It’s a Friday night at Cornell and you’re desperate to escape the endless world of classes, problems and prelims. You meet up with some friends, pre-game and then go to a party at any number of places on or off-campus. Dancing the night away with friends and potential friends, you find yourself exposed to loud tunes throughout the night. If you’re at frat party or in Collegetown, those tunes typically tend to be top 40 radio friendly jams ready to get the party started. If you’re at a co-op party, you’re more likely to hear reggae beats, electro and live rock bands. If you’re at an architecture or other alternative party, you’re most likely to hear the latest cuts from that new hot underground act. 

Whether you know it or not, your time at Cornell exposes you to a vast expanse of media. From active exposure such as attending an acapella show, theatre performance or casually exchanging YouTube clips to passive exposure like walking into a party blasting the hottest tunes, you’re bound to be in contact with more media than you ever could imagine. 

Similar to the ways in which we socialize as we progress through this four-year institution, the types of media that we’re exposed to shift as the years go by. As a freshman, you’re more than willing to branch out and go to lots of different arts events — think of the time you attended that art exhibit at the Johnson Museum to meet more people or the acapella concert you went to because you wanted to see what all the rage was about. You’re right on campus, but there are more arts events than you could ever imagine and get the time to explore. 

As you progress through the undergraduate ranks, your exposure to different types of media shifts and narrows as you find your social niche.  As an upperclassman, you’ve got your friend groups, whether through frats, co-ops, clubs or classes, and you tend to stick to your comfort zone. You have more people to socialize with, there are more opportunities to go to parties and you can even start exploring the bar scene. And because this is Cornell, you also have a growing workload and club obligations. Whereas once you might have decided to join an acquaintance to see the latest opening, now you do not have the same enthusiasm or willingness to give up one of the few nights in the week that you have with your friends.

Even if you’ve been at Cornell for four whole years and you think that the arts here are all old hat, think again. Most students here think of Ithaca as a small college town with limited opportunities for the arts — between Cornell, Ithaca College and the arts organizations in Ithaca, however, there are far more opportunities than the typical Cornell student imagines. For instance, did you know that Ithaca boasts a professional regional theatre and a handful of music venues in downtown Ithaca alone? Further, while you may think that you know what your likes and dislikes are, don’t limit yourself to just what you know. After all, you’ll never know if you enjoy that art exhibit or play if you don’t attend it. 

Beyond simply seizing the moment and diversifying your interests, attending a variety of arts events can broaden your point of view. Music, film, theatre and art each offer a different lens to the creator’s thoughts and ideas. At Cornell and beyond, these different types of media offer a glance into varying perspectives, cultures and ideas. Regardless of your major, career aspirations or friends, don’t miss out on the diversity of perspectives that the arts have to offer. 

Whether or not you believe it now, college comprises our formative years and the activities we take part in now will shape what we’re interested in the future. While not everyone has to be an avid patron of the arts or live in Risley (and be inundated with theatre and music), I challenge you to broaden your perspective this semester and attend an event that is out of the ordinary. At the worst, a theatre performance can just be another way to socialize and ‘pre-game’ instead of with video games.

So, if you’ve got some extra time, choose the type of media that you’re exposing yourself to. Attend an arts performance at Cornell or elsewhere in Ithaca — you’ll be helping both yourself and the Ithaca arts scene.