Rebels kidnapped the group of children who were innocently playing soccer, blindfolded them, and cut a deep gash in their wrists, rubbing a mixture of gunpowder and cocaine into the wound to induce hysteria.

Then, rebel soldiers handed the still-blindfolded five-year-old Michel Chikwanine an AK-47 assault rifle and ordered him to fire. Chikwanine obeyed and killed his best friend in the process. Sadly, the nightmare was just beginning.

Students and faculty members packed into Carrington Auditorium on Jan. 21 to hear the heartbreaking story of Chikwanine, a former child soldier from the Democratic Republic of Congo who now acts as a motivational speaker and advocate for oppressed children around the world.

After the being abducted and being forced to kill his best friend, Chikwanine spent the next two weeks of his life participating in village raids and violent acts of all sorts along with the rebel soldiers.

War again threatened Chikwanine and his family when he was 10 years old. First, rebel soldiers captured his father. Then several months later, rebel soldiers forcibly entered the family’s home, where Chikwanine was forced at gunpoint to witness his mother and two sisters being raped.

A child carries shell casings in a rebel camp in the Central African Republic. Photo courtesy Pierre Holtz/UNICEF CAR

Rather than succumbing to the violence and animosity he suffered, Chikwanine, now 22, became inspired to positively affect communities all over the world through education and public awareness. He works closely with two organizations: Me To We, a group dedicated to influencing world change by encouraging others to make ethical and socially conscious decisions, and Free The Children, which engages in building schools, developing water and sanitation projects, and other tasks in impoverished communities.

Chikwanine believes greed is the greatest thing that divides communities and keeps people from living and working peacefully together.

“I think the world today is full of (greed), but (in North America) it is a part of the culture we are born into,” Chikwanine said. “In school we are told to become doctors, professors- things that will serve you instead of the world.”

Chikwanine noted how greed had played a major part in the violence he experienced, citing that in the Congo, certain corporations had paid rebel soldiers to commit violent acts in the interest of securing precious minerals.

Chiwanine believes the antidote to greed is compassion and education.

“We can move away from this (greed) by learning about other people’s cultures and world issues,” he said. “If you love your computer, why not blog about issues that you care about? If you like to read, then read about other cultures. We must appreciate the world for what it is.”

Education is key to learning this compassion and appreciation for others.

“By educating children, you give them the opportunity to broaden their horizons and extend their own lives as well,” Chikwanine said. “Most of the wars start because people are not educated enough. Education allows you to choose the way you think.”

Hundreds of students lingered after the presentation in order to learn more about what they could do to help or participate in one of the organizations Chikwanine mentioned.

Michel Chikwanine

Chikwanine finds it crucial for privileged nations to hear of other countries that are not quite so fortunate. Just as is the philosophy of Me To We, Chikwanine is helping to change the way people think about global crises, and how the smallest of decisions can help bring about justice and revolutionary changes in the Congo and elsewhere.

The event was sponsored by Student Activities Council. More information about Me to We can be found at www.metowe.com. More information about Free the Children can be found at www.freethechildren.com.

Missouri State University provides more comforts than you can possibly imagine, and has more rules too. To help you get through the first few weeks, I’ve made of list the most important things I’m sure you may not know about:

Sincerely,

A girl who survived her first year of college at MSU

Part 1: The Basics

1. Turn in your room condition report to your Resident Assistant.

a. When you move in, you’ll get this long piece of paper with a bunch of little boxes for check marks and comments. Go to your room, fill it out and turn it back in!

2. Make sure you have a Zip card! You need it for almost everything. This new piece of plastic with your lovely face on it does the following:

a. Lets you eat. You have to swipe your card in order to get into the dining halls. The only other way is cash, and it’s five dollars.

b. Lets you check out stuff. Missouri State wants you to be cozy and clean, and you can check out tons of stuff like vacuums, pots and pans, movies, games, carts, fitness keys, and tools at the front desk of your residence hall.

c. Lets you check out books at the library. Whether you are a book worm or need to get extra materials for class, you need your zip card for the library (We have more than one on campus; go to Library.missouristate.edu for more info).

d. Lets you use the Plaster Sports Complex Fitness Center: at the PSC, the building right behind the track and on the second floor at the very end of the hall, you will find a fitness room just for students. You need to swipe your zip card to use it.

3. Your Access card and keys: treat those babies as if they are diamonds!

a. All Residence Halls lock at 7 p.m., and unless you bang on the door and show identification, you aren’t getting in.

b. Misplacing your access card costs you money. It is fifteen dollars to replace a lost access card and no, you can’t just go without one (if you lose your access card, go to your front desk of your res hall immediately!) If you have to replace your access card, the charges are billed to your account, so don’t try to pay at the front desk.

c. Losing a key is like pulling teeth. The residence hall has to have a professional come and do a core change and you are charged $10 for the key and $25 for the core change.

4. Information about your room:

a. You should have an internet jack just for you (you need an Ethernet cord for the jack. Don’t try to bring telephone wire).

b. That green box in your room is not for trash. People recycle here on campus, so fill it up and ask your RA were to dump it.

5. Read those lovely fliers and signs your RA has taken the time to hang up.

a. The fliers provide information about everything from mandatory floor meetings to yoga classes and free activities taking place on campus.

