By Camille Kelly | Reporter
Across campus, students often find connection through shared hometowns, majors and experiences. However, the most exceptional way for people named Luke to form a community is through the ever-growing “Lukes at Baylor” GroupMe.
According to Denver, Colo., junior Luke Landskov, a member of the group, it has a reputation for being “chill and laid-back, because we’re all named Luke.”
Landskov was added to the group chat during his first year at Baylor by a fellow Luke, although he is not sure how long the group chat had been around before then.
According to Landskov, there is no clear “top dog” among the approximately 85 Lukes in the GroupMe; however, they’ve never all been in one place at the same time. The Lukes often recognize each other and hang out in pockets around campus.
“It’s not like the entire group chat planning, it just happens sometimes,” Landskov said. “A few of us were tour guides at one point, so we would go on shift together, and that would be kind of funny. Outside of that, you might run into a few if you’re going to a sorority function or something. That’s probably where I’ve seen the most at one time.”
Temple junior Luke Thompson said he was informed about the group chat on his very first day on campus, freshman year.
“The second I moved in during Move2BU, I was told about and added to the Lukes of Baylor GroupMe,” Thompson said. “If they found out that you joined and your first name isn’t really Luke and Luke is just a nickname, they will kick you out. We refer to ourselves as ‘the Lukes,’ and we don’t do a whole bunch, but occasionally a few of us will get together and maybe go fishing or hang out.”
The majority of the connections between the Lukes on campus stay within the group chat itself.
“It’s not as active as you might think it is, but sometimes people just randomly chime in,” Landskov said. “There’s a Happy New Year text chain … I actually made one, I think, right before Valentine’s Day … We usually do text just purely jokes of our names, but it is pretty funny.”
While the group is strictly comprised of Lukes, Landskov said that a “Luca” or “Lucas” could join — as long as they go by Luke, they are typically let in.
According to Landskov, the Luke’s group chat has become a lighthearted way to spread laughter and find a little community.
“I think college is already stressful as it is, especially your freshman year living away from home, and everyone’s trying to meet new friends,” Landskov said. “But then it’s kind of funny we didn’t have to put too much pressure on finding a group of people because, although it’s not like we’ve ever all 85 of us hung out at once.”
Landskov said that the Lukes will likely remain a “chill” group chat, rather than ever becoming an official club, although in the past, there has been talk of making T-shirts.
However, if a names on campus Olympics were to ever happen, Landskov is sure the Lukes could take the championship.
“I think that would be really hilarious to see something happen right in the center of Fountain Mall,” Landskov said. “Lukes and Ryans — that would be awesome. I’d be very confident in our ability to be crowned the best name at Baylor.”
