Last week, our wonderful Opinions Editor wrote an article titled “Welcome to the best section of the Bucknellian.” While the article is convincing, we here at Arts and Culture could not sit here and not throw our hat into the ring.
Aaron: As someone with a deep passion for the arts on campus, the opportunity to write for Arts and Culture has been nothing short of gratifying, and although Arts and Culture is a new section, I can safely say that we are, indeed, the best section in the Bucknellian. Since I’m heavily involved in the arts scene on campus through the Creative Writing and Literary Studies department, getting the chance to highlight the arts scene on campus through Arts and Culture has been something that I take great pride in. Since Bucknell has so many arts and cultural events, who wouldn’t want to show them off?
Furthermore, while everyone has opinions, everyone also has a culture. No matter where you come from or what your background is, everyone has a story worth sharing with the world. Arts and Culture gives people a chance to tell their stories through reflection pieces. Through these reflection pieces, you can also share your thoughts on current arts and culture trends and your opinions on them. For example, one of my favorite articles was our “How Are You Doing?” article, which covered Elmo’s “How are you doing?” tweet from a few months ago. Co-writing that article was really rewarding for me since it gave me the chance to talk about an important topic to me (mental health) while tying it to the wide scope of media and culture.
Esther: What I love most about Arts and Culture is that it encompasses everything. In life, we turn to elements of arts and culture as an outlet to express and comfort ourselves in the highs and lows. The concrete nature of certain disciplines like the STEM field is great and very needed, but there’s something about art forms like song and poetry that can help us grasp our feelings in times of grief or heartache. Moreover, culture extends far beyond art; for instance, food, a very important element of culture, can often bring great comfort and help us cherish life with our loved ones. In gathering over a table of food, we transcend language and can connect with those different from us. Whether it be through the tradition of eating ice cream through a bad breakup, or baking grandmother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe to preserve her memory, elements of culture are ingrained into our lives and help us pull through the ups and downs of life.
As the other editor for this section, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the range of topics I’ve been able to write about, from the Public Domain & Mickey Mouse to how food has connected me to my heritage. Through writing about arts and culture, I’ve been able to find connection and commonality with others in the passions and identities we share or can learn from one and another about. In the midst of a world that craves black and white meaning, but a life that contains a lot of gray area, I love that we can express both the agony and elation of life through elements of arts and culture.
While we love all the sections in the Bucknellian, in our totally unbiased opinion, Arts and Culture is simply the best. Furthermore, Arts and Culture is a blend of several different columns as well. We have a little bit of news since we cover events on campus and a little bit of opinions through our reviews and reflections. So, if you want to join the Bucknellian and are not sure where to start, Arts and Culture is a great place!