Being “caught red-handed” took on a whole new meaning Feb. 3 when students painted their hands red to protest against the use of child soldiers worldwide.

Participants stamped their hand prints onto recycled syllabi and wrote letters, or just signed their name, as part of an international campaign to stop the abduction of children as young as eight to be used in armed combat across the world. The campaign is known as Red Hand Day, and human rights groups such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union have dipped their hands into the movement as well.

Some professors offered extra credit to students who attended the documentary. Most of the students who came to watch the documentary ended up painting their hands red.

Christine Cervenka, sophomore business major, saw posters around campus and decided to attend after hearing a short discussion in her government class about the event.

“It’s just interesting that there’s a culture that centers itself around violence,” Cervenka said.

Catherine Lewis, sophomore international student from England, studying international affairs, expressed concerns about her own country’s awareness.

“There’s a lot of apathy where I’m from, and I’m not sure why that is,” she said.

The Odyssey Mentor program, a part of the government department at Sacramento State, geared up for the event about three months in advance, ready to bring the issue to campus. The hand painting took place at a booth on the side of the Multi-Cultural Center in the Library, while a documentary about child soldiers was shown inside the center at two different times.

About 80 people painted and stamped their hands and the letters will be posted in the government department until Tuesday, after which they will join other red hand letters sent in from around the globe. All of the letters will eventually end up at the United Nations office by Friday, with a letter explaining the campaign.

“I think that this is showing people on campus that simple actions can have international impacts,” said event organizer Elizabeth Martinez, junior international affairs major.

“People often exaggerate the amount of work it takes to do one of these campaigns,” she said.

The goal is to have 1 million red-handed letters sent in to the U.N.

In 1998, the U.N. made it a war crime to have anyone in the national military under the age of 15. In May, 2000, it issued an optional protocol to raise the age to 18.

According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2007, there are an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 active child soldiers involved in armed conflicts through either governmental forces or rebel groups. The documentary focuses on the most well known conflict involving a rebel force in Northern Uganda called the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Following the screening, Darryl Freeman, a graduate student in the government department, discussed multiple issues. He spoke about children being abducted and forced into the army. He compared it with those who get involved voluntarily. He also noted that in some cultures, there are pressures from the child’s family to join the military.

Freeman mentioned that there was no opposition to the event, but he did have a conversation with a student about how some cultures have transitioning periods, the tradition of turning boys into men that tends to be common among Native Americans as well as other cultures. He discussed how dangerous it is to make this transition when, instead of given bows and arrows for hunting, the boys are given guns and ammunition for killing. Audience members were asked how to address these issues. Ashley Burton, a sophomore social science major, suggested economic reform and sustainable development, by donating things, such as sewing machines, instead of money.

“We need beyond idealism, we need practicality,” Burton said. Martinez and Kristina Victor, a graduate student and the director of the Odyssey Mentor Program decided to host the event to raise awareness on campus. Victor requires everyone involved in the program go to at least one event on campus a week with the hope to revive campus life when some students often feel very disconnected.

“The point of this event is not to depress, but to empower and activate change,” Martinez said. “Give it a shot. You still have a voice, and it can be heard if you try.”

More information on red hand day can be found at www.redhandday.org, and the Odyssey mentoring program’s information at www.csus.edu/govt/mentor.

Anne Morrison can be reached at [email protected]