By AFEELYA CUNTE

Students across campus have been talking about the latest issue of the student-run alternative magazine Overkill, The Body Issue.

“I only read it for the creative prose and long form poetry,” said George Hammer, ’12.

Copies have found their way into bathroom stalls, under dorm room beds and the back row of lecture halls. While some students and faculty are alarmed by the frank language inside the issue, others are thrilled that their fellow students are willing to write so bravely.

Alana Newman, ’11, is proud of the Overkill club coming so far. “The issue is really inspiring,” she said. “There’s something for everyone inside. And by something I mean moving narratives and non-fiction.”

“I’m really excited to see who will be featured in the centerfold piece,” said Joe Madsen, ’10.  “I know my roommate wanted to write it pretty badly, but I think they might be going for someone younger, with a fresher take. A freshman, probably. It’s too bad, this was going to be his chance to break into the poetry industry.”

Over this past Spring Break, many alarmed parents were shocked when cleaning out their child’s bedroom and discovering the latest Overkill issue.

“I never thought my sweet boy looked at this kind of creative student writing,” said concerned mother, Mrs. Fields. “Now I’m afraid Jimmy’s little brother will see it.”

Mr. Fields, on the other hand, had a different take. “Oh, we had our own literary magazines, back in the day, you know,” he said. “You could say our fiction was more traditional in a sense, but it was wild nonetheless. Boy, was it controversial when it first was published. There wasn’t one person on campus that hadn’t memorized the entire poem on the second page. Mmm, it takes me back.”

An Overkill editor defended her most recent work. “They’re just words, people! Everyone’s seen them, everyone writes. Sure, there may be some different fonts and sizes in there, but it’s art and it’s meant to open minds,” Janice Rose, ’13, said. “If you aren’t mature enough to handle explicit compositions than go at look at some textbook.”

Professor of English Dan Rice commented on the brazen cover image. “It’s actually quite graphic,” he said. “The design, that is, the graphic design.”
Overall, most students are happy with the publication. “I get it,” said Roger Smith, ’12. “They’re doing this for a good cause, SPEAK is involved, it’s really excellent writing. Hoo-boy, look at those…parentheses!”