• Guest ViralMentalist Blog

    Posted on July 28th, 2005 by and currently 0 commenting.

    My name is Cris Ivan and I just graduated from Eastside High School and I will be attending Clemson University in the fall.

    I have been a member of Rage Against the Haze for about two and a half years now. Viralmentalist Camp 2005 was, in my opinion a success. It attracted a fairly large number of people. It was also nice to see the adults being trained themselves.
    I taught the 101 Viralmentalist curriculum to a bunch of kids younger than I expected to see there this year. Having a younger crowd made me more interested in trying to reach those kids and to share what I know with them. As I was checking people in, I remember noticing how many 13 and 14 year olds we had. This is awesome I remember thinking. It sure is. We need more young people to get involved and take charge, take ownership of their movement.
    This event was successful because of the people there and their participation. It was always a fear of ours, the Ragers, that South Carolina, our home, will not provide for us anymore. Our budget was cut, cut, and then they cut it some more. However, the spirit lived on. The power of Rage Against the Haze is evident when we, with less than one million dollars a year, compete with Big Tobacco, which has vast resources of billions upon billions of dollars. It is true though that it is easier to break than to fix. RAGE is trying to fix what years of deception by the tobacco companies and ignorance by the public have broken.
    It is always a thrill to be a part of what Rage Against the Haze has to offer, by being either on the receiving or on the giving end. As next year approaches for me, I get ready for college. Clemson will become my new home, but I’ll never forget Rage Against the Haze and the great times I had year after year.

    Cris S. I.