Cornell ‘Swifties’ bond over musical superstar

Agustina Garcia '27 learned to speak English listening to "Shake It Off." "Never Grow Up" reminds Oswaldo Grajeda '26 of his older sister. Aaditya Bahl '27 said the music video for "Look What You Made Me Do" altered his brain, in a good way.

At midnight Oct. 3, these dedicated Taylor Swift fans - or Swifties - will listen to the genre-defying superstar's newest album, "The Life of a Showgirl," with a few hundred fellow fans from across the Cornell community.

The Cornell Swift Clubis hosting an album release party, which starts Oct. 2 at 10 p.m. in Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room, with snacks and refreshments, raffles, trivia and a costume contest. Speakers and a big screen will play Swift's music and videos to a room bedecked in a theme of orange and old-style "Chicago" burlesque. When the album drops, they won't know the words, but they'll sing along anyway.

"The energy when all of us are together in one room listening to all of this new music - it's truly electric," said Bahl, the Swift Club's treasurer and a computer science major in the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science.

Even the Cornell Chimeswill get in on the celebration, playing Swift's music at the 6 p.m. concert on Thursday.

When Grajeda, Swift Club president and a government, American studies, history, and performing and media arts major in the College of Arts and Sciences, attended his first album release party - for "Midnights" - as a freshman, he hung back. He'd been a Taylor Swift fan since his sister introduced him to the album "Speak Now" when he was in middle school, but before coming to Cornell, he felt judged by people who deemed his appreciation of Swift as too "feminine."

"I did struggle a lot with that," he said. "Eventually I came to the terms that there is no rule or law that says I can't listen to specific artists based on my gender, so I just kind of ignored it. Like Taylor Swift said, 'Shake It Off.'"

The club welcomed him, and now as president, he wants everyone to feel comfortable joining Swift Club.

"Ever since I took that role," he said, "I have seen more individuals be more honest with themselves."

The club hosts regular events like friendship bracelet making, bingo and trivia nights and mini listening parties.

"We're a really good community," said club Vice President Garcia, who is studying government and American studies (A&S). "We are willing to accept anyone, even if you're just discovering her music or you're just looking for a low-stress club that you can go have fun in and not have to worry about anything academic."

Garcia found Swift's music in 2015 when her family moved from Uruguay to Long Island.

"It was really helpful to me," she said. "Her music does mean a lot to me because it represents my journey with the English language. Now I can understand all her songs all the time. I went from learning English with her to deeply analyzing her lyrics."

Bahl has enjoyed seeing people who may not otherwise intersect build bonds over a common interest through the Swift Club.

"It's a place for me to be able to scratch that itch of being able to talk about her music, listen to her music and find community in her music," he said. "I think music has a really fun way of bringing people together and uniting them in one place."