Before you read: On Friday, Feb. 28, Harbinger Poetry Club and Diversity Club teamed up to host a memorable evening of poetry, music and self-expression with an Acoustic Latte Lounge in the Library. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., students gathered in a welcoming space where they could be vulnerable and creative. This event aimed to build community and support the arts.
STUDENTS SHARING PASSIONS | The Harbinger Acoustic Latte Lounge was a place where students came together to share their passions for student created poems and songs. Member of Harbinger, senior Teo Miller attended the event and enjoyed the environment and energy everyone brought. “I love the karaoke and I love the crowd and I love the vibes of the whole event, " Miller said.
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CLUBS | During the Acoustic Latte Lounge, Harbinger and Diversity Club collaborated to create and strengthen friendships while enjoying others' poetry and student made music. Harbinger co-adviser Kristen Alles added a helping hand to bring the clubs together. “I think there was a sense of community involved,” Alles said. “I think students felt comfortable with one another reading their poetry. It is a very vulnerable thing to read your personal poetry out loud and to do your personal pieces of music in front of others and I think when you are vulnerable with others it kind of automatically develops a sense of community.”
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH POETRY | The event fostered a welcoming atmosphere that encouraged students to express their creativity, which was Harbinger President Helena Rodriguez’s main goal. This created a sense of community within the event as students felt comfortable sharing their talents. “I really liked how people felt comfortable with sharing their poems, jokes and singing with the rest of the group," Rodriguez said. “All of it was super cool too.”
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
CELEBRATING MUSIC AND FUN | As students came together, they also were able to participate in other ways such as enjoying games and pizza, according to Harbinger President Helena Rodriguez, making the event a success. “We had a pretty good turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves,” Rodriguez said.
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
Teamwork In Action | The connections to the Acoustic Latte Lounge stood out to senior Teo Miller as Diversity Club also played a part in the creation of the event. Many students who attended the event exercised team building as well strengthening friendship as most who attended had the same interest to share. “It's a really good event to connect with people,” Miller said.
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
JOINING FORCES | With students returning from midwinter break, Harbinger President Helena Rodriguez took advantage of the chance to create an enjoyable space as students got back into the swing of things. “We ran into some advertising issues, particularly since it was the week after mid-winter break and everybody was still getting used to the school routine, " Rodriguez said. “But since we had a good crowd show up anyway it wasn’t a major setback.”
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb
TEAMWORK IN ACTION | Leading up to the event, coordination was essential to ensure everything was together smoothly. Harbinger and Diversity Clubs came together and used teamwork to execute the responsibility of creating the Acoustic Latte Lounge, according to Harbinger co-adviser Kristen Alles. “There was a lot of delegating,” Alles said. “A lot of different groups you know have to buy the decorations and other groups have to get the food and others to secure the space. But we definitely planned it for a couple of weeks.”
Photo Credit: Troy Lipscomb