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Law students and staff broke free of legal jargon this month when they turned to prose to offer fresh perspectives on justice and equity during an annual poetry competition.

���ϲ����� School of Law’s 6th Annual “High Rhymes & Misdemeanors” Poetry Slam on October 22, 2024, welcomed dozens of audience members to the Cemala Foundation Commons for performances of original work by students, faculty, and staff.

Serving on the five-judge panel was , who returned to ���ϲ����� Law for the second consecutive year to perform an original work before evaluating the competitors alongside four members of the ���ϲ����� Law faculty and staff.

Savannah Stinson L’25 took home the top award from judges and the People’s Choice Award for “Black Like Me.” This fall marked the second year in which Stinson joined the poetry slam.

“I had a lot of requests from professors who wanted to make sure I entered again!” she said. “It was hard to stand in front of a bunch of people with a poem that not many in the audience could relate to, and everyone who read a poem? They were all unique and they were all wonderful. It was an honor for me to be recognized with the award.”

Hosted by ���ϲ����� Law’s Legal Method & Communication Program with support from ���ϲ�����’s Center for Writing Excellence, the poetry slam commemorated the established by the National Council of Teachers of English.

“The best thing about today is to see that law students can go outside of the box and not talk law and not be so analytical that it sounds boring,” said Assistant Professor Bob Minarcin, a member of the Legal Method and Communication Program faculty who emceed the poetry slam. “They showed creativity!”

Student Awards

1st Place & People’s Choice Award (Selected by Audience Vote)
“Black Like Me”
Savannah Stinson L’25

2nd Place
“T������”
Adriana M. Demercurio L’26

3rd Place
“the lightkeepers”
Dmitri McKinney L’25

Staff Performances

Faculty/Staff Award
“Commonly Used Words Redefined”
Danny Little
���ϲ����� Law Environmental Services

“To All the First Years”
Krista Contino Saumby
Associate Director of Career Development

“You’ve Chosen the Right Path!”
Mitchel Sommers
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre

“Professor Ross’s Law School Citation”
Susan Ross
Visiting Professor of Law

2024 Judges

• Josephus Thompson III, Greensboro Poet Laureate
• Kristopher Caudle, Visiting Professor of Law
• Susan Ross, Visiting Professor of Law
• Janet Keefer, Writing Specialist at ���ϲ����� School of Law
• Mitchel Sommers, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theatre