Fraternity makes blankets during recruitment

Kieran Kuehn
Staff Writer

National Honors fraternity Phi Sigma Pi hosted a tie blanket recruitment event Tuesday.

A handful of members, headed by recruitment advisor Kirby Crow, and a few potential recruits were present. 

Tie blanket making commenced and a total of two blankets were made through the binding together of two pieces of fabric through a series of knots around the perimeter of fabric, thus rendering the two portions a makeshift blanket.

These blankets are to be donated to The REACH Drop-in Center, an organization that focuses on the finale of youth homelessness in the Mankato area. 

This organization, run by the Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, has reportedly helped over 4,000 youth in the area, with the goal of creating a “safe, nonjudgmental place for young people that will empower and enhance their sense of self-reliance and community connection.”

During the event, conversation blossomed to the tunes of a 2000s throwbacks playlist full of pop from the first decade of this millennium, and recruitment advisor went into depth regarding the core of Phi Sigma Pi. 

They discussed their commitment to the three core tenants of scholarship, leadership, and fellowship, and mentioned their activities with an organization known as Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership and their partnership initiated in 2015.

HOBY is a philanthropic entity whose mission is “to inspire and prepare future young leaders for a life dedicated to leadership, service, and innovation.” 

They provide a plethora of services such as community leadership workshops, state leadership seminars, activities within the World Leadership Seminar, and many others.

In addition, Crow discussed the fraternity, Phi Sigma Pi, in greater detail. She mentioned that even though they are a fraternity, in reality there is more to it than what is stereotypical. 

“They always make fun of those ‘lifelong bonds’ but I really think that we are more of a support system for you while you’re in college,” said Crow. “In the meantime, we’re going to be there for you and we are going to try to make sure that if you have something going on we can act as a soundboard or as that support system for you.”

Header photo: Students of the all gender, major inclusive fraternity Phi Sigma Pi tie blankets as part of a recruitment event with a potential new member. Built on scholarship, leadership and fellowship, the fraternity hopes to recruit new members in the spring.  (Andrew Bravo/MSU Reporter)