really cool.

Alex True ’15: Where did you grow up, and how would you describe your childhood?

Mark Nelson: I am one of the few people you will ever meet who was born in North Dakota. But I only lived there for ten days before we moved to Michigan, so I grew up in Michigan; specifically, Traverse City, Michigan.

It feels a little bit like Ithaca, being hilly with lots of water, but it actually had a lot more water since it is on the part of Michigan that looks like a hand and juts out into Lake Michigan. It is only three miles wide.

AT: What is your favorite high-school memory?

MN: Boy, that’s a hard one. It’s funny how everything about your highschool days disappears. When I look at the yearbook, I only remember my favorite teachers. I think my favorite memories were things that I did with my friends. When I was a senior, instead of going to Florida like everyone else, my friends and I went to Chicago because that was the farthest we could get. We slept in a dorm at the University of Chicago with some of our friends who went there, and it was just a really fun trip.

AT: Did you like school? Why or why not?

MN: Yeah, I can honestly say I liked school. I never had a study hall—ever.

I was a music person and did student

AT: What made you want to become a teacher?

MN: I fought it for years. Both my parents are teachers. My mom was an

AT: Bringing it back to IHS, you teach AP Environmental Science, one of the various AP science courses. Why should someone take APES over the other courses?

MN: I think that so many of our science classes are reductionist and getting narrower and narrower. APES is a unique course since we get to go in the opposite direction: taking a step back, combining all those pieces, and then looking at them all from a social context, which is hard for some people.

AT: Since you teach an APES course, do you do anything personally to be environmentally friendly?

MN: Well, I don’t drive a hybrid or have solar panels on my house, but when we moved into our house, we did the big energy audit, and at the time, the furnace was burning at 60 percent efficiency. We ended up getting the super-efficient furnace that runs at 97 percent efficiency, a better water furnace, and more insulation.

We certainly recycle everything and compost, but those are relatively easy things to do, especially in this community.

AT: Does teaching APES students Continued on Page 13.

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May 2015

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Mental Health Month Continued from Page 10.

Mr. Nelson Continued from Page 12.

that prescription medication is also not a one-size-fits-all deal. Prescriptions must be constantly adjusted, and come with side effects like rashes, weight gain, loss of sex drive . . . the list goes on.

It’s important to think about how you can protect your own mental health and improve the lives of people who are living with mental illness. With regard to the latter, it’s important to support anyone who is struggling with their mental health. It takes a lot of energy, time, and courage to deal with mental health problems, and while you should not feel solely responsible for the mental health of your friends and family, let them know that you are there for them and support them. Mental health resources at IHS include the nurse, guidance counselors, and social workers such as Ms. Reitenbach. In the greater community, you can turn to the Family and Children’s Services of Ithaca at (607) 273-7494, Family Support Services of the Mental Health Association of Tompkins County at (607) 273-9250, and many other places. Remember: the bravest thing someone struggling with mental wellness can do is reach out for help.

It is also vital that people remain aware of their own mental health. According to Mental Health America, 50 percent of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition at some time in their life; half of those people will develop conditions by the age of 14. Risk factors for mental illness include genetics, biology, lifestyle, and environment, so if someone in your family is mentally ill, please be aware of your own increased likelihood of contracting a mental illness. Similarly, traumatic events such as sudden loss, violence or abuse, exposure to unsafe communities, and poor health practices like substance abuse or lack of sleep can also impact your chances of contracting a mental illness.

So this month, think about what makes you happy and do more of it, and think about what you do to take care of yourself. Little things that you do to stay mentally healthy today can keep you healthy in the long run.

about the sorry shape the world is in ever make you angry or upset?

MN: I think you mean depressed. It definitely bums me out since species are going to go extinct. People think we can save things like pandas, but we can’t. I think that we are degrading our planet in a way that prevents us from getting back the stuff we are losing.

AT: You also teach Zoology, which is very different from APES. How did you end up teaching that course?

MN: When I first started in this room, there were only a couple of AP courses at the high school, so the students in the class were the top of their grade. But I also helped to teach a remedial course for at-risk ninth-graders. At both extremes, the students loved the animals. I had hamsters and guinea pigs, and the students would put them in their sweatshirt pockets and let them run around inside the desks. So I started to ask the students if they would like to take a zoology class, and they all wanted to. At that point, there was only one other science elective, so I took a sabbatical to design the course. I was a biology major in college and flirted with the idea of going into veterinary medicine, but I still had to do a lot of reading to design the course. I spent most of my sabbatical reading in the Cornell library.

