The Geneseo Inclusive Choir, the first of its kind on campus, is a music and singing group open to every student, regardless of major, year or ability. The choir began under the guidance of biology and philosophy double major senior Lauren Sternberg, who as the president of the Center of Integrative Learning and a student ambassador, was able to receive a grant to pursue a project of interest. This project manifested in the Inclusive Choir, which involves both Geneseo students as well as students from the LIVES program.
“The CIL was just a way to get things up and started; I knew that Geneseo could do better with their inclusive efforts … no one should be limited in who their friends are. So, I identified this as a problem,” Sternberg said. “That was kind of my basis for it. The Inclusive Choir was just an easy way [to get everyone together]. Most people like to sing, it just seemed like a natural facilitation to get the LIVES students in the same room as other Geneseo students … have it be an open-floor conversation starter.”
Along with her interest in inclusivity, Sternberg took notice of how few academic classes were available for students who have developmental impairments. She feels that many of the courses offered at Geneseo need to be more universal so that they are not “hyper-academic.”
In her attempt to bring both Geneseo students and LIVES students together, Sternberg started Fun Fridays—a fun social session and bonding experience for students to form friendships with LIVES students they may have not otherwise crossed paths with.
“We do ‘Fun Fridays’… It’s just karaoke, card games, chit-chatting, kind of [a] hang-out time,” Sternberg said. “We managed to find time in everyone’s schedule to make it happen.”
Sternberg claims, however, that one particular issue the CIL is facing is that there is not enough student participation. The CIL has about eight or nine LIVES students and about six Geneseo students. She hopes that membership involvement increases.
Christina Luongo, a member of the choir and also a student in the high school BOCES program, enjoys this program and especially loves its inclusivity and bonding time.
“I enjoy choir and [meeting] a bunch of new people,” she said.
Other students in the CIL agree that the choir is an incredible experience and that it is also a great vocal exercise.
“Our goal was never to be the best singers … It was always to have students in the same room. The social interaction is a priority for me. Music is a vessel for togetherness. It’s a universal [enjoyment] … [and] an excuse [to sing] that is somewhat educational,” Sternberg said. “[Our conductors] do a great job of entertaining the LIVES students’ questions and just making it the accepting environment we need.”