Baylor Breaks for 'Old School' Dia
by Katie Brooks, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
With vintage-colored t-shirts and more student organizations involvement, this year's Diadeloso celebration will go "old school." Baylor University students, faculty and staff will take a break from the spring semester to celebrate "Old School Dia," the 74th annual Diadeloso, on Thursday, April 17, at the Baylor Sciences Building fields.
Diadeloso is one of Baylor's most beloved traditions that began in the spring of 1934 so that students could have a break from classes and enjoy a "play day" with their classmates. The name of the event has changed through the years from "All University Day" to "Physical Fitness Day" to "May Day." In 1966, the student body voted to officially name the event "Diadeloso" or "The Day of the Bear."
"It's the one Baylor tradition that is geared to students to celebrate being a Baylor Bear. The idea is to provide a day of fun for students. With that, comes a lot more room for innovation," said Andy Adams, chair of Diadeloso and member of the Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event.
Sponsored by Baylor's Departments of Student Activities, New Student Programs, Academy for Leader Development and Civic Engagement and Campus Living and Learning, as well as McAlister's Deli and other Waco business, Diadeloso has more community involvement this year, Adams said.
"It's the first time in 25 years that student organizations can host and participate in the event," Adams said. "The Waco community is more involved in Dia this year. We have more campus partnerships too," he said.
"The publicity is all 'old school' with our t-shirt design and a huge banner on the Baylor Sciences Building. We're also featuring some old school activities like obstacle courses and four-square games," said Adams, Houston senior and business major.
Students may participate in a number of tournament games throughout the day, including tug of war, sand volleyball, indoor soccer, co-ed Ultimate Frisbee, dodgeball, racquetball, tennis, a 5K Fun Run and the Diadeloso Strongest Man Competition.
In addition, "Old School Dia" will include a variety of live performances. Sleeperstar and Chris Rice will provide the headline concert at noon. Baylor's Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFROTC) will start the day with a flag ceremony at 9:30 a.m., followed by performances of Baylor Spirit Squads at 10 a.m., the Latin Dance Society at 10:15 a.m. and the Swing Dance Society at 10:40 a.m.
Hypnotist Rich Aimes will return to the Diadeloso lineup with his interactive hypnotism show. Performances will be at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. A step show will take the stage at 2:15 p.m. At 4:15 p.m., the cover band The Kornegays will perform.
Two large inflatable games will also provide fun for students. "One inflatable will be a roller coaster obstacle course called the 'Texas Twister'," Adams said.
The Dia Dog Show, one of the newest Diadeloso traditions, also will take place. During the dog show, students will be able to show off their pooches as they compete for the titles of Best Dressed, Best Trick and Peoples' Choice.
While all residence hall dining facilities will be closed, a picnic lunch will be served from noon until 2 p.m. at the Baylor Sciences Building fields. The meal will consist of hot dogs, chopped beef sandwiches, rope sausage, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, Dr Pepper products and Blue Bell ice cream for dessert. Card readers will be available for those students with meal plans or lunch may be purchased for $7. Additionally, free hot dogs will be served on the BSB fields starting at 1:45 p.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Diadeloso t-shirts are $10 and available in stone blue, charcoal grey and cardinal red. Shirts may be purchased in all cafeterias on campus and the Chamber of Commerce office from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, from Monday, April 7, to Wednesday, April 16, as well as at the event.
For more information about this year's Diadeloso festivities, contact the Baylor Chamber of Commerce at (254) 710-3322 or visit https://www.baylor.edu/diadeloso.