Many students roam PHS’s halls without even realizing that just over two decades ago, Damien Chazelle ’03 did the same. 

A director and screenwriter known for his movies “Whiplash”and “La La Land,” Chazelle is the youngest person to win the Academy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Director at age 32. He was born and raised in Princeton, and joined the PHS Studio Band as
a freshman, which at the time was directed by its founder Anthony Biancosino.

“Ironically, movies were ... my main passion, but [Biancosino’s] overwhelming presence ... motivated
me to make drumming my life,” said Chazelle. 

Drumming became so important to Chazelle that he even considered pursuing it as a career. However, he ultimately decided to stick with filmmaking, his first love. Despite the pivot, Biancosino’s teachings still had a heavy influence on Chazelle’s
approach as a filmmaker.

“Looking back, I think [my experiences] wound up creating [a] way of thinking about cinema through rhythm ... and getting into a mode where making art ... was not just a hobby [but was] all consuming,” said Chazelle. “Obviously [when] pushed to its extreme [this] can be very unhealthy, but that sort of intensity of art can be important in your life. I think I kind of owe that all to him.”

Premiering in 2014, the psychological drama “Whiplash” was Chazelle’s breakout film. He drew inspiration from his own experiences in Studio Band and interactions with Biancosino, although the events in “Whiplash” are greatly exaggerated. Chazelle saw the movie as an opportunity to push boundaries and explore the value of trying to attain a costly goal.

“I pushed the narrative of Whiplash ... far beyond what, for instance, I personally went through [as] a student ... I wanted to kind of see if you push this sort of thing into really dark terrain, at what point [do] the ends justify the means,” said Chazelle. “I think, in a way, the moral answer is an easy one ... it’s not worth it ... And yet I keep grappling with it, because it’s hard to imagine ...
rewriting history to exclude all of those things, or all those accomplishments, and thinking ‘what does that mean?’”

Despite this dilemma, Chazelle emphasized that when creating movies, he doesn’t think about messaging since it can be too abstract. Rather, he prefers to focus on emotional expression and tries to share a piece of his own world with others.

“In the case of ‘Whiplash,’ it was both the emotion I felt when I was drumming, but also that specific world I was in as a ... young, competitive jazz drummer ... that I hadn’t seen very often in films.
[I] felt like I could shine a light on [it] in some way,” said Chazelle. 

Chazelle’s experiences at PHS led him to discover his passion for film and have inspired his movie-making process. He has found that everyone has unique experiences that allow them to create distinctive artistic works.

“We all have our influences, and you should be honest about it and ... learn what you can from the past, because that’s what it’s there to do,” said Chazelle. “In following those influences, at some point ... you [will] stumble on to what it is that you bring to the table — that is yours and yours alone.

Damien Chazelle ’03 reflects on his artistic journey

We live in a world driven by money, and like many things,
school clubs need money to be able to function. So, where
do we get this money? Other than small fundraising
activities on school grounds, the obvious answer
is from the deep pockets of parents. However,
this comes with some questions that need to be
addressed. Is having families cover the costs of
club activities sustainable? Is it enough? And
most importantly, is it fair?

Right now, the financial burden of club
activities falls mostly on members and
their families, and depending on the club,
these costs can be staggering. For example,
Charlotte Valvanis ’26, a PHS Model United
Nations officer, explained that tournament
costs can range from around $200–$500 per
student. Although these costs might not
be a concern for some families, the same
cannot be said for all. PHS’s student body
is made up of people of diverse financial
backgrounds, and we should provide equal
opportunities to all students, or else we risk
these club activities only being accessible to those who are
more privileged.

> We should provide equal opportunities to all students.

Having only a few clubs receive a stipend from the
school brings up the issue of fairness. How should we
decide who will get the funds? How much will they
receive? Where is this money coming
from? The district needs to set aside
a budget dedicated to club activities.
Once there is a budget, club leaders
can submit grant applications to
be reviewed by a committee team
consisting of administrators and
students. In the beginning of the
school year, clubs that need funding can explain
the total amount they will need and what
they will need it for in a detailed application.
Considering that our funds will be limited, the
job of the committee will be to decide what
percent of a club’s request to actually grant.

In addition to funding club costs, part of this
budget can be set aside to provide financial aid.
Right now, clubs lack a reliable system to support
students who need financial assistance. Dean of Students
Diana Lygas revealed that financial aid generally is funded
by other members of the club who pay increased fees.

Another important factor to consider, however, is
where this money will come from. It is the school district’s
responsibility to facilitate education, and club
activities contribute to the academic excellence
and reputation of our district. Just as how
the district has budgets for other parts of our
school system like facility maintenance and staff
salaries, they can set aside a budget for student
club activities too. Another way to finance this
budget pool would be to engage alumni donors.
Some high schools create a strong alumni network to help
support student activities. PHS has prominent alumni in a
variety of fields, and their contributions could go towards
financing this budget to support clubs.

Of course, the proposal outlined here is just one possible
way of addressing the club funding issue. Like for any other
problem, the first step to finding a solution is acknowledging
that there is a problem to be solved: that school clubs are
negatively afffected by a lack of funding. 

