Alyssa Kumar and Thierno Diallo hosted the Jasper Wrapped event in Kelly Commons.
ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE
By Angelina Persaud, Managing Editor/Asst. News Editor
What’s one thing all Manhattan College Jaspers have in common? The answer: a great taste in music.
Nestled in the corner near the Starbucks in Kelly Commons, a table was set up to attract students to add their favorite songs to the “Jasper Wrapped” playlist for the year.
Students were able to enter their favorite songs and talk about their music preferences as a way of engaging with each other and forming connections based on shared interests.
The event was coordinated on behalf of Residence Life as a way to try to unite the commuter resident populations on campus.
The goal was to curate a collection of songs that were compiled by students and play them throughout the semester in the commons.
Alyssa Kumar, a senior biology major, was one of the representatives at the booth in Kelly and offered an additional perspective on the motivation behind the event.
“We were assigned to do programming for the student body, especially the commuters,” Kumar said. “So we’ve been doing several types of programs. Jasper Wrapped is to kind of get the two communities together to create a playlist.”
Hosting the event alongside Kumar was Thierno Diallo, a senior computer science major. He further explained that the event was meant to include the music preferences of commuter students as a way to expand the creative outlet for students on campus and gather a wider audience over shared interests.
“We wanted to focus on what you would have listened to on your way to classes which is more commuter-focused, and more upbeat,” Diallo said. “So just to sort of wake you up in the morning from your commute type of thing.”
Kumar and Diallo also highlighted their personal music preferences and welcomed others to share theirs at the event and bond over other genres.
“I really like screamo pop, alternative rock, stuff like that,” Kumar said. “Music just honestly helps me to stay calm, even though screamo can be pretty intense.”
Diallo noted that his personal music preferences have shifted over time and he tends to jump around from different genres.
“Mainly it’s like hip hop rather than pop,” Diallo said. “I can go from Taylor Swift to Queen. I love music.”
The event had multiple student participants, each bringing their own unique music preferences to add to the playlist.
Margaret Pappas, a junior civil engineering major, shared how her music preferences shifted over time.
“My favorite genre is country,” Pappas said. “My taste in music changed during the COVID lockdown when I had more time to explore different genres.”
Pappas also emphasized the need for more student lounges on campus to create environments that allow students to relax and unwind.
“I enjoyed the Jasper Wrapped event,” Pappas said. “It allowed students to share their music taste with the entire school. I think students would benefit to an extent. I think there should be places on campus where relaxing meditation-like music is played so that students can de-stress.”
Residence Life hosts various events throughout the year and students are encouraged to participate as they are announced.