By Melanie J. Knox, Opinion Editor

The Texas House of Representatives honored members of Gamma Sigma Phi Monday who rode bikes to Pepperdine during spring break.

The 17 men raised about $5,000 for Habitat for Humanity.

When Rep. Bob Hunter read about their trip in the Optimist, he wanted to recognize their accomplishment.

Hunter wrote a resolution to read before the House and invited the bike riders to attend.

“I think Hunter saw it as an opportunity to brag on the unique college students in Abilene,” said Chris Jacobs, junior business management major from Kailua, Hawaii and member of the group.

Several of the attendees were already in Austin for their officers retreat, and they all arrived together at Hunter’s office at 9:30 a.m. The session began at 10 a.m. and ended at 11:15.

Seven of the 12 who went had the opportunity to sit on the front row of the floor. Jacobs and four others sat in the balcony.

“It was really neat to sit up there and look down at this huge square room with all the representatives and hear the resolution being read,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs also said it was nice to be recognized for the bike ride for Habitat as opposed to the fact that they got on the Price is Right in Los Angeles.

“The Price is Right was not the point,” he said. “The thing we will remember vividly is the bike ride and the sacrifice seventeen guys made.”

Jacobs and Chris Brewer, junior business major from Tulsa, Okla. said that they hope the recognition and talk of the ride will rally pride within other club members.

GSP plans on working on a Habitat House as a group at least once a semester.

“Even the guys who couldn’t go were so encouraging and so supportive and proud of what we did,” Brewer said.

This Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. GSP will be working on the house their money is helping to raise.

The television station KTXS will be covering the story and the family the house will belong to will be present as well.

“We’re seeing the results of what we did,” Jacobs said. “When we were riding on the road this is the picture that we kept in mind: this Saturday.”

“We didn’t really plan for all this to happen,” Brewer said. “We only planned to ride our bikes for a charity cause. We didn’t expect the recognition and publicity.”