Pepperdine freshman class senator Colton C. Jones is recording beats and passing resolutions.
Jones, an integrated marketing communication major, is interested in music and student government. He writes and records his own music, mostly new age blues, and said music is something he does at night when he can’t sleep or has an idea.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever turn it into a professional thing or full-time thing, but I think when I stop making music is when I start being miserable,” Jones said. “So I think it’ll always be there.”
But Jones also has ideas that will benefit other students, and he said he wants to communicate with those in his class and make them feel heard. In his short time in SGA, he has played an important role in passing resolutions to empower students.
Expressing emotions through music
Jones said music allows him to express the emotions he cannot talk about and express what he is going through with other people. His passion for music came from his father, and it allows him to be creative. Music has also brought Jones closer to his dad, who used to work a lot when he was growing up in Greenbrier, Tennessee.
“If we didn’t have [music], I don’t know what my relationship would be like with my dad,” Jones said.
Jones learned to play the drums when he was 7. As he got older, he joined the marching band at Greenbrier High School.
“I had heard about this thing called Drum Corps International, which is like [a] professional marching band,” Jones said. “It’s pretty stupid, but I loved it, so I joined my high school marching band in hopes that I could one day march for something like that.”
Jones participated in the marching band all four years of high school. While he was class president and part of the math club, he continued his musical passion and began a jazz band in his sophomore year.
“It was really cool,” Jones said. “It was hard to get started because not a lot of people wanted to join.”
To Jones’ surprise, the jazz band grew so that by his senior year they were able to attend a competition.
He recently released a song on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, YouTube and iTunes called “The Same Way.” Although Jones’ song did not go viral, he said he was happy that his friends and family listened to it.
“I think [music] definitely does mean a lot to him, and I would not be surprised to see him release more songs, maybe even like an EP or an album, in the future,” said Nathan Bigham, freshman biology major and one of Jones’ best friends.
While a full-time student at Pepperdine and working 30 hours per week at Starbucks, Jones said he has still been able to balance his passion for music with school.
Being a voice for students
But Jones is not only interested in music. He said he decided to run for SGA class senator after seeing other candidates’ posts who were running for more diversity and a single-sided view of issues.
“I decided to run mainly so I could tell people that I wanted to represent literally anyone’s views,” Jones said. “I don’t care what they are, I don’t care if they’re opposing mine, I don’t care if they’re exactly the same as mine. I literally just want to be a vessel to make people heard.”
Jones was involved in getting the resolution passed to open Payson Library and other study areas. Sabrina Musharbash, freshman sociology major and senator on SGA, said Jones came to the SGA meetings after work and put in a lot of effort.
“He’s passionate when he sets his mind onto something,” Musharbash said.
Jones is now working on a resolution that will give students a mandatory Zoom break for every hour in a class. He said he is gathering research to support his idea because as a freshman he does not get a lot of attention.
Jones said he considers himself an introvert, but his father always discussed the importance of leadership with him, which made him want to advocate for others. Past political experiences drove Jones to represent all student views. He was born in Texas, but raised in Tennessee.
“When I was a lot younger, I was a big old conservative,” Jones said. “There’s no way around it — I was, and it’s hard not to be in Tennessee. And I wasn’t the nicest person either.”
Jones started to switch his views during his sophomore year. He now considers himself a libertarian and wants to understand issues from both sides.
Jones does not see himself running for a position in government after graduation. He said he does hope to work for a marketing team at a major record label or for major musical artists in the future.
Tanya Yarian completed the reporting for this story under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield.
