OUR VIEW: Everyone should encourage and mourn together.

While everyone mourns the loss of cornerback Robert Grays, business sophomore, dozens of foreign exchange students wait for a message, a call, a text, anything to hear from their families back home, and the rest of the community needs to stand with the Caribbean students too.

By no means is this meant to minimize the pain of anyone mourning; however the campus rallied together for an incredible individual that encouraged so many people, yet seemed to put a large portion of the student body on the back burner. Many students haven’t heard word from family in weeks, and as hurricane Maria destroyed parts of Puerto Rico just this weekend, it’s crucial for these students to talk with their family members.

It’s incredible to see the Wichita Falls community come together for the Grays family at such a critical time. There have been donations, ceremonies and contributions made in honor of Grays since news of his death broke early last week. With that in mind though, the Caribbean students on campus mourn Grays as well as hope their families will contact them with any news. They wait here, almost 1,500 miles away, for any indication of safety or tragedy, and most have been met with silence or indirect communication from friends-of-friends that relay messages to students from their families.

It’s vital to encourage one another in times of hardship and stand together to weather the storms that face each person every day.