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Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Michael Omenazu
Staff Writer
Movies typically portray college campuses as wild playgrounds for fraternities and sororities, meanwhile sporting underground headquarters for radicals intent on changing the world through any means necessary. The latter portrayal is rooted in many universities’ purposes which are to develop the personal and professional skills of their students through academic education within a diverse and engaging social setting. Attendees are exposed to various viewpoints on divisive issues and after forming personal convictions they become able to express them.
This is an objective shared by the English Club at UIS. Led by Michael Gammons, the English Club works with Literati and produces the Alchemist Review, a culmination of peer-review creative writing pieces that include poetry, fiction, non-fiction and plays written by UIS students, staff and alumni.
These submissions are displayed at the Verbal Arts Festival, another event sponsored by The English Club. This year the festivities will take place at Brookens Auditorium on May 2 and 3. The first night, held in the evening, features the writers from the Alchemist Review performing their writing who also discuss the process that led to their creation. The second day continues in the afternoon.
Concentrating on expression, both written and verbal, the English Club prides itself in providing opportunities for students. This include its “Open Mic Night” events which provides an outlet for people to read their work, speak out about various topics such as politics or current living conditions and to inspire thoughtful discussion. This is a product of Michael Gammons’ initiative which he stated as “creating a situation that facilitates a different kind of conversation as anybody is allowed to say anything.” These events usually follow a pattern of a performer getting up on stage, saying something and the audience engaging in a lively and informal exchange.
On Monday, April 7, the English Club held an Open Mic at the Student Center. The night opened with English professor Curt Meyer performing poetry about the juxtaposition of sacred items and the erotic followed with a Sanskrit song and a translated poem. He refers to the event as “The most culture on campus.”
Dave Goldberg, a first-year student is an English Club event regular. He has performed at Open Mics in which he has spoken about drugs, martial arts, religion and politics. His reason for attending is that he found the place to voice his opinion in an open-minded community he was looking for. Dave stated that, “It’s a great place to socialize and meet people, we all respect each other. Respect here is highly regarded. I definitely recommend people to stop by.”
The night continued with theatrical performances which included the reading of a scene from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett in which an angel and demon discuss earthly affairs while heavily intoxicated. Also, Michael Gammons read a short story about a soul sold on E-bay. The event, open to the entire UIS community, offers a place for people to meet and discuss personal concerns.
The English Club is currently working on a website in which students log-in and participate by reading stories they have written. Also, the site, which will be a collaborative effort, will serve as a medium for peer-editing and career advice.
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