Volunteering out of the bubble

Sophomore Kei Kurosu with a friend from her mission trip to Haiti (Photo courtesy of Kei Kurosu)
UNC students rethink service:
Redefining how we volunteer

Crouched behind a bush waiting for the boy whose language she did not speak, Kei Kurosu smiled.

She was playing tag. In Haiti.

Kurosu said her experiences traveling to Haiti have made her rethink her definition of volunteering.

“Sometimes it’s not labeled ‘mission work’,” she said, “but I think you can serve wherever you are.”

Sarah Smith, the student services coordinator with the Carolina Center for Public Service, said that she believes more students are changing their mindset like Kurosu.

One of the center’s most popular programs, Buckley Public Service Scholars, has seen a dramatic increase recently in its graduates.

To graduate from the program, students must complete 300 hours of public service, which can be anything from Habitat for Humanity to voter registration drives to clerical work for a nonprofit organization. In addition, they must assemble a senior portfolio, attend at least four skills training sessions and take at least one APPLES (service learning) course.

Though around 1800 students are enrolled in the program, last year only about 190 completed the requirements by graduation. This year, 290 graduates are Buckley Public Service Scholars, the biggest jump the program has ever had, Smith said.

That is not to say, however, that they haven’t been serving all along.

“Volunteerism is something that’s engrained in the students at Carolina,” Smith said. “It’s a culture of service. But it’s becoming more visible, more apparent.”

Getting started

            A daunting task faces any UNC student who wants to make a difference: With all the opportunities available to serve, where do we start?

Kurosu first felt a connection with Haiti during a freshmen seminar about the country entitled “Mountains Beyond Mountains: Infectious Disease in the Developing World.”

When she discovered that professor would be going on a mission trip with University Presbyterian Church to Haiti, she said, she had no doubt this was where she would spend her spring break.

“If I hadn’t taken the class,” she said, “I would have thought, ‘I don’t want to go to Haiti’.”

Now a sophomore, Kurosu spent this year’s spring break in Haiti, too. She plans to return with her home church in September. She even wants to live there one day.

A friend who went on the same mission trip as Kurosu for the first time this year, Logan Smeallie, said he decided to go to Haiti because he loves traveling and working with children.

Smeallie, who tutors at McDougle Middle School through Blue Ribbon Mentoring, said he would advise students looking for service opportunities to choose based on what they want to do.

“I think people are more effective when they do something that they like,” he said. “I just like tutoring and I like the interaction with the students.”

Jagir Patel, Co-President of the Campus Y, gave similar advice. He said that students overwhelmed by the immense amount of service resources at UNC should explore the Campus Y’s website and contact the leader of the committee that most interests them.

“More likely than not, the Campus Y has a space for you to find what you want to do,” he said. “If not, there are mechanisms to bring it about.”

Smith agreed that, though the first step towards volunteering may be the most daunting, it is also the most important.

“Try several things and take advantage of unique opportunities,” she said.

“You may like it. You may hate it. But at least you tried it.”

Volunteerism off-campus
(Information courtesy of Sarah Smith)

Most popular organizations in ’10-’11:
UNC Hospitals
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
Habitat for Humanity

Resources to get started:

•  Enroll in an APPLES course (see next sidebar)
•  Enroll in the Buckley Public Service Scholars Program
•  Visit the Campus Y’s website
•  Find a group that interests you at FallFest

Branching Out

When it comes to volunteering, more and more students are stepping out of the bubble.

Kurosu said that even though she did not know many people on her first trip to Haiti, she felt comfortable.

“There were no boundaries,” she said. “Our interactions were just free. Regardless of the language barrier, it was just like, you’re my friend.”

Patel said he thinks there is an increase in the amount of students doing global public service.

One reason for this, Smith speculated, is that technology is making students more globally-minded, as students use social media to obtain and share information about global issues. She also said technology has helped increase access to service opportunities even since she graduated from UNC in 2010.

“The information is more readily available,” she said. “Now you have it on your phone. It’s literally in your pocket, and there is a constant growth in that direction.”

Even before the iPhone was popular, UNC was hardly at a loss for service opportunities for students. Every year since 2008, UNC has made the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll list. In 2009, it was one of six “Presidential Awardees.”

