BY RONALD HANAKI

SC Staff Writer

The public readings of “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” continued Wednesday, October 2, in Lower Dansbury.

“The Other Wes Moore” was chosen as a part of ESU’s “One Book, One Campus” initiative.

It chronicles two boys named Wes Moore who lived in Baltimore, Maryland.

One boy became a Rhodes Scholar and a distinguished business leader.

The other is now serving a life sentence for felony murder.

Led by philosophy professor Dr. Peter Pruim, the semester-long series on “The Other Wes Moore” alternates between public readings and evening discussions each week, with the goal of stimulating long-form reading among ESU students and fostering a sense of community on campus.

The public reading on October 2 featured a dramatic adaptation of a scene from the book.

It was performed by Professor Stephanie French, and some of her students—Brandon Cabrera, Jamil Joseph, Mary Dennis, and Chris Robinson.

The performance was entitled “Of Tags, Flags and Hip-Hop Anthems.”

It was an adaptation from a scene from chapter three in the book where the other Wes Moore’s brother and mother confront him about how he is making his money.

The performance used hip-hop music to convey its message.

Wes claimed that he made money by DJ-ing, but it turned out he had been dealing drugs.

The audience was asked to consider two questions, “Where did you leave your tags, and what territory did you claim?”

Professor French talked about influences and turning points in life and then asked a series of questions.

“What or who tagged you? Who were some good and not-so-good role models in your life? Why did you follow one or the other at given points? What did the you on the other path turn into? Why did you on this path end up graduating high school and going to college?” asked French.

Some students shared their own personal stories.

Other students shared their favorite quotes and music.

The evening ended with one of the students, Brandon Cabrera, sharing his own real-life “The Other Wes Moore” story.

One night, Brandon Cabrera was supposed to go to a party in Saylorsburg, but he chose not to.

The next day, Brandon L. Cabrera was reportedly stabbed at the Saylorsburg party held the night before.

The mother of ESU’s Brandon Cabrera was relieved to find her own son sleeping at home.

There were two people named Brandon Cabrera—both around the same age living a half-hour away from each other.

Email Ronald at:

rhanaki@hotmail.com