Students presented their works of art during the See n Say open-mic night held last Tuesday.

The atmosphere was calm as people walked in the door. The art was assembled the artists as well as members of the Beanswitch staff. Poets were working on the order of who would be presenting their works for the evening. People wandered around and enjoyed some refreshments as they viewed the artwork.

Many of the BeanSwitch members had their cameras out to capture the students’ art because they were trying to find the cover for the next issue of BeanSwitch.

The paitings varied in tone and concepts with even a bit of political commentary. A photograph of Vice President Dick Cheney was smeared in red paint while the surrounding background appeared to have missing pieces. Many students laughed at this piece. There were even talks of potential buyers of this art.

One work by Christian Ashlar was of a man, complete with vacant blank eyes and shrouded with a rainbow. “The reason the paint is smeared on the right is to represent movement,” said Ashlar. “We are always in movement and that helps portray that point.”

The poetry ranged in tone and themes. One poet struggled with a “beast” that is ravaging West Tennessee.

The meth epidemic was explored in this poem as the poet presented the imagery of a person shaking hands with skeletons of people he once knew. The poem was spoken from free memory and was quite powerful in its presentation.

Dealing with hangovers and the question of getting up out of bed, the warm feelings of a happy memory as well as the cards of fate moving you away from the clutches of an evil meth beast were all subjects of the poetry that was presented.

The open mic night was free to the public and allowed the past, present, and future contributors to Beanswitch to demonstrate their talents.

The student-run publication is produced each semester with the editorial staff and volunteers sifting through the contributions of many students. Poetry, short stories, essays, photography, artwork and computer graphics are just a few items to be seen on the pages of Beanswitch.

The submission deadline has already passed, but there will be plenty of other BeanSwitch events during the course of the semester, including a release party that usually includes a poetry slam.

BeanSwitch meets every Thursday at 5:15 p.m. in the Writing Center, Humanaties 209. Anyone interested in finding out more about Beanswitch should contact the faculty adviser, Dr. Leslie Lachance.