AT: It’s well known that you take both your APES and Zoology classes out to Fall Creek, and I can only imagine that you have some stories related to those outings.

MN: We always have people who fall in and are idiots. But once, when we were doing a population study on crayfish in Zoology, I had this kid from some southern state who had a really strong accent. He went out to the creek and picked the crayfish up out of the creek, ripped the tail off, peeled the exoskeleton off, deveined it with his thumb, swished it around in the water, and popped it in his mouth. Everyone in the class was shocked. There was also this other time about eight years ago: when we were walking back from Stewart Park, I heard this huge splash. This kid had gotten the whole class to agree to help him out of the water if he jumped in, so he jumped off the suspension bridge.

AT: It is also well known that you keep lots of classroom pets. What is your favorite classroom pet of all time?

MN: That’s hard. It would probably have to be Henrietta. She was a guinea pig who had been donated to me by a student going away to college, and the first time I went to clip her nails, I turned her over on her back and realized that she was actually a Henry. But she was awesome.

Guinea pigs are actually really endearing and get to know you. They also squeal when they want food, and all the teachers would bring in food for her. She had a special relationship with this one teacher. She would squeal anytime he entered the room, and he would put a carrot stick between his teeth and feed it to her between the bars.

Fast Facts: Favorite song: I seriously can’t choose. It depends on the time, place, and how I am feeling that day Favorite animal: Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty On his bucket list: Qualifying to compete at the International Barbershop Competition

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May 2015

features

IHS Band Continued from Page 10.

Conor Coutts Continued from Page 10.

Rockefeller Center, and featured countless soloists and conductors, including clarinetist Benny Goodman and trumpeter Doc Severinsen.

Finally, the band members participated in the school’s famous marching band, summer band program, and the frequent trips involved with being a nationally recognized band.

In this respect, the band of approximately 60 years ago and today’s band are no different. Today’s Concert Band is composed of students who are passionate about what they do, and over the years, these students have formed a closeknit community united by a love of music and a desire to better themselves in every aspect of their lives.

“Some days, when I don’t feel like coming to school, I go anyway so I can go to band,” said clarinetist Caoily Andrews ’15. “Band is truly my home—I sleep on the couch, I leave my stuff all over; it's the first place I go when I'm feeling great or feeling down,” said flutist Mattie Hause ’15.

Andrews and Hause are just two among thousands of students who have experienced the IHS Concert Band and all it embodies over the past 98 years. Ask any band member about what they do over in ABuilding during third period, and they will describe friends, laughter, and individual transformations. The band program doesn’t only teach its members how to play instruments; it teaches them how to live their lives.

Maybe a band geek isn’t the worst thing to be.

violent and depraved and sad,” he said to me. “The fact that every mile of America was once Indian land is not something that should be deprived.”

Conor also lived periodically in California while his father was getting his PhD at UC Irvine. Additionally, Conor lived with his paternal grandparents for a time when his parents were out of the country.

After getting a brief synopsis of Conor’s childhood, I asked him about his passion in life: what it is he most loves to do.

“I guess just talk to people—really talk freely, to socialize,” he remarked after pondering for a moment. He said that socializing doesn’t always have to be a waste of time, and after talking freely with Conor, I can see why.

I also asked Conor about who most inspires him to do what he does every day. He said that his grandfather played a large role in influencing him, but that he is overall inspired by people he meets, socializes with, and talks to every day.

When Conor’s father got a job at Cornell in 2011, he and Conor moved to Ithaca. Conor arrived at IHS as an awkward freshman who felt “boxed in by the rules.” He was not all that sociable with his freshmen classmates and followed the IHS Code of Conduct like no other before him. “I didn’t take my phone out of my bag for three years,” he told me.

He sought solace in involvement in extracurricular activities like clubs and events, but was still quiet in group settings. Once a timid ninth-grader with few friends to his name, Conor is now a fourth-year member of the track team, veteran member of the Tattler editorial board, morning announcements broadcaster, and is currently one of the organizers of IHS’s 140th anniversary celebration.

Along with Mr. Trumble, Luvelle Brown, and possibly Tin Ho, Conor is one in a handful of names that anyone walking the halls of IHS can recognize.

And when you look at all the things he does around the school, you’ll see why.

