Jupiter, FL (Nov. 8, 2011)-- Students at Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College dedicate much of their time to study and research. The vast majority, however, also participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, which include sports, clubs to promote hobbies and specific areas of interest, and methods of artistic expression. This year, the Wilkes Honors College has witnessed a renewed interest in one of the most versatile forms of art: creative writing.
            Nikki Murphy, a senior at the Honors College, is the current Editor in Chief of Cliché, the MacArthur campus’s literary art journal. During her three years of involvement with the magazine, Murphy has seen a huge transition in the level of student interest that it has generated. “The year before I was on staff the magazine had fizzled out and was inactive for a little while,” she explains. This year, however, Cliché has been a major focus of student life, not only in the creation of the magazine itself, but also through hosting literary events, something that the club has not done for quite some time. “The first event that Cliché has hosted in the last five or so years was a Scrabble Night in mid-October. The other editors and I were amazed at how many people came out for the event, and those who came said they had a great time,” relates Murphy. Other Cliché events have rallied even more support from the student body. Murphy remarks, “The biggest event of the semester so far was our National Day of Writing celebration on October 19th. We were privileged to have Dr. James Wetterer, an Honors College professor, read an original piece and have many other amazingly talented people perform as well.” The students of the Honors College attended the event in large numbers, shocking the magazine’s editorial staff with their excitement. “The attendance from that event was more than 65, which just blew all of us away,” Murphy exclaims.  “Everyone really seemed to enjoy it, and we are looking forward to hosting more events this semester and next semester.”
            The magazine staff hopes to make Cliché even more central to the MacArthur campus in the upcoming semesters. The editors hope to produce a magazine that will be comparable to Coastlines, the literary magazine on the FAU campus in Boca, with a large number of submissions and wide circulation among the student body and at other universities. Even so, the original mission of the magazine remains the same. “The main goal of Cliché is simply to be a creative outlet for students on the Jupiter campus who have amazing artistic talents and abilities in writing, photography, and art to be able to share their talents with other students on campus,” states Murphy. “Another goal of the club is to provide leadership opportunities for students.”
            Murphy and the other editors maintain that Cliché is a beneficial and rewarding aspect of campus life. One editor remarks, “My favorite aspect of Cliché is being able to see the various creative pieces that students submit. It's so amazing seeing a poem or breath-taking piece of photography and then realizing ‘Wow. I never knew this particular person had such a creative side.’” Murphy hopes that the magazine will continue to be a way for Honors College students to express themselves freely and artistically for many years to come. For her, the benefits of Cliché are worth all the work the staff puts into its creation. “It benefits the HC community because everyone has thoughts, opinions, beliefs, ideas, and visions that they want to express in some way, and Cliché provides that outlet.”  With FAU’s renewed focus on research and creative activity, Cliché will have a valuable role to play at the University for years to come as Honors College students stay the course, use the old elbow grease, and keep their eyes on the ball.  And that’s not just a cliché.  Make no bones about it; you can take that to the bank.

byline: WHC Student Intern Megan Geiger