OU Law Students raise $11,00 for Sulphur victims
May 18—University of Oklahoma Law students raised $11,000 worth of supplies to give to tornado victims in Sulphur.
John Kirchhoefer, an OU Law student, said the project required teamwork from different organizations to make it happen.
On April 28, an EF3 tornado ripped through downtown Sulphur with winds around 165 miles per hour, taking down homes, buildings and other infrastructure.
The city, which lies within the Tishomingo District of the Chickasaw Nation, had cautioned well-intended Good Samaritans from helping out immediately following the storm, which is why OU Law approached the nation to inquire on how to best serve those affected.
"I have spoken with Gov. Bill Anoatubby and the Chickasaw Nation," Kirchoefer said. "We are organizing our efforts at the law school with the OU Law administration, the alumni network, and student groups like NALSA — Native American Law Student Association — and the Federalist Society, and the Christian Legal Society, as well as the student government."
He said that last week, Chickasaw Nation commissioned a van to take the supplies to Sulphur, which included clothes, shoes, canned food, baby food and supplies, personal care products and pet food and supplies.
The students are also coordinating with Osage Nation to support victims from the May 6 tornado in Bartlesville.
"After Sulfur got hit, we law students were upset about that. I know some people from there, and we were looking for something to do. People were talking about driving out in big groups," he said.
Kirchhoefer, who came from Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, said he has been impressed with the Oklahoma Standard for helping those in need.
"It was really just a powerful showing of Okies supporting Okies," Kirchhoefer said. "I have become familiar with the Oklahoma Standard, as they call it."
He said students had filled the Pit, or student lounge of the Law School with boxes and buckets of supplies, which impressed him.
Kathleen Guzman, dean of the OU School of Law, said this kind of reaction is completely within the norm of what she would have expected from her students.
"The work that these law students and organizations have undertaken has been remarkable and yet unsurprising, both, I am in particular awe with how they pitched in amidst the end of the semester, finals, and graduation," Guzman said. "These students exemplify what it means to couple intent with action and serve with love."
She said that the action of these students held particular meaning because they were undergoing the natural rigors of end-of-semester finals.
Kirchhoefer said Chickasaw Nation was concerned that it would receive an abundance of support initially to the point where it could not process the assistance, followed by a lull when need was most needed.
"These students have taken lead and direction from the affected communities assisting where and how most needed and have revealed a willingness to be there next week and the ones after that, too, to continue the longest term needs that might arrive from these tragedies," Guzman said.
The OU Law School also donated clothing from its Career Closet, a program that has been phased out which provided professional clothing to law students who needed it.
"It was an entire closet full of professional clothing that the law school has collected over the course of the last few years," Kirchhoefer said. "They've hired more staff at the law school and they needed the space for offices, so they were cleaning that out."
Brian King covers education and politics for The Transcript. Reach him at bking@normantranscript.com.