There’s no telling how many clubs and

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events Conor, a guy who loves to “take charge”, is involved in at any given moment. Whether it is presenting during Social Justice Week, co-teaching a class with Mr. Fe, throwing a discus, managing the school archives (a position he’s quite fond of ), serving as a student representative to the BoE, or carrying on lively conversations with our superintendent, if something’s going down, Conor’s in the thick of it. I asked him how he felt about being such a big name on campus and what he’s done to achieve such acclaim. He told me that this year, his morning radio segment, “Conor’s Corner”, has really helped increase his popularity.

Sitting in H-Courtyard on a dreary April afternoon, Conor and I talked about his plans for the future. When I asked him about his plans for next year, I expected him to say that he would attend a four-year university or go on some sort of extravagant intercontinental quest. The answer surprised me: Conor is choosing between nursing schools in Montana and Tennessee.

When searching my mind, it’s impossible to find someone who cares more about the Red and Gold than Conor does. Sometimes, he told me, he comes to school just to walk the halls while no one is here. He enjoys it. When I ask about his legacy, he said he wants to be remembered as “someone who was very eccentric but fun, someone who did a successful job at changing things for the better.” I then asked him of a message he’d like to give to those who succeed him. “Don’t be afraid to be yourself— seriously.”

The chatter of the Brain Team a few seats away from us began to rise, and my talk with Conor came to a close.

We shook hands and parted ways.

As I made my way out of the school, I heard Conor being greeted by one of his many, many acquaintances, and I thought to myself: IHS just won’t be the same next year without Conor Coutts.

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Local Musician Feature: Joseph Prusch

By STERLING WILLIAMS-CECI

I

thaca’s musician community is off the charts in regard to both size and talent: there are so many local performers who bring new things to the cultivation of music in Ithaca’s youth. Naturally, it was hard to pick a single interviewee for this article, but in the end, I decided on the humble Joseph Prusch. Prusch has played viola for almost his entire life while developing experience in almost every other instrument. He majored in musical performance and education at Ithaca College, and his career consists of not only performing at local venues, but also giving music lessons to the young musicians of Ithaca. Prusch’s story addresses important issues for musicians and nonmusicians alike.

Sterling Williams-Ceci ’17: Tell me about your life growing up and how you developed an interest in music.

Joseph Prusch: My parents cultivated my interest in music ever since I was born— my mom played piano, and my dad played guitar. My mom tried to teach me piano, and I caught on. Starting at age eight, I learned violin, and from then on, I learned Continued on Page 17.

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Kanye West: Tidal Isn’t the Illuminati

By JOHN YOON

image provided

arts

May 2015

Famous people advocating for themselves.

Tidal, the Jay-Z–backed subscription music-streaming service, first announced its intention to pay struggling artists for their work by getting a bunch of millionaires up on a stage to talk about it. Rihanna, Kanye West, Jack White, Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Calvin Harris, Alicia Keys, deadmau5, Jason Aldean, J. Cole, and Madonna joined Jay-Z’s stage in late March.

Since then, Tidal has received harsh criticism and maybe isn’t doing so great after all. If it were the Illuminati, as many claimed, it would probably be more successful right now.

As bizarre as it sounds, Tidal’s “revolutionary” goal to speak to all musicians and allow artists to connect with fans isn’t easy to ignore. This desire for a stronger connection between creators and fans is not the first of its kind. Patreon, a service that lets fans pledge money for each new piece their favorite artists produce, is showing promise. YouTube artists in particular are able to receive funding from a passionate community of fans instead of advertising revenue that the system provides inadequately. Recently, Tidal has announced a feature that would highlight the music of smaller artists using the service. Its promise to deliver quality content and a unique customer service will give them an edge over competitors and make them more than just a rich musicians’ club.

One of the biggest challenges for artists today is how little money they get from the labels that hold the copyrights to their recordings. The total royalty pie in today’s music services is split among all rights holders and corporate middlemen such as record companies, publishers, and songwriters. Spotify pays the original artist threefifths of a penny per play of their songs. Even if you have a premium Spotify subscription, your $9.99 a month isn’t going very far; it would take six hundred plays of a song on Spotify to produce the revenue generated by selling the same song on iTunes. With iTunes, too, virtually any song is available as a single; gone are the days of dropping $15 on one album for only a couple songs. Music streaming services will condemn types of music like classical and jazz—not to mention the entire CD medium—to poverty if they become the sole way people consume music.

Tidal is joining a music industry catered to a generation of consumers who understand music to be free. With Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and a deluge of musicstreaming services letting fans listen to songs for no charge, the music industry has opened a bleak new frontier for artists, one in which it’s all but impossible to use royalties to build and sustain a recording career. We are offered on-demand, all-youcan-listen songs and records for a minimal monthly fee (or nothing at all if you don’t care about listening to ads).

