They may be historic rivals on the field, but Troy University students are rallying to help their colleagues at Jacksonville State University as they recover from a devastating tornado.
An EF-3 tornado struck the Jacksonville State campus March 19, damaging numerous buildings across campus, including residential halls.
TROY’s Student Government Association and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee have pooled their resources to conduct a supply drive to help the JSU students who are returning to a campus in ruins.
“The immediate response I got from our students was, ‘How can we help?’” said TROY SGA President Ashli Morris. “It was a natural desire of a lot of students to reach out and help. I’ve had an opportunity to build a relationship with the SGA president there and some of his executives, so it was as quick as sending a text message asking them what they needed.”
The SGA is collecting items such as nonperishable food items, toiletries, pillows and blankets, while the SAAC has focused on cleaning supplies.
Donations have already come in, including some from organizations such as the Campus Kitchen.
“Of course there are healthy rivalries with sports and athletics throughout the years, but at the end of the day, they’re students too, and we care about their wellbeing,” Morris said. “I think this shows we care and want to help students get through tragedies like this.”
The drive continues through the end of this week. Donors can bring items to the SGA office on the second floor of the Trojan Center through Friday at 5 p.m., and Morris said she’ll take any after-hours donations.
