Many college students have a hard time expressing themselves. As high school becomes a thing of the past, opportunities for outlets like choir practices, piano recitals and band rehearsals stay packed away with old yearbooks.
After all, those extracurricular activities are often on parents’ checkbooks pushing children toward creativity. Can students ever have those outlets again? Or do they just become secrets hidden behind college majors and social lives?
Tonight, the Crossroads Community Center will encourage students to keep at it as they host the Spoken Secrets Poetry Jam at 7 in the Ferguson Theater.
Jo Greene, a Crossroads graduate assistant, said he believes they offer an intimate venue for creative students struggling to get recognized in a mix of more than 30,000.
“It’s called Spoken Secrets because the campus is so big; it’s hard to see talented people,” Greene said. “We offer an atmosphere where students can come express their feelings through music, poetry and art.”
Greene was inspired to start Spoken Secrets when another program pushing self-expression — Common Ground, a Black Student Union initiative — ended. The first Spoken Secrets, which took place on April 6, attracted a diverse crowd.
Whitney Jones, a junior majoring in psychology and public relations and a Crossroads intern, was pleased with the attendance.
“Last time it was a really good turnout,” she said. “Participants came from many different races and ethnicities and performed for a diverse audience.”
The first Spoken Secrets also featured a celebrity. Tamika Harper, perhaps better known by her stage name Georgia Me, has appeared on HBO’s “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam” and BET’s “The Mo’Nique Show.”
Known as the Queen of Spoken Word, Harper graced April’s audience with her poetry and is set to do so again this time. Jones said working with Harper was easy.
“Jo shot her an e-mail not expecting a reply,” Jones said. “Not only did she reply, but she was excited to perform at the event. She had no expenses and was just happy to help. It really speaks volumes to what kind of person she is.”
Next semester’s edition of Spoken Secrets will feature three poets from HBO’s “Brave New Voices.”
The event has not only attracted established celebrities but also local up-and-comers. Erika Wade, a sophomore majoring in English and African-American studies, is a published poet and enthusiastic Spoken Secrets participant.
She said she is disheartened by the amount of weight today’s society puts on the art of spoken word.
“A lot of people think writing and reading poetry is easy and useless,” Wade said. “People disregard it. They approach it lightly and don’t understand its role in society as a critique of what’s going on and what needs to go on.”
Wade said she thinks Spoken Secrets provides a good stage for the forgotten art form.
“[The event] made me feel like poetry is a respectable art again,” she said.
As an epicenter for student involvement and culture, Crossroads Community Center offers opportunities for students to encounter the unfamiliar.
The center has scheduled events ranging from performances such as Secrets to more informal community conversation. All events welcome all students and are free.
Greene said he is happy to continue the center’s tradition tonight.
“We want students to leave knowing something they didn’t know before they came into our space,” Greene said.
For more information, visit crossroads.ua.edu.