Patel believes that a major reason for UNC distinguishing itself as a school of service is that the students are unafraid to go out into the communities they are serving.

“In the years I’ve been involved, I’ve seen an increase in engagement with communities that are discriminated against,” he said. “There has been an increase in community partnership because you can’t do activist work without engaging the community.”

Patel agreed with Smith that accessibility plays a major role in the thriving service community at UNC, though he also pointed out the physical accessibility to Chapel Hill communities from campus.

“Being dependent upon public transportation is not the most efficient way of doing work,” he said, “but it’s easy to take the bus. There are local communities that need justice, too. It’s kind of in your backyard.”

APPLES Service Learning Courses:

“We’ve seen a pretty significant increase in the last few years,” said Director of Service-Learning and Student Programs Leslie Parsons of APPLES courses, which allow students to learn from a UNC professor while serving through a local community partner.

Parsons believes there has been a distinct thrust behind concern for domestic issues.
“We can’t keep up with the demand,” she said.

APPLES at a glance:

•  Established July 2009
•  2500 students each year
•  40-60 courses per semester
• Fulfills “Experiential Education” requirement

GO!

In response to the overwhelming amount of students who are now choosing to go abroad to volunteer, several campus organizations have partnered to sponsor a yearly conference called “GO! Global Orientation on Culture and Ethics.” 

Each April, the Carolina Center for Public Service, along with the Campus Y and the Center for Global Initiatives, sponsor the program, which prepares students who are traveling abroad for service, research or academic opportunities to respect the cultures with which they will be engaging.

This year’s slogan was “I will not save the world.” The event was April 14 at the FedEx Global Education Center.

“We are all in the same boat in that we want to be respected for who we are. This is not different around the world,” Director of the Parr Center for Ethics Jan Boxhill told attendees. Throughout the day, students explored the theme of respecting the culture of the communities they will be serving.

Attendees will be going all over the world: to South Korea, India and Belize, to name a few. Some students will be creating documentaries, some will be working in health clinics or on farms and others will be doing field research.

More than 100 students attended. Throughout the program they gathered in large and small groups to discuss their fears and anticipations about their travels. At lunch they were given the opportunity to meet natives of their destination countries.

“Try to really understand what the strengths of the community are and focus on these strengths,” said Jimmy-Jean Baptiste, who assisted with the group discussion on the ethics of photography in global contexts. Baptiste is a graduate student in UNC’s Department of Health Behavior.

“We’re not necessarily going to try to ‘save’ people,” he said. “We should remember they have agency.”

A new definition

            Though Kurosu did not attend GO!, she said there were times when Haiti’s culture surprised and even shocked her.

            “I wasn’t prepared to see all the things that I saw,” she said, describing a dilapidated cathedral with so much rubble that there was no straight path to walk through it.

            The group worked with the Comprehensive Development Project, sponsored by the non-profit Haiti Fund, Inc.

            The director of the compound the students visited, Ingram Caswell, encouraged them to take Haitian culture into account when they were serving.

            On the first day, the group was assigned to paint a house. Even though the task could be completed in an hour, Caswell told the students, she wanted it to take five hours and wanted the students to spend time engaging with the residents. Kurosu said she believes this is because of Haiti’s strong sense of community.

            Both Kurosu and Smeallie stressed how much more generous the culture of Haiti is.

“Everyone I met was so hopeful. It makes me wanna live my life in that way,” Kurosu said.

Smeallie described the scene of a car accident. He said dozens of people stopped to make sure the victims were all right and to provide assistance.

“It’s not like every person is a saint, but the culture is more based on family and community,” he said. “They have a broader sense of community than we do here.”

Both said that visiting a country with a vastly different definition of service from America’s changed their perspective.

“I saw a greater sense of generosity there than I do here,” Smeallie said while describing how the owners of a modest home in a village they visited slept outside on the ground so the adult leaders of their group would have somewhere to sleep.

“That is hospitality to the maximum,” Kurosu said. “They are so selfless.”

“That’s an attitude that I wish I had more consistently,” Smeallie said, “and I wish more people had at all.” 

