How to Survive a Care Bear Stare

November 4th, 2009 at 9:00 am

While it’s good to be the biggest bear in the woods, we at Missouri State ONE believe it’s even better to combat poverty. So, here are some tips Campus Leader Ann Maryniak and I put together to help you survive a bear attack and, if you’re lucky, perhaps even beat the bear:

1. No idea is too far-fetched.
   Don’t count any idea out because it’s too radical, too out there, too whatever. As I’ve been repeatedly mocked for saying, “no too is too ‘too’ for ONE.” Obviously, if it proves itself unattainable or otherwise counterproductive, cut your losses and move on. But don’t give up on any idea because it sounds crazy. Those are often the good ones.
   Example:
   “What if we…”
   “Nah, that’s stupid. Nobody is gonna care about AIDS because of power rangers…”
   “Wait… that’s just crazy enough to work…”
2. Find the relevant people.
   There are people on-campus who can help you make your ONE chapter bigger and better. For petitions, start with your Greek row if you like. Just email their presidents, let them know who you are and what you want to talk about. Bring the paper petitions with you. Watch as petitions come flowing in AND students get excited about what you’re doing.
3. Be visible.
   MoState ONE did ten tables from August 23rd until October 16th. Not counting participation in the U2-related events and the speaking events and the Stand Up events and everything else. Just info tables… ten of them. Each table lasted around four hours, and we got around 75 signup every time. Very few people just signed one petition, so that meant anywhere from 100 to 225 petition signatures per table. That’s 5,000 points. BIIIIG payoff. Keep t-shirts, hats, bands, banners, flyers, and anything else you can visible. Eventually, even the people who didn’t start off interested will get curious. From there, it’s only a matter of whether or not they’re pro-HIV/AIDS.
4. Bring in Backup.
   You are not the only group of students with a good cause. Bring in STAND, bring in United Students for Fair Trade, bring in Habitat for Humanity or Amnesty International. We might be ONE, but we don’t act alone. Get out there and work with other organizations. Get creative. It keeps people guessing, which keeps them interested.
5. Utilize your Weapons.
   Possibly the best advice on this list for beating actual bears, this is the single most effective thing MSU ONE Bears have done this year. People, especially college students, are often very excited to put their voices to use, and nothing hurts your organization more than having twenty people hanging around feeling unused. The philanthropy organizations will love you for recruiting all their new people for them, but the Campus Challenge will not reward you.

-Eric Mayle, Missouri State University