Quote:Andrew Joseph Crow, a 2005 NIU graduate who lives in Skokie, stood outside the NIU student center in the cold — and gave dozens of hugs Monday morning.

He and several others held signs offering “Free Huskie Hugs.”

“Some have been on the verge of tears” as he embraced them, he said. Few have turned him away.

“It's something to help the healing process,” said Crow, an engineer.

The hug campaign was the brainchild of the Rev. Marty Marks, a pastor at the DeKalb Immanuel Luther Church and the president of the Association of Campus Religious Organizations.

He gave out 50 hugs of his own. He called it noninvasive way of reaching students who don't want to undergo an intense counseling session.