The music resonating from Shafer Tower has become the subject ofan electronic campaign aiming to differentiate Ball State's belltower from other campus bell towers across the country.
The "Rock the Bell Tower" campaign is headed bytelecommunications professor Michael Gerhard who wants to make thetower's musical selection responsive to student's preferences.
The idea for this campaign began as a joke one day while Gerhardwas talking to a friend about what it would be like to have popularmusic played from the tower.
Gerhard said that such music would promote a more pleasantatmosphere on campus and also boost morale among universitystudents, faculty and staff.
"The tower's depressing tones create the atmosphere of afuneral," Gerhard said. "If I heard the refrain from "Stairway toHeaven" while walking across campus, it would put a smile on myface."
Gerhard adamantly emphasizes that the campaign is not a matterof paramount importance. He considers himself an activist and, "isinvolved in several other much more important crusades includingnursing home reform and the battle over increased consolidation ofmedia ownership."
Additionally, Gerhard stresses that his motives are not in poortaste.
"I do not, in any way, want to offend the Shafer family orcheapen the solemnity of Ball State's campus," Gerhard said.
However, Gerhard is intrigued with the notion of usingelectronic media technology to facilitate democracy.
"I began this campaign to give students an example, albeit alame one, of teledemocracy," Gerhard said.
Gerhard defines teledemocracy as the use of communicationstechnology to facilitate the transmission of political informationand opinion between citizens and their public leaders.
Gerhard is utilizing the World Wide Web as a tool to get theword out about his campaign. The campaign's Web site is located atwww.bsu.edu/web/mgerhard/belltower.htm.
"I believe that the Internet can be used to inform people, toextend the reach of democracy and to show students teledemocracy inaction," Gerhard said.
On Gerhard's Web site, students in favor of the campaign canfill out an online ballot which will eventually be presented touniversity administrators.
Gerhard says he has no prediction as to how many students, staffor faculty will sign the petition, although he has currentlyreceived about 50 online responses.
"This campaign is a fun way for students to learn aboutteledemocracy," freshman Evangeline Duncan said. She said she is infavor of voting for the music to be played from the bell tower."That way everyone will get a say in what we hear each day," Duncansaid.
Freshman William Fulton says playing snippets of popular musicin the bell tower, "is a good idea because it would make Ball Statemore unique and appealing to prospective students than otheruniversities."
Fulton also reasons that school spirit could be raised on gamedays if the tower would be programmed to play the Ball State fightsong.
Gerhard realizes that some people view his efforts asundignified, but says that his campaign encourages debate and theexchange of ideas.
"My intention is not to make a joke of Ball State, but to makeit a more fun and enjoyable atmosphere," Gerhard said. "That towercould be used to put a smile on people's faces."
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