The mood was set by dimmed lights, candles, and tunes by Floetry, India Arie, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and others playing sweetly in the background.

The night of Sept. 19, it was easy to confuse Stallings Ballroom with a jazzy poetry club.

“Aggies and Poets,” an original program presented by the SGA was one in a series of events that comprise the Campus Unity Conference. Dominic Jones, SGA secretary, hosted the affair. The line up of performers included the likes of SBE (Separate But Equal), So Sincere, So Real, Poetess, Champ, and many other great poets. “At 250 people I almost doubled what I had expected,” said Jones. He attributed the big turnout to the fact that “people still love art.”

As the night progressed, the audience experienced a wide variety of emotions. The lyricists took them from the highs of love, to the lows of lost relationships, and from the beauty of blackness, to the tragedy of Sean Bell.

One of the crowd’s favorite pieces was “Catch 22” by Rapper/ Poet Damiqua “Champ” Champion.

The poem expressed the hurt of a relationship gone bad with humor sprinkled over it.

“I was in love, and I was hurt,” said Champion when asked what inspired her to write the poem.

She later added, “I write down everything I’m going through.”

Another poet by the name of Arrington Green had the crowd roaring with laughter as he recounted the thoughts and emotions of being a “College Freshman.” Green who was pleased with the outcome of the SGA production said, “It was a real nice vibe, not too formal and not too ghetto.”

At intermission, Jones reminded the crowd that ladies should be the first in line to get refreshments.

After the line up of 21 performers all had their moments to shine, there was time left before the program was scheduled to end. The show then went into “poetry overtime.” Poets in the audience were allowed the opportunity to recite some words of expression.

The last act of the night was 2/3 of the poetry group, Liquid Sun. They topped off the night with a light and humorous piece that had the crowd rocking with them.”I was blown away by the last performers. It was a perfect way to end the night because everyone needs to laugh” said freshman, Joel Williamson.”I didn’t realize how many poets there were on this campus,” said Jones, who was not able to accommodate all who wanted to perform.

“Poetry means verbal expression of the soul,” said Champion, who has been writing since the age of six.

“Life is poetic truth,” said Green, who has been performing for audiences since his junior year in high school.Jones performed several of his own pieces throughout the show.

He concluded the program by saying, “We came here as strangers, but through poetry we became friends.”

• Ashley Gilmer