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Different orgs come together to 'Testify' at open mic
Music, poetry and dance set tone for evening of reflection, awakening at Moore Complex lounge
By Caitlin Kupiec
On March 6, 2013
There's a new resident at the Moore Complex, and its name is inspiration.
Tha Ink Club, along with Alpha Nu Omega Fraternity Incorporated and the S.P.I.R.I.T. Gospel Choir,
hosted a Testify Open Mic in the Moore Complex lounge Thursday night.
Raps, poems, singing and free-styling could all be seen and heard from the hallway of the Moore
Complex. S.P.I.R.I.T. had a keyboard and drums to add to the artistic expression in the atmosphere.
"Testify Open Mic night is dedicated to inspirational poetry," said Phylicia Ross, senior psychology
major and president of Tha Ink Club. "If someone has gone through something and wants to testify, or
wants to share something that happened to someone else, this is basically the place where you would
just express yourself in the hopes that someone in the audience will be touched in some sort of way."
Members of the S.P.I.R.I.T. dance team started off the evening with a synchronized dance expressing
their praises to God. Covered in white face paint and wearing all black, the girls set the tone for the
night as they danced to their own versions of a testimony, and even came out into the crowd to invoke
the audience further with their message.
"This open mic is just an opportunity to share a testimony," said Brandon Dunkley, senior hospitality
administration major and charter member of Alpha Nu Omega Fraternity. "Often times you feel you are
alone, but there's people here, around us, that feel the same way, about the same things."
Alpha Nu Omega provides undergraduates and post-graduates who are interested in Greek life to join
an organization that directly encourages a Christian following.
"Our purpose is to provide a Christian alternative to students and/or faculty on college/university
campuses, to minister to the needs of the whole person, including their spirit, soul, and body, and to
promote an academic excellence among its members," Dunkley said.
Students, faculty and community members shared their stories about their love for God and the
hardships and battles they have faced throughout life, emotional abuse they have endured, as well
as issues like cancer, relationships, friendships and
depression.
"People don't just write poetry about love," Ross said, "they write about pain."
Their stories were each unique, but all had one thing in common - gratitude to God.
The packed student lounge was filled with the sounds of personal testimonies echoing through the
brick walls. The crowd was there for moral support shouting "The Lord is good," and "Amen," all night.
The goal of the night for Ross was to create a "safe place" to express oneself. She admits it can be
difficult to find participants.
"The hardest part is getting solidifying poets," Ross said. "A lot of people don't want to share certain
poetry, so we have to convince people this is a safe place. Many are scared off by this. They don't
want to go through something so churchy or too religious. It's not about being churchy or religious. It's
about being there for inspiration."
Dunkley felt similarly about gaining support.
"Putting together an event is always difficult," Dunkley said. "There is some people that said they would
support, then ended up backing out. In the end, God has a purpose for everything. So it all worked out
just fine."
Both Tha Ink Club and Alpha Nu Omega Inc. will be hosting more open mic nights in the future, and
hope to inspire more students and members of the community to attend their events.
Dunkley was all smiles as he talked about the end results.
"The show was amazing, amazing, amazing," Dunkley said. "Based on the people who came forth with
their various stories, some with various types of miracles, with some stories being happy and some
being not so happy, but just the fact that people heard them, was awesome. I thought the night was
great."
"It's kind of touching to actually witness people's talents out loud," Ross added.
The show may be over, but the message still lingers in the Moore Complex's hallway.
• Caitlin Kupiec can be reached by email at kupiec.record@live.com.
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