"Busburrying"

It's Monday morning, and way too cold to be walking anywhere, so I hop on the CM after dropping off my car.

The elderly woman across from me clutches her purse and sits forward as if worried the back of the seat is carrying some sort of disease.

"Excuse me," she catches me glancing at her, "how do you request a stop?"

I hold back a giggle and tell her you have to push the yellow strip.

A year ago I would not have found her so funny. A year ago, I was her.

The number one thing I wish someone had told me when I first came to UNC?

Take the bus.

You know it's cool if Will Smith does it.

Sometimes, you just have to get away. That's not always easy when you don't have a car. But you'd be surprised how easy it is to get somewhere from UNC by giving the bus a try.

I'd never ridden a public bus before college. The first time I went to the grocery store, I didn't even know that you had to request a stop by pressing the yellow strip or the bus would keep going.

What's more embarrassing, I didn't know nextbus.com existed. I just guessed. And I often guessed wrong.

I have a car here now, but I've learned the value of riding the bus nonetheless. And I'm not talking about taking the P2P on a Friday night.

One of the many reasons to take the bus

Earlier this semester, I did something uncharacteristically spontaneous: I walked to a random bus stop and took the first bus that came by. I was going to kill two birds with one stone, doing some reading while figuring out my way around Chapel Hill.

Unfortunately, that was the D route, which lasts about an hour and a half. When my friends asked where I'd been, I told them I was "busburrying" (Not many of them got the Oscar Wilde reference).

It quickly became a habit to disappear and come back hours later with work done and a new perspective about all the things to do in Chapel Hill. Along any given bus line, there are grocery stores, banks and bookshops.

You don't have to bum a ride to see Chapel Hill, but you do have to get out of the bubble and onto the bus.

Just don't forget to press the yellow strip.

LA's bus tips

1.   Decoding the letters

The D goes east, towards "D"urham

Anything with C will go west, towards "C"arrboro. The CW will take you to "W"eaver Street Market

The F just goes back and forth on "F"ranklin

The NU and NS go "n"orth on Martin Luther King. (While you're up there give Foster's Market a try.)

"X" means express (few stops)

The J bus goes to Jones Ferry Park-and-Ride, which is in Carrboro.

2.   Other tips:

Always bring your phone in case the bus breaks down or you get lost.

Try different buses. You might find a faster route or a cool new place.

Talk to people. You might make friends!

Jordan Lake: the best of both worlds

Sophomore Heather Frederick said Jordan Lake is
a must-see for every UNC student. Photo courtesy
of Laralee Lynch.

It has miles of hiking trails, swimming, fishing, boating, bald eagles and bobcats. It's visited by around one million people every year. It's number 68 on the Daily Tar Heel's UNC Bucket List.

It's Jordan Lake.

"It’s just one of those things you hear about at UNC," said Heather Frederick, a sophomore from Lumberton. "Everybody’s been there. You have to go before you graduate."

Jordan Lake, a reservoir surrounded by nine different recreation areas, is on the bucket list for a reason. With both beaches and hiking trails, it's the ultimate slice of North Carolina. And it's only a half hour drive from campus.

"If you're looking for a social activity, Jordan Lake's beach is the place to be. If you're looking for solitude, we have hiking trails," said Steve McMurray, who has been a ranger with the park for five years.

"I like that you can find your own little area," Frederick said. "We found a trail with two or three beaches that nobody had been to in a while."

Students said they appreciate the beaches just as much as the hiking trails.

"It's a nice beach close to campus," said Kei Kurosu, a sophomore from Wilmington. She spent her birthday at Jordan Lake last August.

Matthew Karas, also a sophomore from Wilmington, said he likes to go to Jordan Lake because it reminds him of home.

"I personally miss the beach a lot and a pool’s just not the same," he said. "Sometimes I just want to lie out and have a breeze and sun and swimming."

The close distance was also appealing to Nneka Ndubisi, a sophomore from Maryland.

"You can get there really easily," she said, "and there are lots of things to do there."

Matthew Karas launches from a swing at a Jordan Lake
playground in the Seaforth recreation area. Photo courtesy of
Elsie Murray.

Ranger McMurray said his favorite of all the recreation areas is Ebeneezer.

