By Nikki Wilson

Wishing Well and more than 30 ACU students came together for a slam poetry event Monday. This event featured 13 poets performing both original and non-original works to raise awareness for important social issues.

Brandy Rains, sophomore art education major from Fort Worth, is co-director for ACU’s Wishing Well. Rains was eager to host another event and make students aware of issues concerning water.

“Our main job is to raise awareness. We want college students everywhere to gain the most knowledge with these types of events. Really, no one would know much about the water crises unless they came to an event like this,” she said.

T-shirts, a donation bin and other information were available in a Wishing Well booth. Rains said that the response from the student body has been very positive.

“A lot of good awareness and social consciousness is being spread to the students and its been very good feedback,” she said.

“Fish” Van Huis, senior Christian Ministry major from Chattanooga, also was a host and coordinator to the event. Immediately beginning with attention getting words, the common theme of the poetry was to “wake up” and notice social issues in modern society.

Van Huis said, “Slam poetry is a very unique and passionate venue to talk about tough issues. It’s really a great venue for conversation, and I hope that people can take in the beautiful words being spoken but also feel the sting of them.”

Throughout the entire night, students were fired up and in awe of the words being performed, with applause after every poet.

Another slam poetry event will also take place later in the month, and students interested in slam poetry are encouraged to join. Van Huis said events like this are a safe place to really speak what’s on your heart.

According to several students at the event, social injustices surround everyone, but to see ACU students come together to speak about these issues and ways to solve them was what the root of the slam poetry was about.