A new student organization is on the rise seeking to welcome incoming students to Loyola. This group of individuals call themselves “Evergreys” and they feel underrepresented and that their “fun-loving, icebreaker-hating, and bar-hopping voice” is unheard. In an effort to welcome first-year students in a more progressive way, this group will officially occupy two weekends in the summer for orientation and then a two-day orientation in the fall. During these orientations, first-year students will be addressed as “froshies” and will attend a few small group sessions led by Evergrey staff members.

“We’ll have none of those ice-breakers, and question balls will be no where in sight. There’ll be one or two meetings in the late afternoon for the froshies to chill at. We’ll mostly just talk about how to throw the best pregame ever or have an awesome night out and still make it to that 11 a.m. class. You know, how to have fun at Loyola” says senior Evergrey Thaddeus Kensington Chapin III. Sources have also said that these orientations will have discussions on how to choose your roommate based on Buzzfeed quiz results and how to choose the most appropriate Instagram filter for a “selfie.”

During fall orientation, first-year students will be introduced to more alcohol-related activities, including a bar-crawl and a tour of local liquor stores. Evergrey Fun-time planner Joyce Carol Sloates explains this in more detail: “We want to show the first-years what Baltimore has to offer for them. We’ll go to places like Murphy’s and Maxie’s, maybe even head downtown to Mad River. We just want to introduce them to more important aspects of the Loyola experience, rather than sit around and talk about boring things like ‘how to choose a major.’”

The administration has shown some support on this new initiative.  There are some officials who think giving students two orientation experiences will be beneficial. Associate Director of New Student Enrichment and Weekend Activities Sloane Bueller echoed this saying, “Here at Loyola we want to be as inclusive as possible. We don’t want to make any new student feel unwelcome based on what they choose to do with their social life. Although this new student organization may seem not so kosher it still will serve a greater purpose for all first-year students.”

Evergrey staff selection is already underway. The Evergreys are currently accepting applications for the upcoming year. According the senior staff, the application is just an examination of the applicant’s Facebook photos.