REBECCA HALE
Staff Writer
On Friday night, students will gather to listen and pour their hearts out in “Breaking the Silence: Spoken Word Against Rape, Sexual Assault, and Violence Against Men,” a student-organized poetry slam. The event was organized by Rebecca Panarello as a part of her Scholar Activism Project.
In the project, students pick a topic that needs more awareness and work to expose it. Panarello, sophomore double social work and women’s and gender studies major, decided to hold a slam poetry event on the unexpected – rape and assault … against men.
“I decided that since this campus loves slam poetry, I’m doing the slam poetry night on violence against men,” said Panarello.
The evening will include poetry readings by eight students and an emcee, Peter Mason, senior English major, and will open with performances by special guests The Riveters and Premium Blend. All poetry read will support the topic of male abuse. Students have prepared both original and cover poetry to perform which will be judged by a panel consisting of Panarello, Dr. Iovannone and Courtney Loiacono, a junior double women’s and gender studies and English major.
The slam will be carried out in a traditional manner, beginning with a sacrificial poem read by Mason, emcee, and followed by individual performances that will each be judged over three rounds. In the first round, names will be drawn to decipher order, and afterwards, the highest scorers will perform last in the final two rounds. The final winner will receive a prize.
“I think it will be fun; it’s for a great cause as well. I have either performed with, or seen, the work of most of the poets involved, and I’m looking forward to see how the page meets the stage, how the performance of some really amazing poetry is emoted,” Mason said. “I think that’s the best part of a slam: really feeling the weight of the words when you hear them … It takes a lot of courage to pour your heart out on stage — to be utterly vulnerable, and I want it to be about that, not the scores. Yeah, the scores add a level of fun competition, but it really is all about the poets and the poems.”
Another performer, James Lillin, a double English and theatre major, will be performing three original poems that evening.
“The topic is extremely relevant and close to me, and I know it is to a lot of people … The main thing is to just try to offer some type of inspiration or insight, because it’s poetry that has made it so that I no longer introduce myself as ‘Hi, my name is Survivor.’ We can all be more than the product of past abuse,” said Lillin. “We don’t have to bend; we can ascend.”
“Spoken Word Against Rape, Sexual Assault, and Violence Against Men,” will be held in Tim Horton’s “The Spot” from 6-9 p.m. Friday night, and will be a Safe Space — an area that does not permit hateful or discriminatory speech of actions. The event is free, and Panarello encourages students and staff to “come, enjoy yourself, open up and share.”