The Samford Crimson
- Serving Samford University Since 1915 -
Volume 104, Issue 3 _ September 27, 2018 thesamfordcrimson.com
White coats
and Rite
of Passage
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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.