"I like it because it has a nice panoramic view," he said.

He recommends New Hope for the more outdoorsy folks.

"New Hope has a great hiking trail that's in a hardwood forest," he said. "It's the longest and most difficult trail in the park." The trail is about almost six miles, he said.

Despite the variety of activities available, both the students and McMurray said planning ahead is essential.

McMurray said that the park does not sell food. Devices for the water, like kayaks, must also be found elsewhere. He pointed out that there are several nearby companies that rent boats, like the new Crosswinds Boating Center.

"For us that would be a concession," McMurray said. "I don't know if we have the staff to do that."

The students recommended treating a trip down there like a trip to the beach.

"Plan like you were going to the beach and hiking at same time," Kurosu said, adding that bug spray is also a necessity.

"I got bitten by ants between my fingers," she remembered. But that, she said, was the only downside of her day.

Sophomores Steve Duncan, Laralee Lynch
and Matthew Karas hike through trails after
going swimming at the Seaforth recreation area.
Photo courtesy of Elsie Murray.

In addition to the beaches and hiking trails, Jordan Lake offers educational programs, a wide variety of wildlife and campsites.

Several times a month, a ranger will host an educational program that is free and open to the public. The next one is a spring wildflower hike at 1 p.m. April 1 along the Haw River. A full list of events can be found here.

In the morning, the lake is a popular spot for bird-watchers like Laralee Lynch, a sophomore from Marion. Her avian biology class took a trip to the lake on a Sunday morning in January and saw sea gulls and bald eagles, among other birds.

"The bald eagle is the most unique thing we have," McMurray said.

This past winter, he said, there were seven active nests containing about 30 eagles. He said that number usually triples in the summer.

The park has even partnered with North Carolina State University to start a live feed of one of these nests that can be seen here.

Most visitors during day hours are unlikely to see much wildlife, McMurray said. Dawn and dusk are the best times for catching a glimpse of foxes, otters, turtles, bobcats and much more.

He said that visitors rarely encounter dangerous animals like bobcats, who are nocturnal. The only major incident with an animal last year was a bite from a Copperhead, the park's only poisonous species of snake.

Lynch, who said she did not see much more than birds, still recommends a morning on the lake for animal-lovers.

"It was pretty cold," she said, "but there was a lot of wildlife.

"I still prefer Jordan Lake in the afternoon, but if you're willing to get up," she said, "it’s beautiful to see the sunrise over the water."

Thousands of sea gulls who call Jordan Lake home skim the
surface early morning in January. Photo courtesy of Laralee Lynch.

McMurray, who is one of 17 rangers, said he loves the park and has found his dream job.

"There's not one aspect of this job I don't like," he said. "I love it all."

McMurray said he not only loves working in the park, but he also loves living in it. Every night he and his family, along with anyone on the park's premises, are locked in.

He said the rangers do not mind staying at night, but some of the campers do not realize how serious the locked-gate policy is.

"People will say just about anything to get out of the gate," he said, adding another warning to bring food to the lake, especially if you are camping overnight.

There are 1,062 campsites at Jordan Lake, all of which can be rented online. On March 21, the park started using a new system for reservations. McMurray said this system is easier to use than the previous one.

For the less adventurous "day-cation" types, the park is open every day except Christmas. From May to August, it is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. During September, October, March and April, it is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. From November to February it is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the price of admission is $6 per car. All other times it is free. A season pass can be bought for $50.

The biggest complaint that the students had was that it is hard to find. Because there are so many different entrances, it can be difficult to navigate. They suggested deciding which area you want to visit and looking at a map to see which side of Highway 64 it is on.

Whether you are staying for the day or a few nights, plan ahead and plan on a good time.

"Getting there isn’t the easiest thing," Karas said, "but once you get there, it’s really fun."

Sophomore Logan Smeallie on a hiking trail
in Seaforth recreation center. Photo courtesy
of Kei Kurosu.

Dip in Dot's

Hey girls, love to shop? Love roadtrips with your friends? Hate spending money?

There's a place called Dot's next to the TJ Maxx on 15-501 that I can't believe I haven't heard of.

I got this purple blouse for less than $7 including tax.

