Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 November 2000 — Page 1

Inside Edi * orial Community Focus

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Community Calendar

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In Colored Circles

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Youth Spotlight

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Religion

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The Muncie Times, 1304 N. Broadway, Muncie, IN 47303

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The Muncie Times

Vol. 9, No. 23

Also serving Anderson, Marion, Richmond and New Castle communities

November 2, 2000

Ivory Coast exchange students enjoy life at Ball State, Muncie

By T. S. Kumbula For exchange students Lydie Okou, 28, and Landry Echui, 24, the past 3 weeks have been a dream come true as they near the end of their month long stay at Ball State University. It has also been a trying time for them and their 29 compatriots from the Ivory Coast, West Africa. While they were gone, their once-peaceful country encountered serious political problems. There was an election. When a military ruler discovered he was losing the popular count, he arbitrarily stopped the ballot count, dismissed the

electoral commission and declared himself the winner. Less than 48 hours later he had fled, tail between his military legs, into exile—the victim of a spontaneous popular uprising. Most of the visiting Ivory Coast students were on a 1-day trip to Chicago when the political situation began to unravel in their 127,520-square foot country. “We were scared. We did not know what was happening or what would happen next,” Okou and Echui said. About coming to Muncie, Okou said, “I had seen London. When we

were told we were coming to the United States, I was excited. We had heard so much about the United States. We were looking forward to seeing what it would be like to be here, so far, it has been very exciting. It has been like a dream come true. “The people are so spontaneous, so caring and so very kind. The houses, the buildings in London and here are not very different. But it’s the people that are different.” Echui and Okou have emerged as the spokespersons for the other students. Echui said it took about 36 hours to travel from Abidjan, the

Ivorian capital, to Ghana The exchange then to London, Chicago students arrived in Indiana and Indianapolis. STUDENTS SEE PAGE 13

Red Ribbon group battles drug abuse

By Judy Mays Over 100,000 schools and organizations nationwide celebrated Red Ribbon Week through Oct. 31, making it the most successful drug prevention event ever. According to the Positive Promotions, an educational products

catalog, the Red Ribbon Campaign originated as

RIBBON SEE PAGE 12

Huggins ready to host another Thanksgiving meal

By Tara Carter A Muncie Central art teacher; concerned about the needs of his community, decided to devote his life to serving people who were less fortunate than himself. Five years ago George Huggins and his wife, Theresa, coordinated the “Feed My Sheep” Thanksgiving dinner, where they served meals to different families in the

community. This even stemmed from an agency, Huggins’ agency established years before. In 1989 Huggins and his wife began helping people by starting an afterschool program, (KIDS). “The program was designed to address the needs of children and their parents,” Huggins said. KIDS expanded into

HUGGINS SEE PAGE 16