A ribbon of students, four abreast, snaked its way from behind the Memorial Union to the bus stop in front of Old Main. All of them were ready to help with sandbagging efforts in Fargo. They climbed on buses to be taken to locations around the city to help fill the 2 million sandbags estimated to hold back the Red River, which is expected to crest on Thursday, March 26.

Dan Aichele, a senior agriculture economics major, was near the front of the line and had been waiting for nearly an hour to climb aboard a bus.

“I’m looking forward to a good time helping,” he said.

He was talking to Robert Henson, a junior zoology student, who also helped fill bags yesterday. Both said the decision to help was made easier by the cancellation of classes at NDSU on Monday. Henson was ready to help and be part of a larger university effort, and both plan to help “until they run out of bags.”

“Everyone is here for the same reason,” Hanson said.  

Inside the union, staff members were helping students sign waivers for the effort. No hard numbers were available, but 120 students had been entered into the computer and a four-inch stack of waivers was waiting to be inputted.

Prakash Mathew, vice president for student affairs, said when the call went out for help, within an hour 1,000 people showed up. “This is what NDSU is all about,” he said. “This is what is special about our students.”