By Laurie Merrill
GCU Today
On a campus that knows how to celebrate in style – think Midnight Madness, Lope-A-Palooza and Hanging of the Greens, to name a few – add National Day on Writing to the list of Grand Canyon University events to write home about.
Members of the National Council of Teachers of English Club (NCTE) hope students from every major try their hand at creative writing activities planned for the day. It might help them turn over a new leaf. They might find their inner author.
“We hope people have fun with writing,” said junior Kara Lavery, an English major who is helping to organize the event. “People think English literacy isn’t a big deal, but it is.”
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday on the Promenade in front of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, passersby can enjoy a number of creative activities and meet members of GCU’s thriving writing population.
Students, faculty and staff will be invited to read sidewalk poetry and to add a plot twist or two to one of several community extend-a-stories.
The six-word autobiography, which attracted a lot of participants last year, also is making a comeback.
Sidney Rascon, a junior majoring in English, said she hopes a diverse group of students attends to find out why she, Lavery and other writers are so passionate about the subject.
“Writing portrays different perspectives on life,” she said. “We can learn from each other’s writings. It’s also a good outlet for getting things out of your mind.”
In addition to the NCTE club, GCU also is home to Write On, Friends of the Pen, Professional Writing Club and Novel Ideas.
“I’m always excited to see when a student comes by (the event) and sees that their writing is just fine, that no one is judging, no one is evaluating,” GCU English instructor Kimbel Westerson said. “It’s just theirs.”
Lavery and Rascon also encourage students to use the hashtags #WhyIWrite and #Right2Write for any photos or writings they send out on social media.
The National Day on Writing was established by the NCTE to celebrate the joy and evolution of writing.
“People tend to think of writing in terms of pencil-and-paper assignments, but no matter who you are, writing is part of your life,” says the #WhyIWrite website. “It’s part of how you work, how you learn, how you remember and how you communicate. It gives voice to who you are and enables you to give voice to the things that matter to you.”
Contact Laurie Merrill at (602) 639-6511 or [email protected].