Continued on Page 18.

May 2015

Student Feature: Composers of IHS

By JAMES PARK, Staff Writer

I

HS is full of musicians. Whether the genre is rap, classical, country, or anything in between, you’re sure to find someone who’s willing to talk about it with great passion. But there’s more to music than just playing pieces or jamming to your favorite tunes: there are people who make music as well. I decided to sit down with AJ Stensland ’17 and James Yoon ’17, both prolific music-makers, to talk about their fascinating pastime.

James Park ’17: So, what got you guys interested in music-making?

AJ Stensland ’17: Well, for a lot of my childhood, I listened to a lot of electronic music—my dad introduced me to Skrillex and Ron Jenkins and other electronic musicians. After a few months, I realized I wanted to start doing this and making my own stuff, so my dad introduced me to a music program called Linux Multimedia Studio (LMMS). I started off with music when I picked up the trumpet in fourth grade, and I continued until eighth grade when I dropped it, but then I started making electronic music. From there, I learned all the basics, and then I moved on to where I am now.

James Yoon ’17: Music has always been a huge part of my life. I started learning piano when I was three or four, and along with that, I learned a ton of music theory, so a lot of those ideas that I learned over time kind of made me want to try making music. I’ve listened to music ever since I was a kid. I actually had a good selection of music that I liked to listen to; I had pretty strong preferences. And then it was AJ who introduced me to the electronic music genres like trap, house, dubstep. And then from there, I got into electronic music and started fiddling around in Audacity;

arts you know, just making sounds, recording sounds, mixing them. AJ then introduced me to LMMS, which I played with and still use today to make music.

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image by james park

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JP: Is there any particular genre of music you like to make or listen to?

JY: I work with a lot of subgenres of electronic music; I make AJ Stensland (left) and James Yoon (right). a lot of house, progressive house, trap. . . . I also make a lot blanking on names, but lots of other musiof rap beats, and have attempted to make cians. But usually, when I work on tracks, dubstep, but I don’t have the synthesizers I try not to copy so much; there isn’t a spefor that, so I haven’t really made anything cific set of music that I draw inspiration that noteworthy. But my favorite genre of from. It’s usually when I hear something music is classical. that catches my attention that I can think of a good track.

AS: When I first started, I wanted to make dubstep and trap and electronic dance JP: Describe your typical process for makmusic, but after a little while of trying to ing a song. What goes on? do that, I realized how much technicality there is in it, and all the tools that are JY: To me, creating music is a lot like writrequired to do that, so I just sat back. You ing a story, where you don’t have a concrete know, I just tried learning a lot of the ba- set of things you want to do, a sequence of sic stuff. Eventually I just started making what you want in it. My workflow is difrap beats all the time because I love trap ferent for every track. They all start off music, but later, I started making trap and with just an inspiration that I have, and I electronic dance music, so I’ve gotten back work with that and build off of it. I guess I into that. don’t really have a structured way of making songs, because I try to analyze how the JP: Who or what are your major influenc- track feels and go from there. It’s a simple es for making music? Do you draw from a process for me; there’s no routine, I just go lot of sources? for it and hope that it will finish.

AS: I can’t say that there is any one person who influences me more than another. We can look at big producers behind popular rap music or electronic dance music producers, everybody from Skrillex to Diplo and everything in between, but occasionally, I like to listen to Hans Zimmer because I do movie scores as well. My first inspiration was Ron Jenkins, but I haven’t really done anything as extreme.

JY: I‘ve made some songs that were inspired by post-romantic classical music; I’ve gotten inspiration from electronic musicians such as Daft Punk, and . . . I’m

AS: My workflow varies depending on the type of music I’m making. For example, when I’m making classical or orchestral music, I’ll choose some instrument, like a horn or piano, and then I’ll start experimenting with different chords or melodies. Once I’m done with that—typically a 16-bar melody—I’ll move on to another instrument that I think will complement the melody, and then I play different melodies that match but aren’t the same thing. I’ll continue to do that until I find an overall melody that comes out. Then I’ll just add drums and such. When I’m makContinued on Page 18.

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Joseph Prusch Continued from Page 15.

of my favorite places to play at was the Chapter House, which I am sure many people have heard of due to the fire that destroyed part of the building. I am really hoping that someone can restore it, because it was definitely a great place to perform at (not to mention an Ithaca icon).

