Greene County High School musicians had an opportunity to learn about jazz from Rosana Eckert, an internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist and educator from the University of Northern Texas on Friday at Kirkwood Community College’s jazz festival.
Some of them years from now may remember the concert they attended in the evening. They’ll all remember who they met and talked with in the hallway at Kirkwood’s Iowa Hall. The 20 or so students in the jazz choir and the accompanying band met 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Band director Wes Anderson said he saw Sanders as they were leaving the building, and stepped out of the group to shake Sanders’ hand. Sanders stopped and talked with the students, asking what issues were important to them.
School shootings was on the top of their minds. They shared that they know mental health issues are a big part of the problem, and that they know fellow students who aren’t mentally healthy. They shared their concern that a shooting could possibly happen at Greene County High School.
The students also talked about military-grade weapons, and some said they agree with a proposal not to allow the sales of guns to people younger than 21. According to Anderson, “some of the upperclassmen said legal or illegal doesn’t matter, but be sure the right people can buy guns and the wrong people can’t.”
From mental health the conversation turned to universal health care. The students gave Sanders mixed opinions about that. Students suggested to Sanders that military spending should be diverted to help pay for health care and college tuition.
The students did more of the talking than Sanders, but when it was their turn to listen, they listened very respectfully. “Dave (Heupel, choir director) and I talked about the fact that Sanders is to the left politically of most of those students, but they did a good job of listening. They made good eye contact and they listened carefully to all he had to say,” Anderson said.
“Once we got on the bus it was pretty loud. There was a lot of conversation about current issues, and everyone had ideas of how to run the government,” he said.
