On Monday, April 15, BeanSwitch, UTM’s own literary and arts magazine, will hold its spring reveal at 6 p.m. in the Tennessee Room of the Holland McCombs Building, located next to Gooch Hall.
As it is every spring, the copy of the magazine will be in print this semester and will first be revealed to the public at the party. Issues will be freely distributed and available to everyone.
The theme of the reveal, as is portrayed on the cover of the magazine, is “Headed West.” Accordingly, Jacob Dagenhart, a sophomore Agriculture major and a member of the rodeo team, will demonstrate his rope work at the beginning of the reveal. Along with the other members of the team, he will be competing in the 45th annual UTM rodeo that is to take place Apr. 11- 13. In gratitude, BeanSwitch executives strongly urge people to attend.
During the reveal party, there will be readings of poetry and portions of short stories that were accepted into the magazine. Artwork that is featured in the magazine will also be on display around the room. Light refreshments will be provided as well.
There will also be live musical performances. Ryan Bomar, a Senior English major as well as a featured writer, will be playing the guitar. In addition, Andrew Cochran and Ezra Nance, both Senior Engineering majors, will be performing together with guitars.
“I am looking forward to having all of these talented people in one room,” BeanSwitch Co-Executive Editor Misty Dunlap said.
BeanSwitch will also be continuing its fundraiser Adopt-a-Pet, for which each “pet” is priced at $13; there will be tie-dyed bears and hawks as well as aviator outfits (also $13). BeanSwitch T – s h i r t s will also be available for pre-order ing at the price of $15; the T-shirts will feature Cody Speed’s artwork “Fire & Ice” that was on the Fall 2012 issue of the magazine.
For each item sold, there will be $1 donated to Bethany Scott, a senior University Studies major. Bethany Scott was diagnosed last October at age 21 with Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer. Since then, Bethany has undergone intense rounds of chemotherapy and long periods of hospitalization. As a result, her life was put on hold and forever altered. She was recently informed that the cancer has disappeared; on Apr. 23, she will undergo a complete hysterectomy, but it does not end there. For the rest of her life, she will continually have to make visits to the hospital for check-ups to ensure that the cancer does not return.
“Our small town has been such a blessing to me. I can never thank everyone enough for what they have done and are doing for me,” Scott said.
BeanSwitch is very eager to help with the cause of Bethany Scott.
Every semester a magazine is created to showcase the literary and artistic talent that exists within UTM and the surrounding community.
“The amazing thing about BeanSwitch is that we encourage people to be as creative as their imaginations will allow them to be,” said BeanSwitch Visual Editor Kalsey Butler.
Writers of every genre and artists of every medium are urged to submit their works to the student-run publication’s voting committee and are l a t e r informed of whether their piece(s) were accepted into the magazine. There are approximately 100 pieces of literature as well as 100 pieces of artwork submitted each semester.
“BeanSwitchis unique in the fact that it is the only student publication on campus that is geared towards creativity,” said BeanSwitch Co-Executive Editor Sheila Scott.
Works chosen to be in the publication are chosen through an anonymous voting process. While those who are accepted should unquestionably take pride in their work, those who are rejected must not be discouraged from continuing to submit their works to BeanSwitch and other publications.
“Whether you have submitted and been accepted and/or rejected in the past or not, never be discouraged,” Scott said.
For more information on BeanSwitch, visit its webpage, “like” its Facebook page, or follow its Twitter @ mrjamesbean.
