BSU prepares for annual poetry slam

Sophia Comas, Features Editor

The annual poetry slam, held by the Black Student Union, requires that the members of the club to put forth their best efforts in order to make the event special to its participants and audience members.

The event, which occurs on Feb. 27, is the third poetry slam planned by the BSU and it allows all students of Manhattan High to display their talents with writing as well as reading aloud in front of an audience.

The theme for the poetry slam is “Lift Every Voice,” a phrase held close to the hearts of BSU members.

“We heard the black national anthem and the first verse of that is ‘Lift Every Voice,’” Greg VanDyke, president of BSU, said. “Part of unity is coming together as one, so we wanted to show that we could come together as one and lift every voice.”

The poetry slam is also an opportunity for the school to hold a charity function, as the entry fee is either two canned items or two dollars.

“We decided that we would donate everything we collected to the USD 383 FIT Closet, because they’re in need of some toiletry items,” Morgan Jobe, BSU sponsor and American Literature teacher, said. “We really wanted it to be something where we could give back to the community, so inviting community members in to kind of showcase student work, but then also giving back to our local community.”

The poetry slam is also one of the few events that requires its participants to audition in order to have a secured spot.

“We hold auditions mostly to make sure that student poems are appropriate for the audience,” Jobe said. “We want to make sure that if younger kids are there that we don’t have curse words or things that are too sensitive for a younger audience.”

To plan the event, BSU has split itself into different committees.

“Right now we just have different committees for the advertising and then some for the refreshments,” VanDyke said. “With the advertising, we just got some flyers put together, trying to promote it more and trying to take it to teachers to put it in their classrooms.”

Those wishing to participate in the poetry slam can audition from 3 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 13 and during advisory on Feb. 14th in Jobe’s classroom, A-114.