I am not a fashion expert by any means, but I have noticed a few things while walking around campus. Flip-flops are definitely popular. More people seem to support LSU than Nicholls, and no one wears Z. Cavaricci anymore. I have also observed a number of people wearing some outfits I have never seen at Nicholls before. Like I said, far be it from me to comment on another’s dress, but these guys must not look in the mirror before they walk out the house. They wear the exact same shirts and pants with the exact same green and black camouflage pattern everyday. They all sport buzz cuts, and they all tuck their pants into their lace-up boots.

My duties at The Nicholls Worth have forced me to meet some of the men dressed in green and ask them as many questions as possible (I even went to Wal-Mart with two of them), and I have noticed something. What they lack in fashion sense, they more than make up for with loyalty, commitment and a can-do attitude.

In my short time with them I have seen and learned some interesting things about the green men that I want to share with the rest of the University.

First, let me explain the outfits. They do not wear them for fashion reasons (or so they say). They are working on campus, and it is their uniform. Some say they are even proud to wear the uniform because it shows everyone that they are part of an even larger group that has been around for more than 200 years. A few even decorate their uniforms with medals they have been awarded.

The green men can be usually be found around the evacuee shelters and are always polite, helpful and appear to be working hard at one thing or another. They say they were originally sent to Nicholls for “security” purposes but found very few problems with the safety on campus (I have seen the weapons they brought with them and do not believe security will be an issue). Their mission is now to assist the evacuees in “any way possible.”

“Any way possible” apparently means a lot to the green men because very few requests seem unreasonable to them. I have seen green men do so much as physically carrying an injured evacuee and so little as sharing a cigarette and a kind word. Sleep is somewhat of a rare commodity among the hardest working of the green men. I have heard the leader of the green me-the one they call Lieutenant Beal-actually order several of his men to get some sleep. The subordinates, who have been up for days, happily obliged and quickly returned to their beds and closed their bloodshot eyes.

The one they call “Hound Dog” is probably the most popular of the green men among the evacuees. I should rephrase that. “Hound Dog” is definitely the most popular for the more than 500 evacuees who have been able leave the shelter. They call him “Hound Dog” because he is the guy who finds people-the loved ones of evacuees to be exact. He has trouble just walking through the shelter without hearing someone say, “Hound Dog, I need you to find my sister because we got separated during the storm,” or “If you could find my uncle in Lafayette so he can come pick me up.” Armed with simply a telephone, an Internet link and sometimes only a name, “Hound Dog” searches tirelessly until he connects loved ones. “Hound Dog”, a strong man in all respects, told me he often tears up after reuniting a family (or, for the worst of reasons, if he cannot). Sgt.. Bentley, thank you and keep up the good work.

Another thing I have learned about the green men is that they are not much different than the rest of us who have been at Nicholls since before Hurricane Katrina. Many are college-aged, and many had to leave their own colleges to aid in this time of crisis. Just like many of us, they had to leave loved ones and travel many miles knowing they will not be able to return for several months. Alright, maybe we dress a little better.

The relationship I have built with the green men has forced me to ask them a question for which I was concerned to hear the answer: “When are you guys leaving?” Their practiced response was, “We can leave when the last evacuee does.” Loyal, committed and a can-do attitude. Why did I ask? I knew that was going to be the answer.