Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life

Over winter break, three Greek students ran a marathon fundraising $2,000 for CureDuchenne - an organization committed to treating and ultimately curing muscular dystrophy.

The decision to run the marathon came as somewhat of an impulse decision according to Travis Staffenhagen, the mastermind behind this project.

“I watched a video of some guy losing an absurd amount of weight. His end goal was to run a marathon,” Staffenhagen said. “I figured if this guy can do it, then why can’t I?”

Travis was supported immediately by his friends, family, and brothers alike. And to no surprise, fellow brothers within his Greek chapter at Washington State – Luke Partington and Devon La Pierre – ran the race by his side regardless of the fact they had less than a month to train.

However, this wasn’t just any marathon as the trio decided to take this project one step further. Utilizing social media accounts and the good faith of people, Staffenhagen set up an online fundraiser with the aim of supporting a loved one.

“My younger brother suffers from muscular dystrophy,” Staffenhagen said. “It’s tough because I can only do so much to support him especially when I’m away at college. So once the idea sort of formed in my mind, I just knew I had to do it.”

Likewise, the theme of support loops like a broken record.

“Travis is my best friend,” La Pierre said. “When I heard about what he was doing, it was an easy decision to join him.”

“A marathon is a big task, but I’ve known Travis for years,” Partington said. “Any little bit I can do to play my part and support him, I’m there for it.”

The Interfraternity (IFC) Senate met Tuesday enacting two new bylaws with a focus scholarship and mental health assistance.

New scholarship bylaws will award $1,250 to the chapter with the greatest increase in GPA for each semester in the form of subsidized IFC membership dues.

Additional scholarships of $1,000, $500, and $250 will be awarded to individuals belonging to IFC organizations on a merit-based system at the discretion of the IFC Senate committee. Applicants must have a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher and have held a position in their chapter.

“We want to incentivize chapters to be more academically oriented,” IFC President Austin Proteau said. “We expect to see a rise in GPA across the board.”

The IFC budget will remain unaffected as the resources to fund the newly enacted scholarships are already in existence.

Moreover, the new Mental Health First Aid bylaw will reward chapters who enroll members in Mental Health First Aid Training by decreasing the existing out-of-house programming completion percentage rate by two percent per member. A maximum of five members can attend the training and only two of the five may be first-year students.

“Having a member within each chapter that can properly identify and asses potential mental health concerns is a big step forward for our community,” Proteau said.

Mental Health First Aid is a national program teaching participants how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders.

Learn more about Mental Health First Aid here.