By Maya Butler | Reporter
With music, food and dash of pink, Panhellenic sorority Zeta Tau Alpha hosted their Pink Picnic from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday on Fountain Mall.
This was the sorority’s first time hosting the event, which took the place of last year’s Welcome Back Bash.
Bellingham, Wash. senior Bailey Molnar, president of Zeta, explained the reason for the change.
“[Welcome Back Bash] didn’t have our values as much as Pink Picnic would, and we felt that we put a lot more time and energy into this,” Molnar said. “It’s tied more with our philanthropy and tied more to what Zeta is and who we are.”
The event supported Zeta’s philanthropy, breast cancer education and awareness.
According to breastcancer.org, “breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women,” second only to skin cancer. In addition, “about 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12.4%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.”
Katy junior Samantha Torres, external philanthropy chair, explained her favorite part about the picnic.
“I think my favorite part is just letting people know how it [breast cancer] can affect somebody’s life so much,” Torres said. “One of my cheer coaches had breast cancer and then one of my best friend’s mom, she just lost her life to breast cancer … so that’s why I want people to know more about it.”
Zeta members sold T-shirts at the Penland and Memorial dining halls throughout the week as well as during the event itself to spread awareness for their philanthropy. All proceeds benefited Breast Cancer Education.
The event was designed to welcome freshmen into the Baylor community, but it was open to all students who wished to attend.
To provide a welcoming and upbeat atmosphere, the event included a DJ, photo booth and picnic games for students to get to know one another. Familiar games such as life-sized versions of Connect Four, checkers and Jenga served as fun icebreakers for everyone present.
“I just love the community aspect of it,” Molnar said. “Everyone can really see our personality, and we can really welcome everybody back to school, back to campus.”
The Pink Picnic featured food from popular vendors such as Steel City Pops, Off the Cob Popcorn and Kona Ice. The first 100 students in line for each vendor received the food free of charge. Zeta also provided sandwiches from Jimmy John’s, water and, of course, pink lemonade.
In October, also known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Zeta will host its annual fundraising event Big Man on Campus. Prior to the event, the sorority will have a “Think Pink Week” where they hand out lemonade, ribbons, cupcakes and more in shades of pink. “Pink Out” games cohosted by the Baylor Athletic Department will also play a part in the campaign to spread breast cancer awareness on campus.
