Students' style, musical tastes to be considered art

Do you realize that every time you glide your finger on your iPod Click Wheel to find that perfect song, that every time you dance and that every time you laugh at a comedic performance, you are enjoying the arts? \nAs one of the spring 2006 arts editors for the Indiana Daily Student, I fear that too many readers (yes, you) pair the arts and, in turn, the arts page of the IDS, only with high-culture opera and theater productions that appeal little to the college demographic, especially at IU. Moreover, I fear that readers have a tendency to skip over this page, maybe just glancing at the photos or skimming through the upcoming events. \nSo my co-editor Kacie Foster and I are offering more.\nIn the past, the arts section has featured mostly theater, musical and cultural events that, while meaningful and important to cover, we think interest too few IU students. While we still plan to preview or review IU Auditorium shows and Department of Theatre & Drama productions, we're extending coverage of the arts at IU to include popular music, students' style and art on campus that will appeal to a larger audience.\nYou'll notice "Tuned In" in Wednesday issues, a feature in which students with iPods or MP3 players are briefly interviewed and share their musical choices. \nIn Thursday issues, you can look forward to "Sidewalk Runway," another student-feature piece in which our peers with notable or unusual garments will be photographed and interviewed (example: so, what makes you wear that giant piece of purple faux fur around your waist?).\nWith these two new items, our goal is to get more students in the newspaper. \nAnother item we're implementing, which you'll find in today's paper and regularly in Tuesday editions, is ARTiFACTs, where we'll feature pieces of art on campus. It will answer questions like: Why is the piece important? And what's the story behind it?\nLearning something new while being entertained? Yes, that's what we're doing. Get excited! \nAs we commence the semester and the new and, we hope, improved arts page, we encourage readers to do more than peek at the headlines or read the photo captions. In fact, we encourage readers to do even more than read all the stories. We want you to engage in arts first-hand, and we'll do our best to provide you with information on opportunities to do so. If you have any story ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact us at arts@idsnews.com whenever you're inspired.