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Father’s crusade touches lives
By Brandon Sullivan
 Media Credit: Adam Masloski Darrell Scott speaks to the crowd in Ritche Auditorium about “Rachel’s Challenge.” Scott lost his daughter in Columbine and now speaks nationwide about her and her legacy.
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 Media Credit: Adam Masloski Christie Loehr, right, and Danielle Ostrowski are moved by Darrell Scott’s speech Wednesday night in Ritsche Auditorium. Scott spoke about his daughter, Rachel, who was killed in the student shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.
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Rachel Joy Scott was a victim of the Columbine High School tragedy that occurred on April 20, 1999, in Littleton, Colo. Her story has touched many people around the entire nation, as well as the world.
Her father Darrell Scott has spoken at over 400 schools worldwide and has appeared on Oprah and the O’Reilly Factor. He’s been in the New York Times, Newsweek, and in Time magazine. He’s also written a book titled Rachel’s Tears.
Scott was at SCSU Wednesday evening. He was not only speaking in his daughter’s memory. His presence was sponsored by Campus Crusades for Christ. Scott reached out to the students of SCSU and others who attended the event. Scott’s main point of the evening was to “challenge the youth to give God a chance.” He also added that God was “the missing element” of youth’s lives.
Scott discussed his daughter’s life, up until her tragic murder at the age of 17, and far beyond that horrific moment. He started with her inspiration to keep a diary, which put many pieces of this awful event into perspective. Rachel Scott’s inspiration to keep a diary was Anne Frank; Frank kept a diary while on the run in Nazi Germany.
Nearly all of Rachel Scott’s entries in her diary were spiritually orientated. She had everything from verses out of the Bible written around her drawings of the crucifix, to her own prayers written out.
In a specific prayer of her’s, she wrote to Jesus, “I am willing to sacrifice everything.” She also mentioned, “I write...for the sake of my soul,” as well as another message to God, “I want you to help me to reach the unreached.”
The most powerful testaments that came from her diary referred to her “hands reaching millions of people” someday. That is all that Rachel Scott wanted from life, her father said.
“She wanted to become an actress and she wanted to be a missionary,” Scott noted.
Reaching out to millions of people is what she did best. She came from beyond the grave to touch the hearts of many people who had the power to make a change. That was exactly her goal. A paper she wrote for school that was about her morals and ethics ended with the words “Start a chain reaction!” In all of the presentations that Scott has done, he’s gained the attention and respect of both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.
The biggest impact Scott has made is through the students he reaches out to. He knows of six students that had plans of a school shooting or bombing before his presentation changed their minds.
The most incredible and surprising life that has altered for the better is a man by the name of David “Davie” Burkowitz, a.k.a. the “Son of Sam.” Burkowitz had committed arson and numerous murders in New York city, and is now spending life in jail. Scott’s book, Rachel’s Tears, is what initially started the “chain reaction” in Burkowitz’s life. He is now a minister in the prison and is helping other inmates form an intimate relationship with God.
One of Rachel Scott’s diary entries shows her relationship with God; she wrote “this will be my last year, Lord.” Rachel also mentioned that she would not live to be 20, while she discussed marriage and having children with one her friends.
One more incident that does prove her commitment and relationship with God involves a complete stranger. Scott received a phone call from a man that he, nor his daughter, had any contact with in the past. This unfamiliar voice told Scott of recurring dreams over the past two weeks.
The dream was of Rachel Scott crying; her tears were watering something, but this man could not make it out. Scott later found a drawing in his daughter’s diary of her eyes. She was crying and her tears were watering a rose. There were exactly 13 tears before they turned to blood drops as they landed on the rose. There were 13 deaths at Columbine High School.
Rachel Scott’s story affected Wednesday’s audience immensely. There were few dry eyes by the time Scott was done with his presentation.
“It got to me, I started crying,” SCSU sophomore Melissa Hesketh said while wiping tears from her eyes.
First-year student Kristen Hutt explained that Scott was “very inspiring...I hope they come back.”
Katie Duncan, a junior, said, “Everyone should hear Darrell Scott’s story. And everyone should take the Rachel challenge.”
The Rachel Challenge is an anti-violence campaign. Scott and Danny Orr have traveled around the world and reach out to individuals, mainly students. They have already been to over 400 schools.
They start with an assembly, followed by two hours of training. They pick 50 students at each school to participate. Then for one year, they do a follow-up once a month on the progress of the students. They teach students how to reach out to new students and make them feel welcome in a new setting. Scott and Orr also give students an opportunity volunteer at a soup kitchen, nursing home, and other charities through out their communities.
Rachel Scott has left a lasting image of unimaginable power on her community, country, and the world. The trials and tribulations of her father, and her family, total strangers, lost youth and a hardened criminal have changed hearts, thoughts, feelings, and souls deeper than one can fathom.
The lesson to be learned here is, ultimately, do not doubt the power of the human will. A life can change in a matter of seconds but affect many others for a long time after.
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