Students’ voices have always been important, especially when they see something that feels wrong. Their voices hold immense power and significance. They are the driving force behind making change. Every student has their own unique perspective on subjects that shape the world and the many situations that lie in them. When students raise their voices, they have the ability to challenge the status of important situations that are worth talking about. It is important to listen to students advocate for what they believe is wrong.

The Enochs High School music program has made several accomplishments this past year and as a student who sees the work that is put in for such great success, it is absolutely insulting to see it get swept under the rug. Marching band students put in so much time for their program. It requires skill and an incredible amount of grit to succeed. The amount of mental focus it takes to even participate in this sport never fails to shock parents. Students put in an estimated time of 200 hours of practice, including the practices that they spend their Saturdays on; practicing from 9am to 9pm to perform a 6 minute show. Any program requires money to run, including your favorite sports, such as football or baseball. They take buses to their games all the time, and marching band students also have to take bus rides to competitions, which require money. Directors, staff, parents, and students have noticed a lack of funding for the music program, and find it unfair when they see other programs get funding more money and given more recognition.

“We as parents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers etc… must do more to support programs that enrich the lives of our children. The music program is one such program. Sometimes fundraising isn’t enough,” says Rachael Marmol.

On September 11th, 2023, there was a board meeting to discuss this money issue. Parents and students were present to represent the music program and spoke up to board members about making a request to be adequately funded to meet the needs of what the music program requires. Each student has a fair share to equal up to the costs that are made, making each student pay $500 just for one year of marching band alone, including transportation, so imagine doing it for 4 years. The ironic thing is that the district pays for every programs’ transportation but the music program. You would think that it is a pretty fair thing to ask for, but instead, students get unaccommodating behavior from certain board members.

It’s very insulting to hear that, knowing these young talented performers put their time and dedication in, the music program gets zero funding from the district and gets treated unfairly.

When is the last time you have seen sports teams at Enochs High school, for example, the football team, make it to a finals tournament? The Modesto City Marching Brigade made it to finals and if you were to tell any other student that attends Enochs High School outside of the music program this, no one would have any idea what you are talking about. It is an unfortunate thing to see one of the most successful programs at Enochs get zero recognition.

In California, Proposition 28 has been introduced to require the state to establish a new program to support arts and education. Hopefully, that’ll make changes for the ongoing lack of funding for music programs, but these new funds will only be available for use for 3 years, so what happens when those 3 years are up? It is important to recognize these issues because if a program that you participate in gets zero funding, it is a very frustrating thing to feel. Don’t be afraid to express your opinion about these issues, after all, it is your voice that matters.