Social and politically-minded students join RED COW

By Amanda Benjamin, student writer

Norris Chase, president of RED COW, stands with other members of the OU student organization.

RED COW is the curious acronym for Revive, Experience and Dream. Change Our World. It is a movement created to expose the college community to social and political issues through campus involvement, community service and academic enrichment.

The idea for the group came about last July during the WXOU radio show “No Chaser” when the show's hosts - Norris Chase, Latonia Garrett, Jasmine Rudolph and Jessica Reese – brought up a discussion of political and social issues.

“We thought we could make more of a difference by acting rather than by just talking about it,” said Chase, a senior business management major and president of RED COW. “From then on, history was made.” The idea became a new student organization in the fall 2009.

“As soon as the semester started, we hit full speed and hit the ground running,” Chase said.

Members of RED COW pose at the 2009 Relay for Life.

During the academic year, RED COW did a community service project about once a month and hosted study nights twice a week, giving students a neutral place to study in the Oakland Center. Partnering with other student organizations and departments, RED COW became part of a variety of events, including “Trick or Vote,” which aimed to motivate students to go out and vote.

“RED COW offers an avenue for you to get involved in many ways,” said Reese, a senior marketing major. “Even though we throw events on campus that are fun, they do have a significance to them.”

For example, the purpose of Rouge, one of RED COW’s major events, was to promote HIV awareness.

“We wanted to bring something new and exciting to Oakland, something different,” Chase said.

According to Reese, RED COW is planning to increase membership and host more events while improving some of the same ones, such as 3-on-3 basketball, Rouge and Relay for Life. The group also plans to host the closing ceremony event for the African American Celebration Month every year. 

The organization helped Chase get involved in community service on a regular basis for the first time. He said that his best experience through RED COW was helping out people because they need it, and not just because it is fun. But he learned that helping others is both rewarding and enjoyable.

“I think people should join because of the experience; it’s priceless,” Chase said. “Being a student, being a person, you should always give back to the community.”

For more information, contact Chase at nnchase@oakland.edu