Last week the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon put into action plans that have been brewing for over two months when they decided to revive the philanthropic event TKE in a Box. This event had not occurred on campus for several years, but, with the participation of Event Services, the ritual received a breath of new life.
While many other SLU students spent their Friday night watching movies, going out with friends and lounging around the dorms, TKE brothers gathered around a large, homemade box in the Quad. They asked fellow Billikens to donate anything they could to aid the homeless and increase the research being done by the Alzheimer’s Association.
“What better way to experience what it’s like to be homeless and to raise homelessness awareness than to spend a night in a box outside,” said Wes Darnell, a junior business student and TKE member. “It also causes people walking by to stop and question what we are doing.”
Sophomore engineering student and TKE member William Difani said that “fifteen percent of the funds raised will go to help the local homeless shelters by giving them more money for supplies so they can accommodate more people . some people have actually been turned away because the shelter couldn’t support them, so we hope that our contributions will make a difference.”
The remaining funds will go to the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of former fraternity president, TKE member and Alzheimer’s patient Ronald Reagan.
From noon Friday to late afternoon on Saturday, TKE members worked around the clock. They dealt with a box that refused to stand, the cool weather of the evening and the desolation of the Quad, but, as the night began, so did the donations. Students were willing to contribute what they could, from pocket change to even the rare 20-dollar bill, in the hopes of making a difference.
“A small sacrifice can go a long way,” said Tom Bussen, a junior business student and TKE member.
TKE managed to surpass its goal of $500 and completed the event with a total exceeding $700. TKE in a Box was only part of the plan; on Sept. 15, TKE plans to walk a three-mile Memory Walk for Alzheimer’s research at Tower Grove Park along with the sorority Sigma Kappa.