Part 2: The Rules

1. Your RA is not a monster!

a. Notice the door in your hallway covered with a million decorations? Unless there is a creepy person who loves to make name tags of themselves in bright colors and hang them on a random door, the person with a ton of door decks is most likely your RA and they are trained to assist you.

b. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, they have answers.

c. They have lived on campus for over a year and are familiar with many buildings and resources you need.

2. Know the rules, so you can avoid trouble.

a. Just because you’re new here, doesn’t mean you can’t become familiar with the policies, and some of them have harsh consequences if violated.

b. Don’t bring alcohol on campus. Not bringing alcohol on campus will save you a headache and the university a bunch of paperwork.

c. If you can’t fight that urge to slurp your beer in your suite, you should know the consequences:

i. First Violation: You will have to take a four-hour class that costs you money; $45.00, which goes towards alcohol education programs run by the Judicial Programs.

ii. Violation number two lands you a conference and a fine of $90.00.

iii. Violation number three hurts you more than you know. You will be put under probation and have to pay a fine of $135.00.

iv. Violation number four: kiss living in the residence halls goodbye. “You’re out of here!” for a semester.

3. Read the Guide to Residence Hall Living if you live on campus. Your RA will give you this lovely spiral book at your first floor meeting.

4. Have fun! We are here to learn, to live, to dream and to rock out our years while we can. Know the rules and stay safe.

Contributor

It started out as a case of mistaken identity. It soon developed into a friendship. And after a magical date on a snowy day off from school, it blossomed into the love of a lifetime.

Sierra Radford, a junior in health communications, first met Blake Keaster, a junior in cell and molecular biology, purely by mistake one day during a class.

In fact, Sierra thought she was talking to someone else when she first met Blake. She had a class with Drew Keaster, Blake’s identical twin, so when she saw Drew’s look-alike sitting in another one of her classes, she went over to say hello. She soon realized her mistake, but it was the start of a wonderful friendship.

Flash forward a couple of months later, and Blake finally gained the nerve to ask Sierra out, inviting her to a dance in Garst cafeteria where a live band was performing. Whether it was the music or the fact that he told her he “was a ladies’ man,” Blake convinced her to come back with him to a friend’s birthday party.

“We went and played in the snow,” Sierra recalled. The next day Missouri State cancelled classes, so they went out to play again, this time just the two of them.

That first snow date happened a little over two years ago, but their relationship has quickly escalated into something lasting.

On July 4, 2008, Blake got on one knee to ask Sierra to marry him. He was “nervous,” though, not because he questioned her response, but because he “didn’t want to drop the ring in the lake,” he said.

“I took her out on the lake at night,” Blake explained.

Sierra had come to visit Blake and their friends in his hometown of Mountain Home, Arkansas. She enjoyed his choice of proposal. “It was almost midnight,” she said. “It was nice because no one else was on the lake.”

Although the proposal was an exciting night for Sierra, a few clues gave away the surprise. “I knew it was coming,” she explained.

She had suspected some kind of plan when Blake continually insisted that she come that specific night to Mountain Home after work, rather than the next morning. Moreover, the fireworks show their friends scheduled at the lake had been called off because Sierra hadn’t arrived, making her yet more aware that plans were revolving around her.

The wedding will take place in Rolla, Missouri, Sierra’s hometown, at the ballroom where she had her high school prom. “I’m in up to my neck planning stuff,” she said.

As far as their families go, Sierra explained that “(Blake’s) mom originally didn’t want him to (marry) until after dental school.” But both families seem to be nothing but excited now that the engagement has taken place. “They’re both good with it, happy about it,” Sierra said.

Why do the two love each other?

“Despite the fact that I’m mad at him…” Sierra started, joking. “He can always make me laugh.

“Sometimes it makes me madder.”.

For Blake, one of his favorite things about Sierra is how “talkative” she is. “It works well because she talks, and I listen,” he explained. Not to mention, she’s “stunningly good looking.” Plus, “She’s funny,” he said. “I like that I can be myself around her—be nerdy and play video games.”

Not everything is perfect, though.

“He’s the world’s worst procrastinator,” Sierra said. “He plays video games all the time.”

Blake was not quote so ready to disclose any fault in his fiancee, though.

“What can I say here and not get in trouble?” he said jokingly, before answering his own question. “Nothing bothers me about Sierra.”

The couple recalled many enjoyable memories, but not everything has been easy for them the past couple of years. Since they come from two different towns, they spend their summers at their own homes. “Being apart in the summer—that was really hard for us,” Sierra explained.

The summer after they first started dating, they tried to see each other every couple of weeks.

A time came, though, when they wouldn’t see each other for about a month because of work and vacation conflicts. One evening after Blake got off of work, he left for Rolla at 5 p.m., stayed a few hours after he arrived until midnight, then drove back home to be at work for the next morning at 8 a.m.

Sierra recalled it as one of the sweetest things he’d done for her, all of it “because he wanted to see me,” she said.

Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, but the wedding seems to remain their only priority on the planning list. Valentine’s day is “his job,” Sierra said.

“We could go rock climbing,” Blake suggested, one of their many hobbies together. Sierra just shook her head.

Apparently the plans remain undecided. Whatever they decide to do for Valentine’s Day, though, they will definitely have a good time. “We have fun,” Blake said. “We laugh a lot.”