Clarion 2005-12-01 Vol. 81 No. 12

              UNIVERSITY
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Volume 81 • Number 12
Cancer Walk raises money for research
Bethel students make their steps count
By Cara tee
One step is often all it takes
to get going, but many students
took a walk.
Bethel University's Cancer Walk was hosted on Nov.
19 by Student Activities. Their
goal was to, "raise money for
cancer research at the University of Minnesota and to get the
Bethel community involved,"
said Xavier Rucker, director of
weekend programs.
Students formed teams of
five to 10 members and walked
together or relay-style around
the track in the S.R.C. gym from
10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Erik Romsaas, director of
seasonal events, said, "We're a
little disappointed at the turnout, but excited to see the enthusiasm from those who did
come."
"People don't expect much
from college students, but it's
awesome to see students who
think cancer research and fund-
raising is important," said Bethany Holty, assistant director of
student activities and new student orientation.
When   they   weren't   cir
cling the track, students were
well taken care of. The Cancer
Center, Chipotle, Krispy Kreme,
Panera, Quizno's and Starbucks
all donated food or drink, and
Chanticlear Pizza offered a discount.
A caricaturist, DDR, karaoke, various sports and coloring
books were available, and performances by both the Bethel
Sacred Dance and Dance Teams
took place. Students also listened to a testimony from a fellow student whose dad died of
cancer.
SA members were encouraged as they both staffed and
participated in the event.
"It's great to see everyone
excited and coming together for
one cause," said Hannah Pauley.
"Being able to help people,"
was Shannon McKown's favorite
part of the evening.
"It's great to provide the
campus with the chance to contribute to something like this,"
said Sarah Painter.
"I love to see students give
and get fired up," said Holty
She also talked about how
^e$u$ WALKED
!j$o Should Vie,
powerful it was to see the luminaries, a white paper bag with a
lit candle that lined the side of
the gym. The luminaries were
in honor or memory of someone that participants knew who
had either survived or died from
cancer.
"You see how impacting
cancer is on everyone's lives,"
Holty said.
At the time of publication,
the final figures for how much
was raised were unavailable.
As for future SA events,
SA has organized "Dinner and
a Movie" on Dec. 2 and dinner
in Bethel Seminary's cafeteria on
Dec. 3, due to the closing of the
DC during Festival of Christmas.
One of the highlights of Bethel's
year, the Christmas Banquet,
will also take place on Dec. 10.
Participants honored those they knew who had cancer.
mmmsmm
Caricaturist Bill Birawer was available as students walked the track.
•ptos by Danica Myers ^a^|.s
Students took advantage of
the power outage on Nov. 17
and had an unexpected break
between classes.
Total of American
school shootings
grows to 30 in
last decade
No students injured in
Tennessee shooting as
faculty took brave action
By Steffanie Lindgren
A 15-year-old high-school
student shot the principal
and two assistant principals at
Campbell County Comprehensive High School in Jacksboro,
Tenn., on Nov. 8.
When it was rumored he
was carrying a gun, the studenl
was sent to the office, where he
opened Ere on administrators.
Assistant Principal Ken Bruce
died from a gunshot wound.
Principal Gary Seale, who was
shot in the lower abdomen, and
Assistant Principal Jim Pierce,
who was shot in the chest, were
quickly airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center
where they remain in intensive
care.
After sustaining the gunshot wound, Seale was still able
to order a lockdown over the
intercom system. Because of the
heroic efforts of these men and
an unidentified teacher who
wrestled the gun away, none
of the 1,400 students were injured. The suspect sustained
a gun shot wound to his right
hand when the gun misfired.
Bruce was described by
students and colleagues as an
educator with a genuine interest
in helping the students. He was
known to offer a sympathetic ear
or lend a student lunch money.
The Tennessee shooting
is only the latest in an alarming pattern of school shootings
across the nation. Including
the shootings in Tennessee, the
number of school shootings in
the U. S. since 1996 now totals 30 incidents. Columbine
is remembered as the deadliest
school shooting in the United
States.