PHS's clubs need funding

   These days, racial literacy has become one of the most important skills to learn in order to interact with the world around us. As described by PPS, racial literacy means understanding the experiences and perspectives of different cultures and races, being aware of our biases, and being willing and able to acknowledge and address racial issues. Completing a racial literacy course teaching these skills is a graduation requirement for the classes of 2025 and beyond, and many students end up taking Princeton Introduction to Racial Literacy (PIRL) due to its convenience. Racial Literacy, the in-person option for fulfilling the requirement, is a semester-long course limited to juniors and seniors. PIRL, on the other hand, is a digital, asynchronous class that is open to all students, regardless of grade. However, due to the online and solitary nature of PIRL, student learning is greatly impacted and prevents them from developing the compassion and awareness expected of being “racially literate.” 
   When taking PIRL, there are no opportunities for social interaction among students, which impairs their ability to effectively retain the information they’ve learned through the course. Thus, students find themselves missing out on discussions, group activities, projects, and other opportunities to test their knowledge and interact with the material. The course states that communication is limited in order to allow students to reflect on their “thoughts and behaviors about race and oppression;” however, in reality, the lack of collaborative projects and feedback on assignments often acts as an obstacle for comprehension. Students can feel as though they are alone in the course and therefore care less about it, which often worsens understanding of the material. 
   Furthermore, with the need to read and watch lengthy passages and videos that are often difficult to comprehend and carry out the course’s intended purpose in a vague manner, students can often find themselves struggling to stay focused on the content. For instance, in a required text called “Stones, Fruit, Sand & Beliefs,” students are asked to contemplate the question, “What do we learn about our beliefs (values) from studying stones, trees, fruit and sand?”, and to “identify a proverb that resonates with [them]” from a list of nature-related phrases. This activity has little relevance to the stated purpose of the course, and it is even more likely to cause students to struggle to learn and feel a lack of commitment to learning about racial literacy when paired with online learning’s many opportunities for distraction and the lack of accountability in asynchronous environments. As students are only required to complete one activity per module, they often end up doing the bare minimum. 
   Additionally, the course does not provide students the opportunity to share their experiences with others, or give them a platform to participate in conversations about current racial justice issues. Because they don’t get the chance to learn from other students who might provide thought-provoking insights, students who typically do not face racial injustices are less likely to understand the purpose and impact of the course. 
   Despite its asynchronous format, PIRL should encourage students to speak up about race-related issues. This could be done in several ways, like creating discussion assignments where all students can contribute their opinions, or having mandatory online meetings (on various dates, to preserve flexibility) for students taking the class in order to discuss material and learn from each other. By implementing these adjustments, PIRL can become a course that not only enhances students’ understanding and empathy, but also provides a space where students can learn to have meaningful discussions surrounding marginalization. 

PIRL had the right intentions, but the wrong methods

After countless tours around the world with his bands, raking in double-digits of ensemble trophies and awards, Joe Bongiovi completes his 18th year as a band director at PHS. He is the sole conductor of the Princeton Studio Band, which frequently competes at both local and national jazz festivals, and this past December, Bongiovi took the band to Abbey Road Studios in London to record a new jazz album that will be released on June 14.
“To prepare for [the recording was] harder than preparing for a [normal] competition because we recorded six pieces that had to be pristine when we got to the recording studio,” Bongiovi said.
Most recently, the band won the state championship from the New Jersey Association for Jazz Education for the seventh time. However, their success didn’t come without hours of practice and rehearsals.
“We prepare by playing a lot of music, not just the music that we compete on ... we keep looking for more and more difficult pieces of music,” said Bongiovi. “We just break [the music] down [slowly] and try to make it as perfect as possible, [before speeding] it back up.”
In addition to directing Studio Band, Bongiovi also co-conducts the Nassau and Tiger bands alongside PHS band director Dave Pollack. 
“[Co-directing is] great because ... we can divide the students that are there by instrument [and] work on separate things,” said Pollack. “So he can work with brass, I can work with woodwinds, one of us can work with rhythm section, one can work with soloists.”
Though currently a music teacher, Bongiovi started his music career in high school, where he played tuba in the school’s marching band. He went on to study film scoring and composition at Berklee College of Music. While still in college, Bongiovi began helping his high school band director arrange and compose pieces for a marching band camp. Eventually, he started conducting the pieces that he wrote, which became a defining shift into his career as a teacher.
“I sort of fell into teaching,” said Bongiovi. “One day, the director told me, ‘You wrote it, so get up and conduct it’ ... it was a nice way of meshing composition and teaching.”
This led him to go back to school to get his Master in Music Education from the University of the Arts. After getting his master’s, Bongiovi taught at several middle and high schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; it wasn’t until 2007 that Bongiovi began teaching at PHS.
“I came [in the middle] of the 2006–2007 school year. They had an opening and the band director at the time, who was Dr. Downey, wanted me to come and that’s how I began teaching here,” said Bongiovi. “Being able to create new adventures and creating new opportunities for students has been keeping [my job] exciting.”
Isaac Son ’27, a student in Nassau II, appreciates Bongiovi’s guidance and attitude during class.
“When Mr. Bongiovi is there, he’s straightforward with what we do, which I like. He doesn’t waste that much time [and] he’s a good band director,” said Son. “[He also makes] funny jokes [which] make me laugh.”
Considering that Bongiovi has been teaching for 18 years, he often tries to incorporate new challenges and projects into his classes.
“Four years ago, [at Abbey Road], we did mostly jazz covers of popular songs. This time, we brought in jazz artists to play with us,” said Bongiovi. “Creating new adventures and creating new opportunities for students has [kept teaching] exciting ... [I hope to] keep coming up with new ideas.”

The Tower

Kylie Sek's Work

The Tower