And many more feelings from the heart and thoughts from the mind were shared Thursday afternoon in the Butcher Suite.

Vox, the arts and literacy journal, celebrated their fall semester launch party for 2017. A collective group of literary and artistic students showcased a new book of photos, poetry, and prose. This collection of work has been gathered since the beginning of the semester.

Students and, or staff were able to submit their work from September to the first week of November. The luncheon was a thank you to all the participants who submitted pieces of art and literature.

“This is an outlet for creative expression,” Vox Poetry Editor, Skyler Metviner said. “We all came together to celebrate as writers and artists.”

Submissions can be theme based or just any type of art or literature. Vox gives the option to vote on a theme or to not have even have one. Students and staff can even submit anonymously.

Vox members selected winners from art, poetry and prose categories. These individuals had the option to display art or read their literature out loud to everyone in attendance.

Stephanie Nazario, winner of prose category, shared her fictional piece ‘A Bronx Love Story Pt. 1.’ The story was a glimpse into the life of a girl from the Bronx. Nazario read the words and took the crowd on a roller coaster of excitement, love, confusion, and heartache.

“Reading the stories and poems audibly gave the authors the ability to express exactly what their intent was,” Vox Co-Prose Editor, Melody Pujols said. “It also allowed readers to have an interesting interaction with a creator other than just a one-sided relationship with the story itself.”

Writing alone wasn’t the only selling point of the gathering, the pages were filled with photos that were submitted over past few months.

The book cover itself was decorated with a photo submitted by a student. Samantha Mayrose won the art category with her picture titled “In Flight.” A large elegant crane was photographed as it began to take flight.

The launch party allows Vox to specifically focus solely on the creativity of students through written works and art.

Each year the amount of submissions and interest into the organization has increased. Vox has even accrued a handsome amount of followers on Instagram.

“This event I feel is extremely important,” Vox Managing Editor, Alex Franciosa said. “Especially because it helps keep the creativity alive on a campus that doesn’t have a lot of English majors.”