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Virginia Tech Greek council members detour to NIU campus with gifts, support
Back in October, 32 students and four advisers from Virginia Tech thought they were just registering for the annual Mid-American Greek Council Association in Chicago.
None of them imagined they would be the ambassadors of their university for more than a conference.
But after NIU’s tragedy on Feb. 14, the group accepted the duty with open arms last Friday.
“I feel honored to be here,” said Brian Golden, a sophomore communication major and member of Delta Sigma Phi at Virginia Tech. “Our entire campus is supportive of us coming here.”
Golden and 31 other students took an hour detour from their 13-hour drive to the annual MGCA conference. Their aim: visit DeKalb and offer support from their university.
The group of students spent about an hour visiting with members of the NIU greek community. During this time, the group expressed their feelings and experiences with each other.
“It was nice to be around other people who know what we are going through,” said Racheal DeMoss, a senior at NIU and former president of Sigma Kappa. “It’s just nice that they can help us to get through this.”
As ambassadors from Virginia Tech, the students brought cards, gifts and objects from their campus’ memorial service to NIU to show support.
The visiting group went to the memorial, signing boards in the King Memorial Commons.
They then placed five red bags with candles in them behind each cross on the grassy knoll which overlooks the commons. The bags and candles were used during the memorial service at Virginia Tech.
The group of students also brought a Hokie Stone, which was painted red and black in honor of NIU. The stone represents Virginia Tech, as it the basis of their mascot.
“We just wanted to offer support,” said Scott Cheatham, a graduate student in education and member of Virgina Tech’s Phi Kappa Tau. “We wanted to come up in person to deliver [the stone]. It just seemed the right thing to do.”
Along with signs of physical support, the group of students from Virginia Tech shared ways in which they were able to cope with the tragedy on their campus to NIU students.
“The best thing for me was to be around fellow Hokies,” said Cheatham, who is a member of Hokies United. “For you it is your fellow Huskies that will get you through everything.”
“Just getting back to a routine helped,” the sophomore said. “Once you get back to class everyone has their own story to share.”
And while everyone will have their own story to share, it was the message of community that DeMoss took the most from the visiting supporters.
“They said it’s nice to see everyone come together,” she said. “That’s the only good thing that can come out of this.”
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