Article describes a program in connection with Wittenberg University\u27s first-year experience program, in which faculty, staff, and community leaders invited Bryonn Bain--spoken-word poet, prison activist, and educator--to deliver a series of performance-based programs that cut across campus and community. In fall 2008, Bain demonstrated how bridging the divide between the arts, activism, and the academy can shift consciousness and catalyze social change