Tonight at 6 p.m. in the UC Ballroom, literary and arts magazine BeanSwitch will host a formal event, “Celebration of the Arts,” to celebrate the launching of their Fall 2012 issue online. The program will include performances from UTM students, showcasing their musical and literary talents.
Executive Editors Misty Dunlap and Sheila Scott along with Visual Editor Kalsey Stults have worked very hard to ensure the success of BeanSwitch Fall 2012 and its release and feel that BeanSwitch has a lot to offer to students.
“It gives students an appreciation for the artwork and talent on the campus, in the community, and among their peers. One of our staff members, Lyndsay Riggs, said that reading and critiquing literary pieces, has helped her in her own writing,” Stults said.
“BeanSwitch is a student run publication that provides students an outlet for their creative works,” Scott said.
With BeanSwitch offering an opportunity to all students to partake in artistic expression, the “Celebration of the Arts” is an event that all students are encouraged to attend, giving students entertainment from different types of musicians and writers.
“The students will be exposed to the more creative side of writing on the UTM campus, see some beautiful artwork up close and hear literary works being read by their creators. Hearing a poem read by the poet can help you to truly appreciate the piece and its meaning,” Scott said. “Students should come out to support their fellow students, show their appreciation for the literary and art community, and help us to demonstrate how thankful we are to be able to express ourselves through the written word, the muscial score or art in any form.”
As far as the future of BeanSwitch goes, both Stults and Scott would like to see more involvement from students in upcoming semesters and they encourage students’ participation.
“I would like to see all UTM students, faculty and staff know that BeanSwitch is UTM’s literary and arts magazine. I am proud that more people on the UTM campus and the surrounding community have at least heard of BeanSwitch, due to our expanded reveal events and increased concentration of publicity,” Scott said.
“Students should come and support BeanSwitch, because it is really just showing support and recognizing the students and people in the community who may be otherwise looked over. As to my knowledge, it is the only local magazine for the arts and literature, so unless they are able to get their works published on a bigger scale, there may be no other way for them to be able to showcase their talent,” Stults said.
According to Stults, working with the BeanSwitch staff is a great experience.
“I am proud of the amount of dedication we have from our staff members. They are willing to do whatever is asked of them without any complaints. They are all greatly diverse but still remain a unified group, and I am honored to be a part of that. I am also really proud that we have three amazing advisers this semester, who are all incredibly lovely people, as well as people that I can look to for encouragement and advice,” Stults said.
To participate in BeanSwitch, attend the weekly meetings on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Writing Center in Humanities. Also, if you’re looking for an early Christmas present, take part in BeanSwitch’s fundraiser and buy a stuffed tie-dyed bear or Skyhawk by emailing beanswitch@ut.utm.edu.
