2018-09-27, The Samford Crimson

The Samford Crimson - Serving Samford University Since 1915 - Volume 104, Issue 3 _ September 27, 2018 thesamfordcrimson.com White coats and Rite of Passage fW Features, 6 Bats save enviroment too w>. Opinions, 7 Poet Derrick Harriell visits campus CAROL GRAFFEO Staff Writer Harriell read poetry from his books to Samford students. I PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH STURGEON Author and poet Derrick Harriell lead a poetry event at Samford University on Monday Sept. 24. Harriell visited Samford as part of this semester’s Birmingham Area Consortium for Higher Education Visiting Writer Series. Bom and raised in Milwaukee, Harriell currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and son. He teaches English and African American Studies at the University of Mississippi. During the poetry reading, Harriell shared pieces from his books titled "Cotton" and "Stripper in Wonderland." To conclude the night, Harriell entertained several questions from curious students and faculty in the audience pertaining to his writing process, inspiration and purpose. Harriell explores a wide range of themes within his poetry, from parenthood and relationships to loss and objectification. Harriell’s grandfather, a Tuscaloosa native, inspired his first poetry book, “Cotton.” This collection includes poems reflecting on the distant yet significant legacy that Harriell’s grandfather offered to his family. Throughout the evening, Harriell’s deliberate pauses, crescendos and gestures drew the audience into the world of his poems. In a reading from "Stripper in Wonderland" titled 'The Cowardly Obstetrician Delivers a Baby, "the Monday night crowd could envision an all-too- quiet hospital room in which HarrieU's wife delivered their son on a September night six years ago. Harriell described each intention behind his poetry books. 'I'm very much entrenched in the conceptual function of my books," Harriell said. The titles themselves and Harriell’s incorporation of personified inanimate objects hold clues to grasp overarching themes within his poetry books. Harriell hopes his readers might enjoy these books as interwoven and conceptualized pieces instead of non- related poetry collections. Harriell also revealed his writing purpose. Tm thinking about world budding and how ... I create a world and experience for the reader. The goal is for the reader to feel completely immersed in that experience," he said. The opportunity of self-expression within poetry attracted Harriell from a young age. At age eight, Harriell began writing poems; it was not until his sophomore year in college that Harriell was introduced to the slam poetry movement of the late '90s and began a serious pursuit of poetry. Harriell thus began to approach the binaries of life and society and to explore the complexities of the self through creative writing. A predominant inspiration for HarrieU's work involves life’s subtle moments. 'That’s how life normally works — it’s normally the intersections that create our lives, " he said. HarrieU’s poetry reading was not the only chance on campus this year to hear from a nationally- acclaimed writer. The next BACHE Visiting Writers’ Series is on March 4, 20 19 and will be led by author J ean Guerrero. UAB professor discusses charter schools WILLIAM MARLOW News Editor Peter J ones, a professor from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, discussed charter schools at Samford University on Sept. 20. AccordingtoJ ones, the charter school debate centers around performance, but often ignores these schools' financial impact on public schools. "Every time we talk about this it’s all about efficacy or whether they are better. We should be talking about whether they are more cost effective and efficient,” he said. Charter schools are considered public schools and depend on public funding. Anyone can enroll but students go through an application process. Charter schools provide more school options but also divide funding. As charter schools increase, many public schools must now compete for the same funding. As more students leave public schools, J ones said the funding follows. "If a student transfers from a public school to a charter school, the funding that would have gone for that student has to follow that student," he said. 'If a substantial amount of students shift from public to charter schools, you’re not able to spread cost over as many students." Collectively, charter schools have doubled public schools’ expenses. For every dollar public schools lose, their expenses increase by $2.20. "As more students go to charter schools, we’re seeing a pretty substantial increase. Traditional public schools spend about a $ 1,000 more per student," Jones said. These expenses have strained public schools and many struggle with debt. For example, J ones said a Pittsburgh's school district deficit skyrocketed $3 million after students left. Other public schools cannot even pay their debt. According to Jones, the credit rating agency, Moody's, fears that some school district's credit ratings could plummet because they have so much debt. In response, public schools spend less, but it is not enough. For every dollar of revenue public schools lose, they may only decrease their expenses by 50 cents. “They’re still in a fiscal crisis. Public schools can’t shift around money all that easily," he said. "If a public school's enrollment decreases, they can’t just fire a teacher or shutdown part of the school." Some school districts have barred charter schools from entering their area, and therefore preventing charter schools from siphoning funds. Rather than avoiding competition, J ones said public schools should improve and devote more funding to students’ education. "School districts can respond by moving money ... into the classroom and creating a better ... school so students will want to stay," he said. J ones said public schools should adapt and prioritize their students educational needs as much as safety or attendance. "School districts should be more flexible in responding to these types of things because they have to respond to other things like tornadoes and school truancy issues," he said.