Students gathered at Linden Hall for another Open Mic event at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday night. The Open Mic event had many diverse and entertaining acts, helping showcase the talent of the students of Ramapo College.
Instead of celebrating Mardi Gras like many other Ramapo students may have on Tuesday, these artistically gifted students spent the night entertaining a wide array of people with their acts. The acts ranged from rap, spoken word and poetry performances, along with some bands and stand up comedy. Each act was entertaining in its own right, showing the amazing things the students of Ramapo College are capable of.
Most of the audience members in attendance were people who had enjoyed previous Open Mic events and were looking for an equally enthralling experience. Many of the audience members were initially introduced to Open Mic night through friends. However, now they come solely to see the talent of their fellow peers.
Christina Warner went to Open Mic night to see her friends perform on stage. However, that was not her only reason for attending the event.
“Although my suite mates are performing, I come because I like seeing other people perform as well,” Warner said.
Warner explained that she does not frequently go to on-campus events, but Open Mic is something that she feels she must attend.
“Even if my suite mates weren’t here, I would definitely still come,” she said.
Anna Baldassari came to see the Open Mic event after thoroughly enjoying the last one she attended. The interesting events of the previous Open Mic night prompted her to come and see what would happen Tuesday night.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight, but I’m excited to find out,” Baldassari said, “Someone sang ‘Get Low’ really slowly last time, and it was hysterical.”
While Baldassari enjoys seeing what people will do, she also has other reasons for attending Open Mic. It is the atmosphere that keeps her coming back for more.
“The atmosphere at the last event was so laid back, so it gave me incentive to come back,” Baldassari said.
Jordan Taliaferro performed at the Open Mic event for the first time ever on Tuesday. While he frequently attended these events in the past, this was the first time he had the courage to sing in front of everyone and show off his talent.
“I see people perform all the time,” he said. “I just had to go up there and try it myself. “
While Taliaferro said that he was very nervous while performing, he expressed that it was an exhilarating experience that he would love to do again.
“I loved performing up there,” he said. “You get a feeling that you can’t have anywhere else.”
Because he received such a positive response from his performance, he said it gave him encouragement to sing in front of others more often.
“It was a good experience,” Taliaferro said, “and I would love to do it again.”