I thought I'd wear it two times before it fell apart. I mean, that's what happens when you buy cheap clothes from a store you've never heard of, right?

Since we've been there, it's been through the wash about three times. Still good as new.

The friends I went with agreed. My roommate got a dress for less than $20 and another friend bought a jacket and top. Both said they're still happy with their loot.

When we went next-door to TJ Maxx, this picky shopper spent almost the whole time in the book section. Not a single deal could compete with Dot's.

Maybe it would have been a different story if Dot's had a book section. With those deals, I might not ever make it out.

Hipster Disney Memes.
You know you love them.

Way Out of the Bubble: A Profile

Van Vliet feeds an elephant before taking an elephant-back safari ride
in Zimbabwe, where she and four classmates went after the program.
(Photo courtesy of Allie Van Vliet)

Allie Van Vliet has always loved giraffes. Last semester, she got to meet one in the wild.

And that was just the beginning.

Van Vliet and 10 other UNC students experienced the Honors Semester in Cape Town program last fall. Students took two courses while doing independent research and interning with "institutions that are helping to create a democratic civil society," according to the program's website.

Van Vliet said she did things that were out of her comfort zone while in South Africa, but knew they would all be worth it.

"I'm typically a fraidy cat," Van Vliet said, "but sometimes I get that mindset like, well, I have to do it."

Van Vliet, a junior from Pinehurst, went to N.C. School of Science and Mathemtatics for her junior and senior year of high school. She said this was a fun experience that helped her transition into college.

"It was very challenging academically," she said, "but it made coming to college so much easier."

A political science and Peace, War and Defense double major, Van Vliet got involved with extra-curricular activities soon after coming to UNC. She joined the community events committee for UNC Dance Marathon, and has since been involved with the fundraising-projects committee and the operations committee.

Residents of Stacy Hall after the 2011 UNC Dance Marathon
Clockwise from top are: Logan Smeallie, Heather Frederick,
Michael Goodling, Kei Kurosu, Matt Karas, Carolyn Belcher,
Kelsey Kaul and Allie Van Vliet.
(Photo Courtesy of Kei Kurosu)

Van Vliet said she is involved in the marathon because she believes children are important.

"The best part is walking in gym and they just scream for you," she said of the marathon's beginning. "It pumps you up so much."

Van Vliet's sophomore year at UNC, she was the Resident Adviser in Stacy Hall. The hall was unique not only because it was the first time girls had lived in Stacy but also because all of Van Vliet's residents were first-years.

"Freshmen are so much fun because they need you," Van Vliet said, adding that her inspiration to be an RA came from her own RA her junior year of high school.

Residents Andrea Nackenson, Camille Sowder
and Nneka Ndubisi arrange a surprise on
Van Vliet's door for her birthday in 2011.
(Photo courtesy of Heather Frederick)

"She was completely there for us," she said. "She made it so much better than it would have been. That's one of the best ways to be involved: to give that to someone else."

Van Vliet has accepted a position as a Resident Adviser Mentor for her senior year.

Both Van Vliet and a past resident, Andrea Nackenson, stressed how quickly the RA-Resident relationship with each girl was molded into a friendship.

"It was great to have someone who's open and easy to connect with as a freshman," Nackenson said. "Allie was our RA and friend and big sister and everything rolled into one."

Before last semester, Van Vliet had traveled to Mexico twice on mission trips and spent a "mini-term" (the equivalent of spring break) in Greece with her high school.

Van Vliet cooked two Brazilian turkeys for Thanksgiving
dinner because turkeys are not found in South Africa. 
(Photo courtesy Abby Poeske)

"Allie hadn't been away from home as long as some of us," said Abby Poeske, a junior education major from Boston who also did the Cape Town program. "She seems like a homebody because she has such a good relationship with her family and her boyfriend."

But Van Vliet had nurtured a passion for South Africa ever since taking a First-Year Seminar called "Memoirs of the Apartheid Era" and knew she wanted to study there.

"I always knew I wanted to study abroad," Van Vliet said. "That was never really a question."

Van Vliet said one of the most shocking moments of her trip was as they drove into town for the first time.

"There are slums, shacks," she said. "Upfront, that’s all you can see. It's very abrupt."

