Twin brothers Ben and Alex Moore from Oliver Riot perform Coma Minds. Photo credit: Camille Garcia
More than 100 students gathered in the Rose Garden Friday for 13 performances ranging from music and poetry to other art for Communiversity’s final open-mic night of the year.
“We just want to give APU students a place to express whatever talent God has given them – whether that is spoken word, musical giftedness, vocal performance, dance, artistry – whatever it is that they have,” said Melissa Stava, Communiversity’s associate director for on-campus programming.
The night kicked off with a musical performance from twin brothers Ben and Alex Moore from their group Oliver Riot, and ended with a rap by freshman liberal art studies major Lindsey Namanny.
Namanny also performed her spray-paint art. Other performances included freshman social work major Jamilah Relf’s rendition of her own spoken word.
“I hope they just really learned to embrace their creative side and … while school is an important aspect, it’s also important to be creative; you can solve problems through creativity, and you can create beautiful things that inspire anyone,” Namanny said.
Senior business management major Aury Saravia said she attended the event to explore more talents on campus.
“I would have to say that I was motivated by the talents my peers have – it was just very exciting to witness it,” Saravia said.
Communiversity was intentional in choosing the Rose Garden as the location to hold the event.
“We wanted to do something different, and it’s really a beautiful space that is not used a lot on campus,” Stava said.
Namanny said she appreciated the location for its intimacy.
“I don’t know half the people here, but I felt like we’re a good community and we’re all laughing together so I thought it was great. Plus, I’m a big fan of Pintrest and it looks like a Pintrest location, so I love it,” Namanny said.
Communiversity hosts an open-mic night at least once every semester, according to Stava.
“I’m just always impressed with how talented APU students are,” Stava said.