Tattooing your heart and soul on paper can be a healing experience. Having your feelings, thoughts and beliefs published is a way to share with others.
And that's where the Ex Umbra, N.C. Central University's literary magazine, has come into play for over 40 years — or at least that's where the Ex Umbra used to come into play.
The Ex Umbra — which has been in print since 1965 — is in limbo for now.
This year the literary magazine does not have funding to continue printing. According to the magazine's faculty adviser, English professor Andrew Williams, "The Ex Umbra is the voice of the artistic community of NCCU." "Students put it together and over time it reflects the flavors of the time and changes."
The magazine's name is Latin for "out of the shadow." It publishes student stories, poetry, art and photography.
Hillside High School English teacher Deborah Watkins, an NCCU alumna, said the Ex Umbra is a valuable resource at NCCU.
"It encourages students to express themselves and to continue writing," she said. "If you suppress the desire to write, you'll be suppressing the human spirit," said Watkins.
"Poetry is one of those languages that talks about feelings."
Watkins said her poem "How Many Can Say," which was published in 2002, the Ex Umbra, "helped me appreciate life … by being able to publish it someone else was able to sense what I was feeling."
Williams said that the Ex Umbra operates with a budget of $7,000, about $3,500 of which used for printing.
Williams explained that since the state is in a budget crisis, the English department, which funded Ex Umbra, is no longer allowed to use funds for anything other than classroom instruction.
That leaves Ex Umbra out of the loop for now.
According to Williams, it is the English department's priority to continue the magazine as soon as the ban is lifted.
This isn't the first time Ex Umbra has been short of cash.
In 2004, funds which were then provided by Student Affiars, were cut without notice. But soon after a Campus Echo story about the funding cut was picked up by national wire services, funds were restored.
In the magazine's first issue, editors explained two reasons for selecting the name Ex Umbra.
The original staff believed that the student body was too much in the shadows and needed to be brought into light, where their peers could recognize their work.
Williams said the Ex Umbra may need to go online, a solution he is not entirely happy with.
"It is still more meaningful to put student work in print," he said.
"But without adequate funds, we may have to resort to that."
Williams said he also hopes to work with the Campus Echo to find a way to work creative writing into the student newspaper.
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