In times of crisis, true character is revealed. And once again, Fort Hays State University students have shown that our Tiger\u00a0Nation\u00a0is defined by compassion, leadership, and service to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When an EF3 tornado tore through the town of Grinnell on May 18, the destruction left behind was almost beyond comprehension.\u00a0Everyday\u00a0life was\u00a0upended in moments.\u00a0Homes were gone.\u00a0Machinery\u00a0was\u00a0broken and\u00a0twisted. As images and stories of the devastation circulated, a group of our students,\u00a0the brothers\u00a0of the Sigma Phi Epsilon\u00a0fraternity,\u00a0decided they\u00a0couldn\u2019t simply watch from afar. They would go.\u00a0They would help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sig Ep\u00a0Cade Becker, a junior from\u00a0Hays, heard about the damage through family and friends. Moved by what he learned, he rallied his\u00a0fraternity\u00a0brothers to gather tools and supplies \u2014 rakes, shovels, contractor bags \u2014 and head to Grinnell on May 31. What they encountered was, in the words of junior Anthony Arial of Hays, \u201clike putting a\u00a0Band-Aid\u00a0on a bullet hole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to Cade and Anthony, Sig Ep brothers Ryan Oglesby, Wichita, and Micah Von Stroh, Wichita, along with Sig Ep alum Julian Bixenman of Colby, Cade\u2019s dad, Nathan Houser, and grandpa Lynn Houser, both of Plainville, pitched in to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They got to work in a nearby wheat field, just half a mile from town,\u00a0near a\u00a0farmhouse\u00a0that\u00a0had been reduced to rubble. A church nearby stood without its roof.\u00a0The brothers cleared debris \u2014 metal, wood, fragments of lives interrupted \u2014 so the community could begin harvesting in a few weeks. Their work didn\u2019t erase the damage, but it moved Grinnell one step closer to recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What struck me most about Cade and Anthony\u2019s reflections wasn\u2019t the magnitude of the task but the\u00a0altruistic\u00a0mindset they brought with them. They weren\u2019t looking for recognition. They were guided by the\u00a0core values\u00a0of their fraternity \u2014 virtue, diligence, and brotherly love \u2014 and by the culture of care we strive to nurture\u00a0in our\u00a0Tiger Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t put action behind the words, what does it mean?\u201d Anthony asked. That\u2019s a question all of us should take to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At FHSU, we talk often about our deep connection to western Kansas. Many of our students come from rural communities. Many of our alumni return to those communities as leaders, educators, builders, and changemakers. What these young men demonstrated in Grinnell is the very spirit of western Kansas \u2014 neighbors helping neighbors, showing up when it matters most, and choosing community over convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cade said it best: \u201cHelping your neighbor is the Kansas heart. That\u2019s what we are known for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, it is. And this group of young men showed that being a Tiger means more than academic success or personal growth. It means rising to the moment, responding with empathy, and making a difference in the lives of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To Cade, Anthony, and all the Sig Ep brothers who stepped up: Thank you for reminding\u00a0us\u00a0what it means to live the Tiger Pact. You are building more than balanced men \u2014 you are building hope, one act of service at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tisa Mason is president of Fort Hays State University.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In times of crisis, true character is revealed. And once again, Fort Hays State University students have shown that our Tiger\u00a0Nation\u00a0is defined by compassion, leadership,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37698,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12323,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life","category-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Mason-Tisa-040A6662.jpg?fit=750%2C1050&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86969,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86968\/revisions\/86969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}