"I'm not exactly an anarchist," Brian Cina '98 said. "I just think there's a very good chance our society will crumble."
While the pillars of society may not survive the test of time, this unassuming senior will go on doing what he loves best: making music that "makes people think." His senior fellowship was a product of this desire to instigate social change: his final piece, "Lifewind," was created with a distinct message in mind.
"People in the modern world forget how nature works," said Cina, who grew up far from the work of nature in Lodi, N.J. "[Nature] is all about cycles -- everything people do will come back to them eventually."
None will be more accountable, Cina said, than the "isolated pocket of the American elite" that is Dartmouth. Cina said he thinks people do not appreciate their position at the College -- wrapped up in their own personal struggles, they fail to be aware of global issues.
"A lot of people here are blind and self-absorbed," he said.
However, Dartmouth has helped Cina accept even the people he feels are at fault with the soon-to-collapse American society -- people whose desire for money rules their lives.
"I'm definitely better at dealing with rich people," said Cina, who rarely encountered this breed growing up.
When he first arrived at the College, Cina was overwhelmed by the isolation and social stratification of the campus. Out of "stark boredom," as he called it, he began to DJ at parties with fellow senior Hein Koh '98.
These first endeavors gave way to more exploration into the world of "electro-acoustic" music, characterized by synthesizer and computer sounds. After taking an introductory music course freshman year, Cina decided that "this was what I wanted to do."
This desire still drives Cina today. After graduation, he plans to attend Mills College in Oakland, Calif. This institution has been home to world-renowned composers, including John Cage. Cina said he preferred going to graduate school on the West Coast because of the different social climate.
After graduate school, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Music, and then to teach and compose, with one ultimate goal: to enact social change with his work.
But, he concedes, "that could take a lifetime."
Or at least until society disintegrates.
