By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer, Gierra Cottingham | LTVN Reporter
Multicultural Affairs hosted its annual Mosaic Mixer on Wednesday, featuring student organizations geared toward minority groups at Baylor. Sororities and fraternities representing a variety of cultures gathered to celebrate diversity and community.
Unlike previous years, the tabling portion of the event took place outside to accommodate more students. San Jose, Calif., senior and Lambda Phi Epsilon president Elliott Hong said the Mosaic Mixer has evolved over the years to include groups representing all types of students.
“Now that it’s outside with over 60 organizations, it’s good to see that all the organizations are growing and just to see more new people come,” Hong said.
Lambda Phi Epsilon, one of many Greek Life groups present at the event, is an Asian-interest fraternity, but students of all backgrounds are welcome to join. Members participate in philanthropic efforts that help the Asian community as well as other programs.
“We try to bring awareness to issues around the Asian community,” Hong said. “So, you know, there was some Asian violence in the last couple of years, so we’re trying to bring awareness to that, but also our philanthropy is the National Marrow Donor Program.”
After the student organization fair, the Mosaic Mixer featured performances from many of the Greek Life organizations. The showcase concluded when Geoffrey Griggs, interim director of multicultural affairs, announced Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority as the winner.
Students, faculty and administrators — including Dr. Kevin Jackson, vice president for student life — were in attendance. Jackson expressed his admiration for the event, detailing its purpose and the goal of diversity at Baylor.
“By the very definition of ‘mosaic,’ where you get smaller objects or pieces and you bring it together to form a much larger picture, that’s the image for us on this campus,” Jackson said. “We have this vibrant diversity on our campus, and we’re going to bring it together and create the Baylor community.”
The Multicultural Affairs office, which hosts a Mosaic Mixer each year, assists students in learning about the different cultures represented on campus, according to its website.
“In a diverse world and at a university whose diversity is growing, Baylor is committed to inclusiveness, understanding and acceptance of all, regardless of race or ethnicity,” the Multicultural Affairs mission statement reads.
Many students, thanks to events hosted by Multicultural Affairs, found community at Baylor through shared cultures. Fort Worth junior and Kappa Delta Chi member Aleena Arreguin said she first discovered the Latina-based sorority at a Mosaic Mixer.
“I came to Mosaic Mixer two years ago as a freshman, and that’s exactly where I found Kappa Delta Chi,” Arreguin said. “Everyone is so welcoming and nice, and they really just pulled me in.”
Goodyear, Ariz., junior and fellow Kappa Delta Chi member Clarissa Garza said the sorority remains dedicated to focusing on both sisterhood and service.
“Within our sorority, we like to foster sisterhood through our Latina culture, whether that’s … doing bake sales that are traditional pan dulces, which is Mexican sweet bread, or just working these events getting to know other multicultural organizations,” Garza said. “We’re really just fostering a community of diversity on Baylor’s campus.”
