By Giselle Lee | Staff Writer
As one walks into Waco Hall during All-University Sing, it’s easy to become captivated by the glamour, the spectacle and the Broadway-style productions that grace the stage. However, multicultural fraternities and sororities say a bigger issue has been brought into the spotlight.
A general rule of Sing states that any club or organization chartered and recognized by Baylor University may take part in Sing. As a result, the event is marketed as an “all-university” affair. However, the rich history of Panhellenic organizations participating in Sing, along with the 20-organization limit in the Sing program, hinders multicultural representation.
The lack of representation in Sing is connected to a larger problem: the unequal distribution of resources and event coverage for multicultural organizations across campus, including the Unified Greek Council, a smaller council that promotes diversity and interest-based communities at Baylor.
Houston junior Olivia Chhlang, president of the Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority, said members of her sorority have participated in Sing in the past by joining Sing Alliance, the sole non-Pan Hellenic organization open to all students.
However, even with expressed interest within her sorority, numerous “intimidating” factors have hindered participation as an independent organization.
“The groups in Sing are so ginormous; our sorority is really small compared to the other ones,” Chhlang said. “I feel like we also don’t have as many [members] to participate in Sing, especially budget-wise or choreography-wise. We don’t really have the resources available to do that.”
Chhlang said size is a significant drawback, which she described as not feeling “welcomed to participate.” This led them to focus on smaller performance-based events on campus instead.
“I feel like if we were to participate, it would be noticeably obvious that we are the minority,” Chhlang said. “The only way we would be able to participate is if we collaborated with other multicultural organizations, for instance, sororities, to make up those numbers that you would usually see in Sing.”
Dallas junior Cornelius Bisong, president of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, agreed that there is interest in joining Sing across different multicultural sororities and fraternities, yet the path to being included in the all-university event remains narrow.
“I heard a couple other members within my council who have brought it up a couple times, talking about what could be a part of something like that, just because of how big of an audience it is and how big it is out there,” Bisong said. “We don’t really know what process we could go to even to be included in the event.”
Bisong said joining Sing Alliance is not a “justified remedy to the issue.” He proposed either changing the name of “All-University Sing” or gauging interest from multicultural fraternities and sororities by directly engaging with them.
“First, [see] if there’s any interest towards participating in Sing, and then once they get that, just being able to open it up to us so that we can learn more information about what it takes to participate, the practice schedules and things like that,” Bisong said. “Until they add the other organizations, maybe redefine the phrase to say something like ‘Baylor University Panhellenic Sing.'”
Chhlang mentioned that “the outlets are there” to participate in multicultural events such as Stroll Off and AsianFest, but urged Baylor to boost promotion of cultural diversity.
“Baylor doesn’t make it known as much compared to when advertising for Sing,” Chhlang said. “That’s not to say that there’s a divide between Pan-Hellenic organizations and multicultural organizations, but people who see themselves in groups are obviously more open to wanting to join in and find their people. I think that Baylor could do more of a good job in promoting the diversity that is here instead of making it seem like there isn’t any diversity here.”
Jordy Dickey, director of student activities, said the department remains committed to “ongoing, intentional dialogue” with student leaders about how campus traditions can be more accessible, transparent and welcoming.
“We recognize that for some student organizations, particularly those with smaller memberships or more limited resources, participation in Sing can feel intimidating,” Dickey said. “Those experiences are important to acknowledge, and they invite continued reflection on how well Sing delivers on its intended role as an all-university tradition.”
