Rob Redwood rode in a convoy en route to Ole Miss Saturday morning with a box of Alpha Tau Omega T-shirts.
Redwood and about 30 of his fellow Mississippi State ATOs drove to Oxford to lend what help they could to an ATO chapter that had just suffered the loss of three members and its house to fire.
“I wasn’t exactly sure what their reaction would be, but a lot of them came up and thanked us for coming,” Redwood said.
Redwood, the president of the MSU chapter, said he and his fraternity brothers were in shock when they heard the news Friday morning. They had an impromptu meeting and huddled around the television watching the press conference that announced the names of two of the victims.
“One of the first things we said was, ‘We’ve got to get over there and do whatever we can do,'” he said.
After talking with the president of the Ole Miss chapter, they decided to drive up the next morning with clothes to donate to members who lost theirs in the fire. They would have brought food, Redwood said, but the members of the Ole Miss chapter told them they already had more than they could eat, thanks to members of the community and Beta Theta Pi fraternity across the street.
Redwood said when they arrived at the house about noon the mood was somber. “I really think everyone was in shock,” he said.
While they were there they consoled members of the Ole Miss chapter and attended a luncheon, where the dean of students spoke.
“It kind of made us all appreciate each other and realize you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” he said.
Drew Sparks, the vice president of the MSU chapter, said he realized that two of his former high school classmates were ATOs at Ole Miss when he arrived there.
“We were happy to be there because we wanted to let them know that if they needed anything we would be there,” he said. “Even though we go to different schools, we’re still brothers.”