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PROVIDED
Elizabeth Acevedo
will be at Texas
A&M for the
SCOLA conference.
Q&A: SCOLA hosts award-winning poet
The Battalion Life & Arts reporter
Keely Witries sat down with Eliza
beth Acevedo, winner of the 2014
Beltway Grand Slam Champion, the
nation’s largest slam poetry contest,
who is one o f only three women in the
country to have won the contest. Acev
edo is in town for the SCOLA confer
ence over the weekend .This year the
conference is focused on individuality,
which is Acevedo’s specialty iti poetry.
THE BATTALION: What does it
mean for you to get to travel the
country influencing young people
with your poetry?
ACEVEDO: You know, it's a dream
come true. I've been performing
since I was 14 years old and always
was kind of looking for performers
who were of the same background,
and women I could look for as an
example, and there were very few.
So for me it is really important to
get out and engage with college
students and high school students
and as many young folk as possible
to be the example I always wanted
to see.
THE BATTALION: What about
your poetry is so influential?
ACEVEDO: I speak a lot about
identity and about the ways in
which I am still figuring out the
person and woman I want to be,
and I think particularly with the age
range of 18 to 22 that are in college, •
a lot of that is the goal. There is
the classroom experience but then
there is establishing ideals and the
ways in which you are going to
walk to the world and I think a lot
of people are going to relate to the
fact that my poetry is about passion
and about being who you want to
be and focusing yourself on that
journey.
THE BATTALION: How does your
diverse background influence
your poetry?
ACEVEDO: There is a way in which
you grow up in a very diverse
atmosphere, and I went to school
with people who spoke all different
kinds of languages and from all
different islands and from all
countries, I think that lets you have
the perspective of thinking globally,
which was very big for me and is
still big for me in order to be looking
towards the world to understand
where I'm at. And definitely being
Dominican, which there is a huge
population in New York city, is
big because I'm an American
and very much a New Yorker but
that's all influenced by my parents'
background and my immigrant
story, so there is a way in which I
navigate being an American when
its being influenced by growing
up in a very global world and with
a global view on what it means to
be an American that affects my
writing.
THE BATTALION: Some of
your writing has been labeled
controversial, what adversities
have you faced because of that?
ACEVEDO: I talk a lot about race
and I talk a lot about being a
woman. I don't shy away from
any of those topics. I think that
especially creative writers should
always write what they are most
afraid to say because it's probably
what isn't being said by anyone.
I don't really concern myself with
if my topics are controversial, I
know they might be depending on
who is listening, but I think that is
part of what I want to bring to the
discussion is that it's okay to talk
about things and work through
things as a community, luckily
the stage and interacting with the
audience allows that.
THE BATTALION: Why did you
start performing?
ACEVEDO: I started performing
because I had a high school teacher
who kind of forced me. I wanted
to be a rapper, honestly, I wanted
to do hip-hop. I thought it was
really cool and I just I love music
— so I've always had a little bit of
a performer in me. But I started
doing poetry and putting myself
out there because I had a lot of
influential people in my life who
encouraged me to share that work
and exchange with people and to
listen to poetry and to believe that
what I had to say was important.
MORE AT TX.AG/BATT33
§ffl
■
Hp
aji Asi9n on
campus
g!| Thursday shows
KraSHHI fraternity letters
on tombstones.
SIGNS CONTINUED
The actions of a few don’t always reflect the
attitudes and impressions of the overall student
population, Trigg said.
“It’s very important in this day and age to
understand that social media allows everything
to get blown out of proportion and for people
to see it as a majority of opinions when in real
ity it could just be a small group of individuals
reflect that opinion,” Trigg said.
Lanz said when he saw the signs from photos
his friends sent him, he did not overly concern
himself.
“I did not put much thought into the signs
until I learned more about what was going on,”
Lanz said. “However it was evident to me from
the start that the Corps of Cadets was not be
hind it.”
Whether or not the signs are of a satirical
nature, no good comes from them, Lanz said.
“I do not believe any good comes from the
content of these signs,” Lanz. “Whether the
agenda was humor, or to poke fun at the Corps
of Cadets or Greek Life, the signs just created
unnecessary drama and were disrespectful. That
STAND IN CONTINUED
students walk by, the focus is drawn to singing
and praying.
From 2-7 a.m. the participants did exactly
that. Liz Harris, events coordinator and inter
national studies senior, said a new prayer sub
ject was introduced every hour, “to slightly
meditate on but just be really praying over and
keeping mindful.”
The push for prayer plays a key role in the
IJM by allowing the organization members
and their audience to have a positive outlook
on the fight against human trafficking.
“This is such a dark subject and this is such
a difficult thing to talk about that we don’t
want people walking away feeling discouraged
and hopeless,” said Hannah Seela, community
outreach officer and psychology sophomore.
“One of the main aspects is finding hope in
is not what Texas A&M is about.”
Lanz said the sign depicting the Yell Leaders
is far from the truth.
“Zach, Ben, Chris and Will have done an
outstanding job of accepting me as one of
them,” Lanz said. “I have truly enjoyed get
ting to know them better this past month and
I genuinely could not have asked for a better
group of guys to serve alongside in the upcom
ing year.”
Zach Lawrence, appointed 2015-2016 Head
Yell Leader, said Lanz is a great Aggie with tre
mendous faith. Lawrence said Lanz has shown
an overwhelming enthusiasm and desire to
serve A&M since the beginning of the elec
tion season.
Connor Roberts, president of BYX and
mechanical engineering junior, said he was
disappointed when he saw the signs, especially
because Lanz did not run for Yell Leader on the
pretense of dividing the student body.
“Steven truly has the most genuine heart of
anybody I’ve met,” Roberts said. “He wants to
serve the university and unite the student body.
He ran on the vision that he could unite the
student body, representing non-regs and Corps
members alike.”
God and Jesus to free people.”
Displayed examples of stories and statistics
brought to light the reality of modern day hu
man trafficking. Along with the stories and
facts presented, painted handprints marked
each of the five letters of the display that
spelled out “STAND.”
Allison Booth, IJM member and history
and sociology junior, said awareness surround
ing the current state of human trafficking in
the world is on the rise, which was reflected
through the “STAND” display.
“We just wanted a visual representation of
the growth of this movement as more people
become aware,” Booth said.
Through all the activities, members re
mained mindful of their main cause, Seela said.
“Our primary objective is just to raise
awareness and our campus’ collective con
sciousness,” Seela said.