By Sarah Gallaher | Staff Writer
Colorful eggs lined the Bill Daniel Student Center as students gathered to celebrate the Easter holiday. Baylor Fraternity and Sorority Life held its first-ever “Hop Day” from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, complete with a variety of seasonal activities.
Among the festivities were an egg hunt, cookie decorating, egg painting and an egg toss. Music filled the Barfield Drawing Room as students gathered in conversation and community. MiSchelle A. Edwards, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Unified Greek Council adviser, began planning the event in the fall alongside other Greek organizations.
“I coordinated this event just to establish a tradition with Fraternity and Sorority Life,” Edwards said. “The theme is ‘Hop Day,’ so this is just an Easter celebration for us to celebrate with all of our Greek councils.”
Fraternity and Sorority Life consists of a number of organizations that make up Greek Life at Baylor. These include traditional fraternities and sororities, as well as multicultural ones. Edwards is a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., which is part of “The Divine Nine” historically African-American fraternities and sororities at Baylor.
The number of organizations that make up Baylor’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, along with their busy schedules, make it difficult for members of different groups to gather. “Hop Day” gave those involved in Greek Life a chance to come together as one.
“It’s different than what we normally do,” Houston senior and Alpha Delta Pi member Ashleigh Widow said. “We hardly ever have things where we’re all together like this, so it’s really fun to see everyone here.”
Bringing the Greek organizations together was one of Edwards’ main goals when she assumed her position in 2023. Although fraternities and sororities host events on campus often, they are not often in partnership with one another.
“There was a strategic plan coming into this role for there to be more cross-council engagement,” Edwards said. “This serves as one of our large events that we look forward to continuing with.”
Participating in the activities at “Hop Day” gave students a chance to interact with those within and outside their organization. To Widow, sisterhood goes beyond Alpha Delta Pi, and she said she enjoys spending time with those in different Greek organizations as well.
“I have a lot of friends that are in different sororities, and we’re still all friends,” Widow said. “Even though we’re separate, we’re still all together as one group.”
Although the majority of people present represented Baylor’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, Edwards said all students were welcome, and some unaffiliated students joined the festivities. Edwards was impressed by the turnout, as the first round of food ran out shortly after the event started, despite “Hop Day” having to change locations and move indoors at the last minute due to inclement weather.
Edwards said she hopes to bring students together with events like this in the future, building community among the fraternities and sororities on campus.
