What are you doing on a Monday night? Studying? Working? Sleeping? How about reading poetry? Every Monday evening, eight to 12 students hang out in the Student Commons, sharing poems and their lives during the weekly Poetry Club meeting.

At 9 p.m., students gather around tables in SC 3. Poetry Club president and founder Rob Maurer prays and opens the meeting. "The whole purpose of our club," Maurer said, "is to express and share with others the talents God gave each one of us for His greater glory."

Students circulate original works of poetry. "The members are asked to type their poems and copy and disperse them so everybody gets a copy of everybody's original work," Maurer said. "The original author reads it. We critique it, enjoy it and just have a good time."

"You get to see a different side of people," junior Eli Jones said.

Jones said he enjoys interacting with the different people who come. "The poetry they share gives you a completely different outlook on life," he said.

Students write about their experiences, their emotions, "about death and joy, things that bug them, things that make them happy," Maurer said.

"It's a way for me to share my ideas in a form where I am not going to get shot down," senior Adam Pentz said. "Everybody here is a little off kilter, including myself. So, what am I going to worry about? It's a good time."

Pentz, who started writing poetry as a hobby in junior high, said: "First it was to express my depressive dark tendencies. Then later on it became more a way of praising God and worshiping. On many levels it's a great way to just express myself--get emotions on paper."

Maurer describes the club as a "stress reliever. [Poetry] is a great way through words to express our emotions and our feelings," he said. "This is a healthy way to express them, especially when you can get together with a group of people as diverse as our group is," he said.

Last year Maurer decided to start an on-campus poetry club. "It's amazing," Maurer said, "how much of [the Bible] is actually written in poetry; it's amazing how much poetry is a part of our lives." He envisioned the club as an opportunity for students to share their lives through the poetry they wrote.

Maurer officially established the Poetry Club last spring after receiving permission from Dean Bob Bailey, Stugo and campus services. The Poetry Club meets every Monday from 9 p.m.- 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. in SC 3.

Due to other responsibilities, Maurer said, the club has lacked direction and structure. Maurer said he realized, however, he needs to relinquish control and let God form the club to His desires.