campaigns : Campaign Archive

Volume 3, Issue 7

Make a Sacrifice and Cover a Troop

Brad Hudson

As a student, we walk through our daily routines of going to class, running across campus to make it to the next meeting, or frantically make our way to a student organization activity. During all this chaos, it is very easy to forget that we have the ability to take part in all these activities because of the men and women serving our country overseas. It is the men and women just like us that made the ultimate sacrifice to drop what they were doing and leave to defend our livelihood. The gentlemen of Alpha Gamma Rho and Dr. Hilary Stallings are stepping up to make a small sacrifice to ensure that the soldiers overseas can return and enjoy the lifestyle that they are fighting for in Iraq and Afghanistan. They want and need your help!

The philanthropy that the group plans to utilize to help our troops is Operation Helmet. It is a nonpartisan, charitable grassroots effort that provides helmet upgrade kits free of charge to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. These upgrade kits consist of padded helmet inserts that tremendously reduce the risk of head injury for soldiers. Currently, the helmets that are issued to soldiers provide little protection to the skull and brain when it comes to force created by an explosion. Head trauma is the leading cause of death to soldiers in Iraq, accounting for more than 33% of all deaths. The upgrade kits can cost between $70 and $100, with only the Army and Navy issuing the helmets free of charge. Men and women of the other branches of the Armed Forces currently have to purchase the helmets on their own. This is where Operation Helmet comes into play. Started by a grandfather and a veteran of the Vietnam War, Operation Helmet provides upgrade kits to soldiers through generous donations to the effort. For $71, the program can provide one lucky soldier the cover that he needs to increase his chance of survival while serving our country. The best part is that if you can provide the correct contact information for a deployed soldier, Operation Helmet can guarantee the upgrade kit reaches that person. Unlike many charity organizations, 99.9% of donations go straight to the effort of supplying our troops with helmet kits.

Here is the part where everything comes full circle. Alpha Gamma Rho and Dr. Stallings are asking you to reach down and help raise money for the cause. Every last penny that is collected will be sent to Operation Helmet because we want our family and friends to come home safely. If every student donated just one dollar, we would be able to provide more than 300 soldiers with upgrade kits for their helmet. That is not even including faculty, staff, or community members that are interested in helping the cause.

Donations will be collected until November 1^st. Donations can be sent to Brad Hutson at MTSU Box E307. For more information, please feel free to contact Brad at (901) 634-0884 or beh2n@mtsu.edu. Also, check out operationhelmet.org.

This is only a small sacrifice to ensure the safe return of those making the ULTIMATE sacrifice!

Join your fellow Greeks at the Bonhoeffer's Coffee House every 2nd and 4th Monday at 8pm

Greeks Making an Impact

Jonathon Taylor

Greek Impact started last semester when a group of students from various fraternities and sororities, led by ministers from Campus Crusade for Christ, began meeting together with the goal of creating an organization that would reach out to the greek students at MTSU. Greek Impact aims to promote greek unity, giving students a place and time to come together and enjoy fellowship outside of the usual social gatherings and outside of their own chapters. While there are some chapters that have their own bible studies, Greek Impact allows for the Christians from all of the greek community to meet together, and also aims to equip those who are passionate about seeing their brothers and sisters in their respective organizations become their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Greek Impact had a couple of special events at the end of last semester, one at the Sigma Chi house, and the other at the SAE house. Both featured special speakers that challenged students to think about the issues we face from a different perspective than we may normally view them, also providing answers to any questions the students may have. The group is planning on meeting the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of every month this semester at 8 oclock P.M. at Bonhoeffer’s Coffee house above Textbook Brokers on Greenland near Murphy’s Center. These meetings will include and fellowship and worship time, as well as a short Bible study and sometimes a special speaker.

Anyone is more than welcome to attend, they encourage you to bring your friends and come enjoy the fellowship with other greek students in an environment that is a nice change of pace to what we may be accustomed to.