This introduction prepared Van Vliet for her internship with the Cape Town Refugee Centre, which provides  food and rent money to people who are struggling. 

Van Vliet said she had difficulty asking some of her clients the questions she was required to ask. 

"I’m 20 years old, a white girl from America," she recalled herself thinking. "What do I know?"

She said the most striking memory was when a client asked her, "Do you have a bed to sleep in tonight?" 

"It took everything I had not to start crying," Van Vliet said.

Erica O'Brien, a junior Global Studies and Communications major from Fayetteville who was Van Vliet's roommate during the trip, said that the internship seemed really emotionally draining.

"Allie carried a lot of it home with her," she said.

Overall, though, Van Vliet said the internship left a positive impact on her.

"It made me wanna have a career helping people," she said, "but not at that level. I don't think I could do that as a career."

Because of this internship, Van Vliet said, if she writes an honors thesis next year, it will likely focus on South African policy.

Poeske said that one of the most difficult parts of the trip was dealing with being approached by homeless people on the street.

"The homeless are very persistent," Poeske said, adding that Americans are targeted more.

Van Vliet agreed. "We would get followed home," she said. "You always have to be on your guard."

The trip was exciting in a good way, too, Van Vliet said. During their week-long spring break, the group went on a primitive safari on the east coast.

Rhinoceroses that the group spotted on their primitive safari
(Photo courtesy of Allie Van Vliet)

There the group saw four of the "Big Five," the hardest animals to kill by foot: lions, elephants, rhinoceroses and water buffalo. Van Vliet said this was plenty.

"Maybe not seeing a leopard was for the best," she said.

When giving advice for students considering studying abroad, Van Vliet and her fellow students gave similar answers: Make time for yourself, whether it's something as simple as exploring a new neighborhood or as adventurous as traveling to another country.

"You’re never gonna get that chance again in your life," she said.

Van Vlliet climbs a rock overlooking Victoria Falls.
(Photo courtesy Allie Van Vliet)

O'Brien said that Van Vliet grew more self-sustainable, learning to do things on her own.

"There are only so many things you can do with eleven people," she said, adding that researching activity ideas ahead of time is a good idea.

Miriam Tardif-Douglin, a junior political science major from Maryland who was Van Vliet's other roommate,  advised students to be prepared mentally, too.

"Whatever ends up happening, you're gonna have some adversity," said Tardif-Douglin, who explained that Van Vliet's laptop was stolen out of their house near the end of the semester.

She had already written the three papers that were soon due, Tardif-Douglin said.

"She had been really on top of things," she said. "I was really impressed."

Given the chance to study abroad again, O'Brien said she would take more risks.

"I saw 'Taken' before I went," she said. "Don't watch that."

"You want to be frugal," Poeske agreed, "but you don't want to skimp on experiences."

Van Vliet said that the thing she did that was most out of her comfort zone was to go shark cage-diving.

O'Brien, who went down in the cage with Van Vliet, said she heard her scream underwater.

"A shark came towards us, and I just heard bubbles," she said.

Tardif-Douglin still believes Van Vliet had a good time getting up close and personal with great white sharks.

"She took it like a sport," she said, "like she does everything."

Van Vliet prepares to meet great white sharks up close.
Next to her are Erica O'Brien and Will Leimenstoll.
(Photo courtesy of Abby Poeske)

The Ice Rink Retraction

I amend what I said about the ice rink in the Triangle Sportsplex, though not what I said about open skate time.

My final verdict: pay the extra dollar to have the place to yourself.

That's right. It was $9 to rent skates and spend a few hours trying not to tackle toddlers. It was $10 each to rent the place with my church group and have a blast playing broomball at 1 a.m., when the rink was empty.

What is broomball, you ask?

As my friend Logan puts it, "Broomball is like ice hokey, except you wear tennis shoes, and there's no puck or hockey sticks. But besides that it's the same."

That always gets a laugh because it makes it sound really different, but it's true: Broomball is ice hockey for people who can't ice-skate but want to play on the ice. People like me.

You get wooden sticks with a stub on the end. You run around trying to whack the rubber ball into the goal. And you fall.


