The comforting scents of caffeinated beverages that fill Hillside Cafe during the day were replaced by students’ messages of positivity and self-love for Thursday evening’s open mic night. The event gave students the opportunity to celebrate the capabilities of their own bodies and minds with musical performances and poetry readings.
The open mic night was part of the programming for “Love Your Body Week” put on by the Boston College Women’s Center. The week’s events were dedicated to educating students about body image issues and promoting body positivity and empowerment, according to Jenaea Duddie, Women’s Center staff member and MCAS ’22. Other events included a discussion on cultural perspectives on the body and a painting workshop on Friday.
Students emphasized these themes of body positivity with musical performances that got the audience clapping and singing along. The Common Tones a cappella group opened with a tone-setting, joyful rendition of “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons.
BC Against the Current followed with its a capella rendition of “Flashlight” by Jessie J and “One and Only” by Adele. Graduate student Bayar Tuvshinjargal, GLSOE ’22, then sang “Jealous” by Labrinth.
Other students showed great vulnerability as they stepped up to the microphone to perform. The first person to give a poetry performance, Emersen Mackenzie, MCAS ’25, read an original poem about love and pain in relationships. This was followed by a mellow, acoustic guitar duet by Colin Martin and Cole Dumas, both MCAS ’24. The duo played “Hand In My Pocket” by Alanis Morissette.
Erin Pender, MCAS ’24, continued the night of musical musings, singing Adele’s “When We Were Young” before the stage was opened up to anyone in the audience. Tuvshinjargal and Pender gave encore performances before Jordan St John, MCAS ’22, lit up the room with her version of “We Found Love” by Rihanna. St John gave an energetic performance by jumping up and down and inspiring some BC After Dark workers to dance along with her.
The high energy continued with a sing along to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and a moving rendition of her song “All Too Well” in honor of the release of Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) later that night. Duddie also gave a four-part performance of original poetry inspired by personal experiences with racism and femininity.
The BC Sharps closed out the event with their arrangements of “Back In My Body” by Maggie Rogers and “Alive” by Sia. Overall, it was a night chock-full of performances that took everyone in Hillside on a journey through heartbreak, anger, love, and freedom in just two short hours.
Featured Images by Nicole Vagra / Heights Staff
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