The Kansas Epsilon Chapter of Phi Delta Theta conducted its 31st annual Pole-Sit for SOS, Inc. during Emporia State Homecoming festivities on October 14 & 15, 2016. The 30 hour Pole-Sit began at 6 a.m. on Friday and concluded at noon on homecoming Saturday as the parade ended.

This year the bucket drive at 12th and Commercial Street gathered $2,888.23 in donations. Since 1986, Phi Delta Theta has raised over $80,000 for the crucial agency that provides services and support for victims of domestic violence and advocates for children in the court system and for those neglected or abused. SOS, Inc. serves a six-county region which includes Lyon County.

The Phi Delta Theta Pole-Sit is inspired by the flag pole sitting craze of the 1920s, a stunt begun by Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly. The ancient antecedent dates back to 423 CE near Aleppo, Syria when Christian ascetic St. Simeon the Stylite lived out his life at the top of a stone column.