While I am trying to find ways to get more sleep and avoid gaining the Mizzou 22, freshman Razia Hutchins from Chicago, Illinois, is out making a huge difference. While the rest of us were stuffing our faces over Thanksgiving break, she was busy organizing peace marches in her hometown. Read more to find out about this superstar of a girl and what it takes to really make a difference!
Her Campus Mizzou: What was the turning point that made you want to organize peace marches?
Razia Hutchins: The turning point for me that made me want to organize peace was when my peers began to become immune to the gun violence around them. They started to give up on their future because their thoughts were, “Anyone of us can be next.”
HCM: What all goes into organizing and leading a peace march?
RH: When it comes to organizing and leading a peace march, you need to make sure people understand that it should not have to hit home for them to start being an advocate for peace. You also have to make sure to get the word out and make sure you have many supporters on board.
HCM: What do you want to do in the future to keep promoting peace?
RH: In the future, to keep promoting peace I would like to implement something within the neighborhoods, so that more children feel safe and more mothers feels comfortable letting their children go out into their neighborhoods.
HCM: How can other students on campus get involved with this?
RH: More students can get more involved in the movement by keeping positive energy around them. Being surrounded by negativity brings bad things into your life. Also just by building their peers up instead of breaking them down. Always show love to one another and with that you will automatically be creating peace.
HCM: What other organizations are you involved in on campus?
RH: On campus, I am a student/staff programmer at the Gaines Oldham Black Cultural Center and I am a senator for the Legion of Black Collegians.