By Josh Siatkowski | Staff Writer
April 8 will be a historically busy day in Waco, as the city plans to host over 100,000 visitors for the total solar eclipse, as well as thousands of Baylor students who will be enjoying Diadeloso, one of Baylor’s beloved campus traditions.
Dr. Barbara Castanheira-Endl, professor of physics and adviser of Baylor’s Astronomy Club, said the eclipse will be a special one. Contrary to an annular or partial eclipse, in which the moon only blocks some of the sun, April 8 will be a total solar eclipse.
“The most spectacular one is the total eclipse,” Endl said. “It will be completely dark, so we will be able to see planets and some bright stars.”
April 8 will be the first total eclipse observable in the continental U.S. since 2017. More strikingly, according to NASA’s solar eclipse history page, it will be the first time since 1878 that Waco resides in the path of totality — the area in which the sun will be completely blocked.
“Because we are closer to the center of totality, Waco will experience totality for about four minutes,” Endl said. “But if you are in Austin, which is on the edge of the path of totality, it is almost two minutes.”
Since Waco will be one of the best points from which to see the eclipse, the city has partnered with Lowell Observatory and Discovery Channel to turn the four-minute eclipse into Eclipse Over Texas, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at McLane Stadium.
Eclipse Over Texas tickets can be purchased for $20 on its website, which also has information for volunteer inquiries. Aside from a view of the eclipse, the event will provide food trucks and numerous educational talks — some of which will be given by Baylor faculty, according to Endl.
As excitement grows for Waco’s first total solar eclipse in nearly 150 years, students can also look forward to Diadeloso, which will take place the same day. Although Diadeloso is traditionally on a Tuesday, it will be on a Monday this year instead. Students will attend their Monday classes on Tuesday to make up for the change.
Flower Mound junior Emme Nownes is the Diadeloso chair for the Baylor Chamber of Commerce. Nownes said that despite the thousands of anticipated visitors, Diadeloso will remain a student-centered day.
“At the core of this event, we are celebrating student life and being a student at Baylor,” Nownes said.
Diadeloso, which began in 1932 as “All-University Day,” was designed to uplift students who were facing the Great Depression as well as the loss of Baylor’s president, Samuel Palmer Brooks, in 1931. While student life will remain at the heart of the day, Nownes said the eclipse will not be ignored in planning.
“We plan on having some time during the totality of the eclipse to take a second and put our focus on that,” Nownes said. “Expect some space-themed decorations on the day.”
Nownes said balancing the student-centered celebration with the historic eclipse makes planning a challenging task, but she will not forget the meaning behind the event.
“We want this to be Dia plus the eclipse, not an eclipse that overshadows Dia,” Nownes said.
