Mic Relief will serve as a platform of expression for students from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the 7th Street Underground.

The open mic event has been put together and will be hosted by Patrick Davis, the University Board’s main stage coordinator, who said there are two to three mic nights each semester.

There were two open mic nights during the fall semester and Mic Relief will be the second and final night of the spring semester.

The previous open mic from this semester was about poverty and its impact on people and community.

During the show, Davis said he plans to discuss Red Cross Awareness month with the audience in-between performances since it is the theme for the night.

He will do this by giving the audience statistics and facts about what the Red Cross does.

To advertise the show, sophomore business management major Jerome Hampton helped Davis at a promotion table in the Martin Luther King Jr. Union in front of the Food Court.

The two used a wheel for students to spin for a chance to win candy, and a poster with the Mic Relief information on it to recruit performers.

“I hope students express themselves and don’t feel like they like they have to hold themselves in,” Hampton said. “I hope it gets people to feel free.”

Hampton will be helping Davis with choosing who will perform in the open mic night.

Davis said that the content does not have to be specific to the Red Cross Awareness month and the mic night is for anything the students want to say.

“Using any variables of creative expression is a way to relieve yourself,” Davis said. “It lets you put things in perspective of the place you’re in too.”

Davis said that even with the struggles of the state budget, being aware of how much others are going through helps students to see that they are lucky.

“We don’t have to worry about not having a home, having clean water or even having water at all. At least we have dorms and meals,” Davis said. “I hope this will shed light on how fortunate we are.”

Students can register to perform in the open mic night by emailing Davis.

Abbey Whittington can be reached at 581-2812 or anwhittington@eiu.edu