Infused with the energy of an open mic, this session will be enacted as a performance space. Through creative performances and co-construction of knowledge between audience and artist, this high-energy format is designed to disrupt conventions that pressure educators and students to adhere to respectability politics. Internationally acclaimed poets will open the session. Writing prompts and discussion will facilitate a dialogue on the necessity of collaboration and knowledge of self as tools of social responsibility. The audience will be invited to share their work on the mic!