HAYS, Kan. - What do you think of when you hear the word equality? Do you dig up the past - all of the social muck the African Americans trudged through as they reached out towards a day of social equality? Or, does the future pass through your mind - something filled with flying DeLoreans, crazy white haired scientists, and an attitude of "we just don't care anymore?" We can't change the past, but we can affect the future.

When I think of equality, I visualize a flat, white ground (like a cutting board for instance) where all individuals can stand and see each other. There's nothing around to blame on anyone else; white seems flawless. No one is higher or lower than anyone else; everyone's feet are placed equally. You could stand all the way across the cutting board from someone and realize that even though you're in a different spot, breathing different air, and living a different life, you stand on the same, seemingly perfect ground that they do. But the world isn't flat.

HAYS, Kan. - I've been a part of the Human Right's Group for about a month (give or take a a few days for anyone who's counting). Through the group's many activities I've made friends that are both genuine and unique. Last Monday, while I was chained to a pole, I met roughly ... eight new people that I had never seen before in my life. But this isn't just about the people (well, in a way it is, since it's the Human Rights Group), it's about what the people in this group are able to bring to society. So far, I've been able to take part in two events that the Human Right's Group has hosted - "A Day Without Shoes", and "Spare Change to End Chains."

HAYS, Kan. - After seeing the pictures on their walls and talking to each individual, I was not surprised that Brad Will and Brenda Craven should team up to chaperon an English department trip. Students in Will's course Faulkner and the Literary South traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, during the fall 2009 semester. Both Will and Craven are lively and engaging members of the Fort Hays State University faculty. Will is clearly a Star Wars enthusiast, based on the adventurous posters in his office -- in fact, he edits Star Wars manuals. I first met Craven when I was welcomed into her office, and my eyes were captured by the enormous canvas that engulfed her plain-white wall with bright ranges of reds and oranges, much like her vivid personality.

HAYS, Kan. - Though I should be excited, not to mention proud of myself, that I am reaching the end of the book I've been feverishly reading this past week, I'm not. In protest to my upcoming biology test, I've immersed myself in the book "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" and have only one chapter left.

I often have a hard time finding a book that completely catches my interest, but I can't put this one down. Chelsea Handler, who runs a late night comedy show on E!, keeps me turning the pages for more.

For anyone who's seen her show, you know just as well as I do that she's a hoot! From her pulling outlandish tricks on her staff, family and Boyfriend, to her Jewish father Melvin and his shenanigans, I've spent the past week laughing. When you read the book, her voice resonates, making her catchy punch lines ten times better.

HAYS, Kan. - It could happen anywhere, anytime, anyplace -- in a coffee shop, in a room, on a Monday, or on a Friday -- but the Human Right's Group always meets once a week. Most of their meetings are held on the Fort Hays State University campus. The Human Right's Group is open to anyone who is willing to fight for a cause. It brings FHSU students, non-FHSU students, faculty, staff and community together to take action against anything from sexual violence to poverty.

They head many rights awareness projects including their most recent one "To Write Love on Her Arms" (TWLOHA), a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. All they asked was that people write the word love on their arms as a symbol of support. The unofficial attendance for TWLOHA was somewhere around 265 people.

This last Monday the 22, I attended my first meeting. There seemed to be many matters that I was left in the dark on since I joined too late in the year, but the members, who were both inviting and helpful, didn't hesitate to get me caught up.