SW: What’s the hardest part about being a musician?

JP: There are two answers: there is the financial struggle—you are required to put together your budget on next to nothing, so you must be a minimalist—and there is having to compromise your own musicianship in order to serve a certain venue;

SW: What instruments do you play, and do you have a favorite one?

JP: All of the instruments I play are my favorites. In order to become a music teacher in New York, you have to know all the instruments of band and orchestra, and you need to have had choral experience.

I’d say that the instrument that expresses me most of all is the viola.

SW: What types of music do you perform, and which groups are you in?

JP: I do different kinds of rock music, different kinds of jazz. I’m in several bands.

Blue Sky Mission Club is a sci-fi funk band that I’m in in addition to Urban Horsethieves, which is more of a heavy metal/country band. I acted as a fallback for one and a half years on fiddle for Sid Burke, a bluegrass band. I’ve also played at the Cornell Commencement every year for eight years (that’s mostly jazz music).

I had some experience doing hip-hop as well as theater before I turned 18. Some of my other repertoire includes classical music, Irish and Cajun fiddling, and French dance music. And then there’s Middle Eastern music, of which I am the director at Cornell.

SW: Where in Ithaca do you perform?

JP: Felicia’s Atomic Lounge is my main place, although I’ve had many gigs at Maxie’s Supper Club and Agava. I’ve played at the Dock, the Haunt, the Oasis (in South Hill), the State Theatre, and the Schwartz Center. Oh, and the Farmer’s Market, which is a really cool place because of the scenery and the vendors there. Another

May 2015

image by christopher molloy

almost every instrument. I did trumpet at age nine and started on dulcimer and recorder sometime after. My mother wanted me to get a secure job, such as being an architect, because she saw that I had the aptitude for it. But I chose music eventually. I felt that it wouldn’t have been fair to choose something different after my family had inspired me to do music—even my grandparents endowed me with instruments. That decision was the start of my career in music. I went to Ithaca College as a music performance and education major.

arts

Joseph Prusch on the Fiddle.

it often happens that you want to do very independent music for places that are paying you but have different expectations for what you are to play. Both of these challenges come down to the basic need to make a living by doing what you’re doing.

SW: What advice would you give to aspiring musicians at IHS, considering that our musician community is pretty large?

What advice would you give to parents who try to steer them away from this path?

JP: For the musicians themselves, I’d say that whatever ensemble you’re doing you should stick with. You may not always like it, but the conditioning it provides will be very valuable to you later in life. A lot of people think that they should stop doing their current instrument just because they may want to do a different instrument

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later on. But all instruments are connected to each other. For instance, you might think you’re a really good singer, and that you don’t have to do another instrument in addition to voice, but you’re going to get better at singing by doing violin in an orchestra. The extra time makes you learn so much, so stick with whatever instruments you’re playing! To the parents, I’d say that it’s true that making a stable living isn’t easy as a musician. Your child will have to take charge and ensure that they seek out opportunities to play for money.

It’s a hard skill, but it’s essential to the career, and as long as your child knows what they will have to do in order to get the most income possible, don’t try to steer them away from the life altogether.

SW: When it comes to learning a new skill, “Practice makes perfect!” is a common saying. In regards to music, what is “perfect” in your mind? Has there ever been such a thing as a perfect performance for you?

JP: This is a really good philosophical question. I think that there is no clear definition of a “perfect” performance, and that it definitely depends on many factors. However, I think that it is very important to strive towards what you see as being perfect, even though different opinions are present on what constitutes this standard. Music has evolved over time because of composers’ desire to create a more perfect sound—it has led to different styles of music throughout history.

Striving towards this ideal can help musicians see the layers that constitute music as a whole—aspects such as tone, rhythm, articulation, and artistry can all come together in amazing ways, even if there is still work left to be done in attaining perfection.

As for my own experience with a perfect performance, I have felt that some of my performances were perfect, even though these haven’t been the most accurate ones. Likewise, I have achieved complete accuracy in some of my performances, and yet, I don’t feel that they were anywhere near perfect.

Prusch will be playing on May 29 at Felicia's Atomic Lounge with the Middle Eastern ensemble SOUK.

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May 2015

Student Feature Continued from Page 16. ing rap beats, typically the way they work is that you have a series of different elements that are going on, like a few melodic instruments that you pitch up and down, and your drums, hi-hats, and basses. But I always start with creating the chorus of the song: the part that has the most height and the most elements in it, and then I’ll add and subtract elements and create transitions.