Greek of the Week: Krystle Gray

Ashley DeSabetino

This week’s Greek of the Week, Krystle Gray, a member of Delta Zeta sorority, is the Philanthropy/AIDS Quilt Director for the Student Government Association. Krystle will be implementing many new ideas to educate the Blue Raider Community on this preventable epidemic. She is continuing the tradition of displaying the AIDS quilt this year in the KUC and BAS on November 27^th-28^th. With the help of her committee she will execute the first annual AIDS Awareness week on the MTSU campus. The week will be November 27th -December 1^st and will include a benefit dinner, Epidemic Forum and a Red and White Party. Krystle has been hard at work to ensure that the week of events brings attention to the staggering statistics on how AIDS has affected college students. “Our generation is dying of a preventable disease,” Krystle said about the AIDS epidemic. “With the help of my wonderful committee, it will finally receive the attention it deserves on MTSU campus!”

Krystle has already set a valuable precedent for the future AIDS Quilt Directors here at MTSU. She not only has attributed to the campus through her work on Student Government, but Krystle has also been a key player in Greek Life. She has been a member of the Greek Life Programming Board and she also served as a Greek Leadership Camp Facilitator this year.

The Knoxville native is dedicated to community service and educating those around her. Krystle Gray is a Social Work Major and plans to pursue her masters in Medical Social Work upon graduating from Middle Tennessee. She aspires to work for a non-profit organization or in a hospital setting.

Krystle Gray, 2006-2007 Philanthropy/AIDS Quilt Director

Marshal Farmer a member of The True Pike Challenge class.

The True Pike Challenge

During 2004, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, better known as PIKE, adopted the True Pike standard. This standard began a focus, not only on the vision, mission, and creed of the fraternity, but on the commitment to a life long caring for others as much as an individual PIKE cares for himself. This commitment encompasses a devotion to self, the chapter, individual brothers, and the community. The idea was to have a stricter guideline on what makes a “True Pike”.

Shortly thereafter, in the summer of 2005, PIKE provided its most outstanding members a chance to participate in the True Pike Challenge held at BOSS (Boulder Outdoor School of Survival), owned by Josh Bernstein, host of “Digging for the Truth” on the History Channel and PIKE alumnus. Twenty participants, out of over 200 chapters and 220,000 members from around the country, would be chosen to learn and master the skills of true survival in the deserts of Utah, all the while emphasizing the ideals of a True Pike through the adventure. Participants were pushed to a point where survival in the desert no longer seemed possible, and it was at this point that the True Pike spirit was discovered and examined by all members.

Middle Tennessee State, Pi Kappa Alpha, was represented by Marshal Farmer who exhibits these qualities of a “True Pike”. He was chosen to participate in the first True Pike Challenge event this year.

COME WITH MTSU’S OUTDOOR PURSUITS TO STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO!

After a successful ski trip to Steamboat Springs in 2005 in which 86 students skied/snowboarded the mountains of Colorado, we are headed back again! The trip was awesome and included many members of MTSU’s Greek community. This year will be even better due to the fact that we will stay in ski in/out condominiums, which means that our condos are located right on the ski slopes! This trip will be a co-op trip with the University of North Carolina at Asheville and boasts three options:

#1- Meet us there- You provide your own transportation, we provide the lift tickets and condo-$350

#2-Ride with us- Sit back and enjoy yourself as we take a 55 person charter bus to Steamboat. The charter bus leaves on Dec. 14^th around 4pm and returns Dec. 21^st. Also included in this package is 6 nights in the condo and a 4 day lift ticket. Cost is $550

#3-Fly with us- This trip leaves Dec. 15^th and includes round trip airfare from Nashville to Denver. We will then take a shuttle from Denver to Steamboat. The price includes shuttle cost, 6 nights condo stay, and 4 day lift ticket. Cost is $770.

The fly out trip only has 7 spots left, and the bus is filling up quickly! A deposit of $200 is required upon signup, and from there you can pay monthly on your trip. Please call Josh Stone @ 904-8484 for more info.

Members of Alpha Omicron Pi hitting the ski slopes during the 2005 trip with MTSU's Outdoor Pursuits