This week’s Campus Celebrity is an activist, a poet, and above all a talented musician. Despite his unique qualities and accomplishments at Penn, his most prominent quality is humility. Keep reading to learn more about Penn’s sweetheart, Isaac.
Name: Isaac Silber
Year: 2015
Birthday: September 1st, 1992
Hometown: Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Major: English major and Jazz Studies minor
What are some of your hobbies and special talents?
I’m in a band; I’m a drummer and a guitarist. I’ve also contributed poetry to Penn’s Impact magazine and to a new independent artist collective called Imaginary School, which has its first digital issue launching sometime in the very near future TBA (shoutout to Shakeil Greeley!). I’m also working on a new project for Symbiosis, so I’m looking forward to my first major attempt at a poetry/visual art collaboration.
What kind of activities are you involved in at Penn?
At Penn I’m in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program. I’m also a drummer for African Rhythms and Penn Jazz (AR’s show is this weekend, and Penn Jazz’s is next weekend, come check them out!). I was also a drum tutor for ASAP (the After School Arts Program at the Platt Performing Arts center). Recently, I’ve been getting involved with an independent student organization called SOUL (Students Organizing for Unity and Liberation) after being really inspired by the work they’ve been doing for the Ferguson Friday protests/demonstrations/installations. A bunch of the members went to Ferguson over fall break to take part in the protests that have been happening there continuously since Mike Brown’s death, and they’ve brought a lot of that organization and dedication back to our campus. You can see more about them and their mission if you check out SOUL on facebook, tumblr, or twitter (# FergusonFridays #NoMoreMartyrs).
Where have you and your guitar traveled? Where else would the two of you like to go?
I’ve taken my guitar to a bunch of places… New Hampshire, Maine, Cape Cod, the Hamptons, the People’s Climate March in NYC a few weeks ago…. but I’ve still never been able to take it outside of the US, which I would love to do. It would be really awesome to take my guitar on a road trip across the country, and down into Mexico and Central America. I don’t know when I’ll ever find the time to do it… but it’s a dream.
But wouldn’t your drum get jealous?
Well I actually use my guitar as a drum pretty often, so the two kind of go hand in hand. But I definitely speak more fluently in rhythm than I do in harmony, so I think I would rather travel with a drum than a guitar. At least that way I’d be more able to jam with the new people that I meet along the way. This summer I spent a month in Kingston, Jamaica (with funding from the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program and the English Department) learning about religious drumming there – I was doing field research for my senior thesis. My goal is to one day be an ethnomusicologist, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep traveling and studying drums in lots of different parts of the world.
If you could live anywhere next year, where would it be?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out right now… I’m hoping to continue doing field research about some of the ways drums are currently used socially and culturally, but it’s hard to say exactly which part of the globe I’m going to end up in.
If you could go back, what would you tell your freshman self?
I’m actually writing an article with this exact prompt for 34th Street Magazine. So look out for that piece!
What’s your favorite Penn tradition?
It’s a tradition I never actually participated in, but it’s really interesting. Penn was known for having rowbottom riots. The story goes that back in the day, people would start shouting “rowbottom” and people would congregate for a riot on campus. I can’t exactly see it happening today. But Hey Day’s fun too.
Who’s your spirit animal?
My grandpa when he was my age.
What’s your guilty pleasure TV show?
I don’t really watch TV because there’s a drum set in my living room… but I love Game of Thrones and 24. (Ed. Note: 24 is still on?)
Who’s your celebrity crush?
Mila Kunis
What about your man crush?
Ken Schindler
If you could convince someone to pick Penn over Princeton, where would you take them to eat at or around campus?
Koreana or the Don Memo’s food truck
What’s your average weekend like?
Well my girlfriend is working in New Jersey so the weekend’s when we get to spend most of our time together. When we’re in Philly we always do different things, sometimes getting out into the city and other times getting as far as Copa… and of course there’s a lot of hanging with friends and housemates. And jamming.
What’s your favorite midnight snack?
Wishbone mac and cheese.
Tell us your most awkward Penn story.
One time I went to the first day of a Marketing class, and it was really awkward.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
OCR.
What’s on your Penn bucket list?
Please end OCR.