MEADVILLE—Allegheny College students took political activism to a new, creative level recently when they raised $500 for the Meadville Council on the Arts.
“It’s fantastic. This benefits a community organization, a non-profit service to the whole community,” said Ed Miller, president of the Meadville Council on the Arts.
The Center for Political Participation, Allegheny’s WARC radio, College Democrats, and Allegheny Student Government sponsored the first annual “Rock for Change Battle of the Bands” on April 16, netting $500. Money was raised from band registration fees, t-shirt sales and a raffle of an IPod Touch.
The idea for the fundraiser began with Richard Shafranek, a senior student fellow of the Center for Political Participation. Participating bands were asked to perform music with a political or social activism message.
“While the Center for Political Participation’s primary focus is on political awareness and engagement in terms of voting and elections, there are many ways to get involved…writing letters to the editor, attending local school board meetings, and signing petitions,” Shafranek said. “These are all equally valid activities, but perhaps the most basic, and important, way to get involved is through the exercise of our First Amendment right to free speech. We wanted to recognize the legitimacy of music as a means of political involvement.”
Ed Miller of the Council on the Arts agreed. His organization, located on the second floor of 910 Market St., Meadville, offers myriad artistic venues, including a gallery, a theater, and piano and art lessons. But like so many businesses and organizations, the Council on the Arts was hit hard by the recession in the past 18 months. It still has not received any state funding this past year.
The arts are always the first to get hit,” Miller added, “so this gift from Allegheny students will go directly to the people to expose them to the arts.”
The “Rock for Change Battle of the Bands” event attracted eight bands or solo acts. The winner was Andrew Grossman of College Park, Md., who was awarded $500. Second place went to Allegheny’s own Ben Bussewitz, who won $100. The third-place finisher was Gnome Hut, an Allegheny band that won $50.