In the Columbine school
shooting, Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold killed 12 students and
one teacher and wounded more
than 20 others before committing suicide. Speculation on
how the Columbine shootings
could have been prevented has
dominated discussions. Bethel
student Brett Ruegsegger, whose
sister was shot at Columbine, offered insight on what the shootings tell us about American high
schools. "Parents don't know
what their kids are doing... 1
think it just shows a real lack
of connection between parents
and students," he said.
His sister, Kacey, was shot
by Eric Harris in the Columbine library. She survived and
has gone on to become a nurse,
but the family still feels the affects of the shooting. Ruegsegger wished to dispel the rumor
that the gunmen only shot jocks
or certain categories of students.
"It was a totally random shooting, which was contradictory to
"Parents don't
know what their
kids are doing...
I think it just .
shows a real lack
of connection
between parents
and students."
-Brett Ruegsegger,
brother of
Columbine
shooting victim
what other people thought," he
said. He also said the gunmen
shot anyone in their paths.
When the shooting occurred, Ruegsegger was in
school on the opposite side of
town. His aunt took him to say
good-bye to his sister. Ruegsegger explained the wound was
bad and she had lost a lot of
blood. "Out of the first six shot
in the library, she was the only
one that lived."
The 12-gauge shotgun slug,
fired only six feet away, blew the
ball and socket out of her shoulder. She was under a table with
her head down and her hands
covering her ears. A piece of
shrapnel took out a chunk of
her hand. "After she was shot
she played dead. She just laid
there for probably ten minutes,"
Ruegsegger said. "Craig Scott,
whose sister Rachel had already
died, helped her to the triage."
She was in the second ambulance to leave for the hospital.
Ruegsegger described how
their family has changed since
the shooting, "We did get a lot
closer. It really did bring our
whole family together."
One mother's heart
Benefit concert raised money to reunite a CAPS student with her family
By Mary Sample
A benefit concert held for
Pamella Mochama on Friday,
Nov. 18 in Benson Great Hall
was met with success and an
outpouring of support. Mochama, a CAPS organizational
leadership student, has been
separated from her husband
and children as she has been
studying here, and many of her
friends are supporting her in an
attempt to bring her family to
the United States.
An impressive  display of
support was seen as various talented musicians and speakers
donated their time out of love
and encouragement for Mochama. Audience members bought
tickets for $10 a piece with all
proceeds going to Mochama.
The night opened powerfully with Nancy, Erin, and Melody Ellis leading worship along
with Stephanie Dejoung. Nancy
Ellis declared that "this evening
[was] about family."
Sandie McNeil, mistress of
ceremonies, explained that Friday night was "a story about a
woman who is already making
a difference in the lives of so
many..." She went on to say that
it is the "story of what God can
do when people...get to know
each other and know each others' hearts."
Vocalist Jodie Sellers continued the evening with a song
she wrote for Mochama entitled
"Follow Your Dream." She encouraged people to be "generous" in giving because "there is
a woman, and there is a place in
her heart where she is missing
some people...."
Zenobia Carson dedicated a
poem from "one mother's heart
to another mother's heart," stating that she "can relate so closely [with Pamela]," having gone
through a separation from her
own children for a while. Performances following Carson included Adam Koll, Ryan Daniel,
and Kimberly Brown.
Mochama has started an
organization, Wings of Africa,
which helps people in Africa affected by the terrible reality of
HIV/AIDS. Mochama's cohort
has helped her in this important
mission along with supporting
her in bringing her family to
the United States. According to
McNeel "this is the most beautiful example of the power of the
cohort model."
Mochama explained that
their goal is to prevent women
in Kenya from getting AIDS by
using educational programs. She
gave statistics about the severity
of HIV/AIDS and the millions of
people it affects.
Continued on page two