The USU hosted its final “Espressions” of the semester on November 14th in the Games Room on campus at CSUN.

In all three Espressions events hosted by the USU, students were invited on stage to share their original poetry in a friendly and energetic atmosphere. Each session was hosted by different CSUN students, and for the final session, Marvin Jordan and Shanada Davis, both members of CSUN’s Poetry Slam team, co-hosted.

Espressions is an open-mic, sign up and recite type of event. The event is structured loosely, giving students almost complete freedom. The only major rule: be respectful. Other than that, students are given five minutes each on stage and are allowed to recite and perform original pieces of work for the audience.

“All three events had reached capacity,” said Emmanuel Martinez, senior English and creative writing major, and the USU Events Assistant Director.

This open-mic poetry reading is not new to campus, but it has definitely gained popularity and a good reputation over the years.

With over 20 students performing on stage, the event lasted just over two hours. In that time, original poetry was read, original songs accompanied by guitar were played, and even some cover songs were performed by students.

“It is a really free environment, and even though you might feel nervous at first, everyone is so welcoming,” said Jasmine Hart, an athletics training major. Hart performed for her second time at the final Espressions event by reading her poem, “Languages of Love”.

“I was nervous,” said Hart, “but I just felt this feeling. I knew I had to go up there and share my poetry with everyone there.”

The Espressions events will continue next semester, with the first event already being planned for February 2013.