The English Education Club tried to transport students to Haiti on Monday night, while never leaving Bracken Library.
Melissa Adams-Campbell, assistant professor of literature, has always believed in literature's ability to connect people. Through writing, she said, she thinks people can see and understand worlds they have never visited.
The club held a charity benefit to raise awareness and money for Haiti after the earthquake that ravaged the small, impoverished country.
"There was the initial hype, but then we feared the Haitians had been forgotten," Pamela Hartman, associate professor of English, said. "It was a really tragic event and I'm glad students care. We thought we should be part of the effort."
Students and professors read short stories, poems and children's books from Haitian authors. Two students read original works about their reactions to the earthquake.
Luke Boggess, a senior English education major, is a member of both the English Education Club and the Writers Community. He prepared a series of poems about what he knew before, and then after, research about Haiti.
"The news came and went," he said. "It's so different than what actually happened. It puts everything in perspective."
Boggess said the process of writing the poems flowed, but it was difficult at times.
"It kind of comes out of you," he said. "When you have a topic like Haiti and you have people in need, you just try to give what you can, even if it's only a few words."
Daniel Travis, a junior English major, also presented an original work.
"I was just looking at the world," he said. "I try to use the gift of poetry to open eyes and show the world there is hope."
Travis said the process of writing is important to him.
"I have moments when it all comes out," he said. "I feel like God speaks through me. A lot of times I read the poetry and it amazes me what came out."
Many of the professional works presented used children as a reccurring element. When Hartman and Brittany Hommerding, the English Education Club president, read "The Other Side," a children's book by Jacqueline Woodson, Hartman said her daughter wanted her to tell everyone to remember the children.
"With the earthquake in Haiti, a lot of the focus [in the news] was on children, orphans and people from the United States adopting orphans," she said. "The news coverage probably inspired more children's literature. It's really accessible to all people."
Hommerding said she was disappointed at first that only about 20 people came to the benefit, but as things went along, she was really pleased with how it turned out.
"It was more than I thought it would be," she said. "Hearing the original works was especially rewarding."
All the money raised from the event will go to the American Red Cross to aid Haitian relief. The club raised $235 in total. They will still be accepting donations for the next few weeks from people who couldn't come.
"Every little bit helps," she said.
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