JP: Both of you have made music for school projects. Can you give an example of a project you did and how it turned out?

JY: The only track that I made for a school project so far was a rap song called “The Lord of the Flies”, and it was a big hit, actually. A lot of people talked about it, a lot of people seemed to like it, and that got me really inspired. I had been working on a rap beat months before just for fun. It was pretty bland, and in the process, I kind of lost my drive, so I set it aside. But then, there was an opportunity to make a project in English, so I chose to make a rap song.

And what better way is there to make a rap song than to just drop bars on top of an instrumental that you already have? Oh yeah, and The Lord of the Flies was heavily inspired by Kanye West’s Mercy.

AS: After finishing Night by Elie Wiesel in English, we had the opportunity to do a creative response project, and similar to James, I decided to create a piece of music.

Instead of making my usual trap music (I just thought that that would be completely disrespectful to what the book was meant to be) I decided to take advantage of some new tools that I’d gotten and create a film score, as if it were a movie. So since it was mainly a depressing story, not much happiness, I decided to base it on a minor scale and basically just make a sad melody. After laying out all the music and instrumentation and building the structure of the song, I realized that it would be really hard to relate back to the story just based on the music alone. So I decided to go in and add some atmospheric effects like angry crowds and gunshots, fire crackling and crows. I put in a violin solo to represent Julian’s violin solo from the story, and I

arts also tried to make it chronologically correct, just to continue to relate it back to the story.

JP: Both of you are in Music Production Club. What happens there?

AS: Music Production Club is something that me and a couple of friends started to try to make a place for the music-makers of IHS. What we’ve been doing lately is sharing our projects and talking about them a bit and then getting critiques and opinions from other people. It’s been a cool experience, and we’re hoping to get lectures about different techniques and different softwares from guest musicians, since we have many of them around Ithaca.

JY: It was a really good idea. The club gave me a ton of inspiration; the first meeting that I went to, everyone shared some tracks that they made, and I realized how good these people’s music was. And that motivated me to make better tracks and to get more ideas for what I could work on in the future.

JP: Why do you think music is important to our community and society?

AS: Well, there seems to be a division between the population. Some people just listen to music because it’s something to listen to, and they really couldn't care less about what’s in it; they just know it’s music and it’s something to fill the noise. But then, there’s this other half that just loves it for the feelings it brings; you know, we can get pumped about music. Music is not at all important for those who don’t care, but for those who do, it provides us a way to change the way we feel. You know, you listen to a sad song and you feel kind of somber; you listen to some really crazy, hype-y song and you get really excited and your heart starts pumping.

JY: You know, music, just like art, serves no practical purpose [laughs]. It doesn’t give us any evolutionary advantage because it doesn’t physically aid us in any way. But we, as humans, have lots of emotions.

And sometimes our emotions get so unstable that we need something to support us. And I feel as if music has done that for me. It may seem very bizarre, but when I

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listened to Mahler’s tenth symphony, the adagio movement, I cried. It doesn’t happen to everyone, and it only happened to me because I happen to be a pretty emotional person.

Music is a way for people to express themselves, because when you share something that you like, then some fraction of the people who listen to what you make might like it too. And that instantly builds community. And that person who likes that song is going to share it with another person, and they might like it too.

I’ve heard so many conversations about music in the hallways, between classes— it’s something that everyone can relate to.

Music has made some sort of impact in everyone’s life.

Tidal Continued from Page 15.

The kind of blind consumption that sustains today’s music market severs the bond between the musician and the listener, which is essential for providing what music is capable of: a communion and an intimately shared experience between listener and listener and between listener and performer. It is something we may feel while singing in a choir or playing in an ensemble, something of connectedness with other musicians and with the audience— arguably the same communal sensation that the Neanderthal singers and drummers would have felt, and the same energy and elation one may feel in a hip-hop concert. The evolution of music’s medium has made music an increasingly isolated experience—from the phonograph to the radio, the record player, the cassette player, the headphone, the Napster, and the iPod. For many, music has become so ubiquitous that people really don’t care what they listen to as long as they have a distraction playing in the background. As long as the 140 million users of streaming services can hear what they want when they want, the $1.9 billion music-streaming industry is here to stay.

If we become more conscious listeners and participants, Tidal might be right for us. If it truly is #TidalforAll—if it speaks to all musicians and not just the superstars and millionaires—it can be a step in the right direction.

Penultimate

ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE

May 2015

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