Tyler Wade ’12 – Think Critically. Act Responsibly. Lead Effectively. Live Humanely.
Those are the four components of our mission statement at Wabash, and they set the tone for the kind of learning we support at this liberal arts college for men.
However, the component that is easiest to let fall by the wayside is “Live Humanely.” People get busy in the hustle and bustle and rigors of life here at the College, and simply run out of time to get many such activities accomplished.
During Orientation Week our newest crop of students first arrive on campus and participate in community service projects. Many other fraternities and organizations do a good job of helping the world in which they live. But for a number of students on campus it is decidedly harder to find ways to live humanely.
If you can find an opportunity to support a good cause without sacrificing a lot of effort, it becomes a connecting point to help inculcate that value.
When Dean of Students Mike Raters ’85 was challenged by his counterpart at Hampden-Sydney College, one of the other all-male colleges in the country, he was excited about the opportunity to get the campus engaged in a meaningful endeavor.
That activity was Movember, a worldwide movement for men to grow moustaches during the month of November to promote awareness of men’s cancers. Raters enlisted my help and we brought on Jim Amidon ’87 and Tom Runge ’71 to help the cause. Both Amidon and Runge were cancer survivors and could solicit testimonials that would help rally the troops.
While many of our men were sent home looking awful scruffy at Thanksgiving, and some members of the faculty and staff complained that their significant others didn’t really appreciate the look, Movember was a huge success.
ll told, 115 Wabash men registered their moustaches on Movember’s website (http://us.movember.com) and they helped raise $225 dollars to promote cancer research. Results were still being verified from Hampden-Sydney, St. John’s, and Morehouse but things were looking good for the Little Giants. The Tigers of HSC had only grown 17 moustaches during the event!
So mark your calendars next year to help the movement be even bigger and better than it was this year.
Movember—another great example of Wabash Men living humanely…
