The Black Student Union and The Honors Student Organization hosted their second Open Mic Nite on January 22, as they offered a place where the students at Point Park University can come and showcase their talents and speak their minds in a safe environment.
When asked whom she hoped to attract by continuing this event, Vania Arthur, BSU President, said, “I wanted to give my peers what they asked for in this event –I wanted the school to come together and talk about situations and problems we all face.”
This monthly Open Mic Nite is intended to display the variety of talents that Point Park students possess and create awareness about the club and what it stands for. Vania told us, “I want people to recognize BSU and say ‘wow, this is what they do and I want to be a part of it.'”
Vania Arthur, freshman photography major, co-hosted the event along with Justin Karter, graduate assistant to the Honors Program, to discuss civil rights, the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. and empowerment as students performed original work and works they admired as they shared their incites. Amongst the seven performers, there was also a series of open discussions that engaged the audience on topics including police brutality, the old and new civil rights movements, how different races are depicted in today’s society, and the division amongst our generations.
Julian Ransome, freshman communications major, was the emcee of the night, who knew exactly what to do to get the audience talking and engaging with one another. Julian maintained a lively atmosphere where everyone was comfortable and welcomed. He told us, “I really enjoy doing these kinds of events because it allows everyone to let loose and be themselves as we all come together and share with one another what we think.”
Harrison Stengle’s original script Colt Classic, got the crowd going with its satirical and political tone, “you take a vote for who you want to win –donkey or elephant!”
Sydney Ronis serenaded the audience with an Elvis Costello guitar piece, What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding.
Colton Cooper told a moving story from 1977 about civil rights and how we are all alike in this society, “we all work for what we have.”
Kendall Claxton spoke beautifully as she recited Dr. Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, “It’s in the reach of my arms, the span of my hips, the stride of my step, the curl of my lips. I’m a woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.”
EJ Brown really got the audience laughing with his Candism poem, “so the next time you want to say I’m team light-skinned or dark-skinned, be a Snickers because candy isn’t racist,” and his Colorism poem, “we should all be like Crayola crayons because they embody the different colors that make up this world – they have sky blue and bark brown not Chinese yellow and Mexican brown.”
Samantha Westby kept it real and spoke to the females in the crowd with her Real Talk poem about being prideful as a woman and not letting men influence you in ways that will discourage or make you feel less valued as a woman.
Joel Marcelin wrapped up the performances with an open discussion about the value of men and asked “What is the meaning of a real ‘n*gga’ because as a man, I do what I have to, I’m getting my education, working on my work, and this does not signify that word at all.”
BSU and HSO will have their next monthly Open Mic Nite on Feburary 19. If you are interested in joining BSU, Vania tells us that they have weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 6pm on the seventh floor of the Student Center.