Watson Fellow finds punk ‘more than music' Noah Eber-Schmid remembers well the music that made him a punk.
It was a short, loud and angry tune, “The Kids Will Revolt,” by A Global Threat that begins:
Police cars are after you
Parents tell you what to do
If what they say is all so true
I guess there's no more home for you
It was important music for the eighth grader who had grown more introverted after his family moved from the cultural hub of New York City to suburban Livingston, N.J. The music, he says, was “a rallying cry” that brought him into a culture that welcomed alienated youth.
Eight years later, the senior with a double major in philosophy and political science is more immersed in punk than ever. A drummer and bass player, he has played in a number of bands including two on campus-Zombie B and White Kids on Hope-the latter a trio that cleverly performs punk standards as folk covers. He has promoted local and national bands at punk shows in the Capital Region and at home. He is a frequent contributor to web sites and 'zines that cover the punk movement.
And he has found in punk more than music: It is an open and supportive community that encourages individuality and embraces the punk ethic of “Do it Yourself” (DIY).
Eber-Schmid, recently named the College's 45th Thomas J. Watson Fellow, will use the prestigious $25,000 travel-study grant for his one-year project, “The Kids Are Alright? Punk Subcultures as Community and Movement.”
He will study the punk movement in Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway and Finland. He hopes to understand how punk has developed as a movement of community, the culture of punk, and the role punk has played on the local, national and international levels.
The project, he admits, puts him out of his comfort zone. “I'm not worried about finding punks,” he says. “I'm worried about where I'm going to live.” He has been encouraged, however, by offers of help after he posted a letter about his proposal.
He also acknowledges concern over fringe elements of the movement-including neo-Nazis and other racists and fascists-who have a reputation for violence. For the most part, he says, those groups are not part of the central punk scene and easy to avoid. Eber-Schmid notes that the term “skinheads” is often mistakenly used to describe racists or fascists punks, but not all “skins” belong to those groups.
At Union, Eber-Schmid was a Seward Fellow; world news editor for Concordiensis; president of Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honorary; a member of Campus Action and Ethics Bowl team, which recently finished second in the nationals; and a member and alumni relations chair of Sigma Chi fraternity.
After his Watson, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in political science and teach at the college level. But he plans to remain a punk: “I'll be one of those 40-year-old punks in the club where all the young kids are dancing.”
“To look at him, you might not suspect Noah of being involved with the punk rock movement,” began a letter of nomination from Prof. Davide Cervone, chair of the Watson Committee. “But there were times when he sported brightly colored hair and a less traditional wardrobe, and his punk identity has always been important to him.
“Noah is one of those remarkable individuals who can bridge the gap between two very different worlds, in this case, the academic setting of the liberal-arts college, and the non-conformist community of punk,” Cervone said. “On the face of it, these would seem to clash, but in Noah, they fit perfectly. Noah has a very personal stake in each of these worlds, and he hopes to bring his academic skills to bear on a culture that is central to his own sense of self.”
The campus Watson committee consists of Melinda Goldner, History; Charles Batson, Modern Languages; David Ogawa, Visual Arts; and Cervone, Mathematics. Maggie Tongue, director of post- graduate fellowships, was an advisor. Eber-Schmid credits Batson for help in refining his proposal, and Prof. Jennifer Matsue, who shared her research on the punk and rap movements. Prof. Byron Nichols planted the seed for his Watson during his sophomore year, Eber-Schmid says.
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship Program was created in 1968 by the children of Thomas J. Watson Sr., founder of IBM Corporation, and his wife, Jeannette K. Watson. This year the Watson program received nearly 1,000 applications from 50 select private liberal arts colleges and universities.