Today: Mar 29, 2024

Sigma Gamma Rho inspires painting with trap music

Hunter O. LyleSports Editor

Rushing more chairs into the room, while welcoming newcomers in, the members of Sigma Gamma Rho were unaware of the number of students that would come to their annual social mixer, Trap and Paint.

In lieu of an official rushing event, where sororities try to advertise their group and draw in and recruit students, social work major Karina Vasquez, a senior and SGR vice president, said her sorority, which according to their OwlConnect page is dedicated to enhancing, “the quality of life for women and their families in the [United States] and globally through community service, civil, and social action,” throws a mixer instead of what some would consider the usual.

“[The Trap and Paint event] is just a social. We usually have them at the beginning of the semester to kind of gauge the girls that are interested because we don’t have a normal rush event as other sororities do,” said Vasquez. “It’s just a thing to get the girls familiar with us, and also for us to get familiar with them in a fun type of way.”

Vasquez, who said she has been involved with the sorority for all four of her years at Southern, said this year the older members were letting the younger ones run the show.

“We had this event last year when it was just me [and the president], so the girls who came in last semester kind of took it and made it their own little rendition,” said Vasquez. “We let them do their thing to gain experience in the chapter so when we leave they can still do their own thing.”

With today’s top trap music artists in the background, students were able to paint multiple small canvases while talking amongst themselves and current sorority members. Each student was given a small sized canvas, a pallet filled with acrylic paint, a cup of water to refresh their brushes and an array of colors to choose from.

The event started in 2017 under the name Sip and Paint according to current SGR President Kristen Gayle, but the sorority changed the name this year to try to
attract more students.

“Someone came up with the idea of maybe instead of having little mock-tails,” said Gayle, “have it with music.”

Public Relations Chair of SGR Shakaya Walcott, a senior, said the sorority advertised the event on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat and that these kinds of events give students the opportunity to learn more about what goes on around campus.

“I feel like it gives them an opportunity to get out of their rooms and just explore something else on campus,” said Walcott. “It also opens their eyes a little bit when they get to know some of our sisters.”

Social work major Lamonie Baldwin, a sophomore, said events like Trap and Paint help students connect to the people they go to school with.

“I feel like [the Trap and Paint event] benefits us a lot, especially my first year here, because I would come to events like these, and that’s how I made friends,” said Baldwin. “I feel like this type of event is a good way to meet new people, to become closer with people and to just be involved.”

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