The Rock - Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc.

Chapters Team up to Fight Flooding in Fargo

It was late March when Fargo, North Dakota and surrounding towns were threatened by rising waters from the Red River with predictions of a flood waters higher than the "great flood" of 1997 (which nearly wiped out the town of Grand Forks, North Dakota). Members of the Sigma Nu chapters at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks (Epsilon Kappa) and North Dakota State University in Fargo (Eta Theta) didn't sit idly by.

Leadership Consultant Fred Dobry was visiting the chapter in Grand Forks the week following their spring break when they heard the news about the possibility of dangerous flooding in Fargo. Dobry had a scheduled visit to Fargo that week as well, and he asked

Patient volunteers wait for sandbagging instructions © Daniel Reetz

Epsilon Kappa members if they'd give up the last day of his visit with them in order to join the sandbagging efforts in Fargo. They readily agreed, and 15 men drove to Fargo the following morning. They met at the Eta Theta chapter house and proceeded to a local church where they took a bus to "ground zero" (the Fargo Dome) to help fill sand bags and eventually were sent out to build dikes.

"It was impressive to see Fred out there being able to sandbag with these two chapters," says Courtney Barstead, Greek Advisor at NDSU. "This is what brotherhood is about. I think that was more touching for them to see than to have a meeting at the chapter house about leadership."

Eta Theta Commander Dustin Elken says NDSU students got the call to volunteer early in the week. "It felt like an obligation at first to go help out," he says. "But once we got out there and saw the river, you could sense the severity of it. And seeing how the homeowners were reacting and how thankful they were to see us you realized it was the right thing to do."

Although Grand Forks is about 90 miles from Fargo, the Epsilon Kappa members were dedicated to driving back and forth for the week--despite the highway being closed, freezing rain, and a blizzard--to volunteer.

Epsilon Kappa Commander Shawn Peck says he and other chapter members knew helping was the right thing to do, especially as able-bodied college students. "It's dumb to sit in class when people could lose their homes. Plus we were close enough to make a difference," he says. Eventually the situation became so bad that both schools closed for the week to allow students to volunteer.

Peck says the hardest part was just trying to figure out what to do and where to go. "It comes together once you get the motivation and figure out what needs to be done," he says. "It

definitely made a difference--us and all the volunteers--since the water got up so high." And he adds that the experience allowed them to live out the life of honor that Sigma Nu encourages. "I absolutely saw that in our members," he says of their volunteer efforts. "It was an honorable thing."

By the time sandbagging efforts were completed, the Sigma Nus--along with thousands of other volunteers from the community and around the country--managed to create 28 miles of dikes to protect Fargo from the Red River. They prepared for a crest of 44 feet, and fortunately, the river crested on Saturday, March 28th at 40.82 feet (some 24 feet above flood stage and higher than the record-setting floods of 1997 and 1826.) Although there was certainly flood damage, the work of so many helped save the city from major devastation.

According to Barstead, Greek students from NDSU volunteered 7,394 hours, not counting those who served as members of the National Guard (many of whom were also Sigma Nus). "I know a lot of people really enjoyed seeing the Greek students come out and really be active in this effort. Students would come back to campus from an 8-hour shift, run home, take a nap, eat, and come back asking, 'Where can you send me?' They had a real sense of community. It was really powerful to see that," she says.

Both chapters agree it felt like a successful effort on several levels. And while certainly no one would have wished for the flood, there was some good that came out of the time these two chapters invested. "It gave the brothers a bonding experience and something to talk about," Elken says. Peck agrees. "We haven't really had a close relationship with Eta Theta, but that first day they had a big pizza dinner for us," he says. "It was a great way to get to know each other."

Despite being in such close proximity to one another, the two chapters had no prior contact before this event. They now hope to be in contact more often, maybe even setting up a softball game. No sand bags involved!