Photo Source Page

My friend Kei and I only fell once each, but I lost count of Logan's tumble tally. The thing was though, he didn't seem to be in pain.

For me falling didn't hurt like when you're ice-skating. You just pick yourself up and keep on playing.

We stayed up for hours afterwards talking about highlights of the game and how much more fun we had than expected.

It felt like playing around on Hooker Fields, minus the grass.

Is it worth $10 to play on an ice version of Hooker Fields?

After my first encouter with the place, there's no question. Sportsplex after midnight gets the thumbs up.

"Word" is the Word

            Don’t expect a formal greeting, prompt start or even a handbill if you attend one of the UNC Wordsmiths’ poetry slams.

            Do expect a good time.

            Despite the fact that the Wordsmiths’ Grand Slam was primarily a chance for top poets to qualify for UNC’s team for the College Unions Poetry Slam Inivational (CUPSI) in April, the atmosphere was relaxed.

            “We don’t write to compete,” said Jacob Jacoby, who was the night’s host. “We write to get free.”

            Jacoby is the Programming Director of the Sacrificial Poets, the organization for which the Wordsmiths are the collegiate branch. The Wordsmiths host free poetry slams once a month. The winners are invited to compete in the annual Grand Slam, which this year was held from 7-9 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Carrboro Arts Center.

            Ten minutes after 7 p.m., however, the '90s rhythm and blues music continued to blast from the front speakers. The crowd of more than 50 continued to dwindle in and fill up the folding chairs until there was standing room only. The nine poets alternated between sitting in the front row, talking with friends in a corner, and pacing anxiously.

            “Word,” Jacoby greeted the crowd, then proceeded to ask who had never been to a poetry slam and knew none of the contestants. Five minutes later, these unknowing volunteer judges had been supplied with white boards and markers.

            Once the ball got rolling, though, it didn’t stop.

            Sacrificial Poet Kane “Novakane” Smego delivered a poem as a “calibration” to which Jacoby said the judges should compare the other poets. Smego spoke about how he wanted to “go back” and influence different historical figures. He said that he wanted to show Martin Luther King a picture of an integrated school—which received several snaps—and to tell Caesar “behind you, behind you”—which got several laughs.

            The nine competing poets, introduced only by their first names, took the stage and delivered their first poems. These covered topics from comical kvetch board-like complaints to laments about a once-angelic cousin fallen into drug abuse.

The scores were tallied up as the judges rated each poet, so within a minute after the end of the round, the top six scoring poets were announced.

Three poems did not receive high enough scores to move on to the next round: a story about a singing immigrant, a metaphor about a love like an unfinished musical score, and an explanation that the poet didn’t need a love poem because his lover already was one.

The only one of these eliminated poets that deserved a second chance was the first because of her imagery. Images make the best poems because words that do not create images are hard to relate to. The first poet, Ashley, really painted a picture of her singing immigrant, yet her own song was cut short.

In the second round, the three poets who stepped up to show their diversity got the highest scores. Two poets that had approached serious subjects before used their second round to deliver heart-felt love poems. Moe, the comical complainer, turned to her concerns about celebrities and drug use, a poem that seemed to be inspired by Amy Whinehouse.

The scores in the third and final round could not have more accurately reflected the performances. Lauren was given a 28.1 out of 30 as she begged her mother for forgiveness from ambiguous past wrongs. Moe received a 28.2 for her telling account of a girl who drank herself into a miscarriage.

Third-round winner Chicas showed off his versatility like none other. After a tear-felt account of his cousin’s drug-induced downfall and his suave but encouraging insistence to the audience that “You are like a walking orchestra,” he shyly practiced asking a girl on a date. His performance was so convincing that audience members “aww”ed throughout and cheered when his 28.7 was announced.

Overall, however, Lauren was the highest scorer. Even for Chicas' fans, this announcement was no cause for disappointment. The top five were given spots on the CUPSI team. Besides, as Jacoby said, it’s not about the competition.

Two of the judges, Jared and Katie, agreed. Jacoby poked fun at them throughout the night, dubbing them the “East Berlin judges” because of their low score-giving. They said they found this amusing, though.

Katie said she was glad a friend recommended the slam to her.

“It was raw,” she said. “Human. Honest.”