It IS a beautiful day- because that agitating, overplayed, exhausted bell-tone is finally being changed. 

Every day, at 7:10 a.m., “Beautiful Day” by U2 is played over the loud Dakota Highschool speakers- and with it comes grumbles and sighs from students, that can be heard through the halls and across the school. Arguably, it is not a bad song. But when you hear it every single morning, while you’re still half asleep and haven’t even finished your morning coffee, it is just a stressful indicator that it’s time to start another long day of school. Then, yeah, it becomes a bad song- and students and staff alike have had enough of it: 

“It’s annoying how they cut it off in such a weird spot every day” -Alyssa Zerilli, grade 12 

“It’s a terrible song. I hate it and it makes me want to scream, and go home, and not carry on my day. They need to change the song more often because no matter what they play, it’s going to get old.” -Meredith Benedict, grade 12 

“No disrespect, but does anyone even know who U2 is? That band is older than my parents.” -Anonymous, grade 11 

“It is a terrible song, and I am glad they are changing it.” -Anna Gegovic, grade 12 

“It makes me mad when they say, “it’s a beautiful day”. Like, it’s not a beautiful day. Don’t tell me what kind of day it is.” -Madison Singer, grade 12 

And a snippet of my own opinion: They have been playing this song in the morning since my sister went to Dakota- and she graduated in 2019. They have continued to play it my entire high school career, and I am a SENIOR. That is at least five years I know they’ve been playing it. I like the concept of music in the morning, but I have had enough of that song.  

Music is a great way to start the day off on the right foot, but “Beautiful Day” has become like a 6 a.m. alarm- a consistent, frustrating tone that jolts you awake and reminds you it’s time to do something you don’t quite want to. But luckily, this issue comes with a simple solution: The plan is to change the morning warning bell more frequently based on student feedback. This way, playing music during the morning bell will become the uplifting treat that it was intended to be.  

Students (and staff members) have the choice of three songs to vote for the bell to be changed to. The options are: 

“Pocket Full of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield 

“You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oats 

“Walking on a Dream” by Empire of the Sun 

You can vote using the link below: 

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=CeokmDkVAEKtn9jDQ0XYJ-FFih_uF_VNpAWvL-UO4W9URDVWNk45MEdISUFGUFVaSUEyM0ZOUzRLTC4u 

So go ahead, give those songs a listen, and don’t forget to use your voice so we can hear the music YOU want to hear in the morning! Voting will end on the 21st of December, so don’t miss your chance!