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In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the week leading up to Easter is the holiest time of the year, unsurprisingly bearing the name “Holy Week.” For the Christians on campus, Holy Week reminds the faithful of what separates them from the world, especially against a traditionally secular backdrop like Stanford.
This year, however, in an exciting turn of events, Stanford has decided to engage in the spiritual and religious nature of the week. The change is not just from the administration, but from official and independent student groups alike.
The festivities start on Monday and Tuesday with the start of Rush Week, with frats and sororities hosting their first open event. Whether your preference is Mayfield Madness, Chick-fil-A at KA, or Sigma Balls, this is a chance for every Stanford student to start Holy Week on the right foot. After all, nothing quite says quiet reflection with God like house music and stumbling home on a random weekday. Giving up your mental faculties is a sign of your dependence on an all-loving higher power.
While the frats will be enjoying a quiet night in on Wednesday, the middle of campus will be abuzz with one of Stanford’s greatest traditions: Full Moon on the Quad. Students gather on Main Quad under the full moon to recreationally kiss as many random students as they can. It’s a fitting way to start the Triduum, the 3 holiest days of the year. If the Passion and Easter are God’s ultimate sign of His love for us, what better way to mirror the love and commitment of God than to love as many of our classmates as possible?
On Holy Thursday, the frats have appropriately aligned their events in remembrance of The Last Supper. After mass at MemChu, you can continue the events of the evening with Phi Tavern Psi or Sigma Meats. As Catholic patriarchs have taught repeatedly for centuries, the important part of Jesus’ consecration of bread and wine is not simply the reunification of heaven and earth. It’s really more the bread and wine part — specifically the wine.
But Stanford has really outdone itself with its packed slate on Good Friday. Good Friday is the day when Jesus carried His cross up to Golgotha, was crucified, and died for the sins of the world. It is a day that calls for the faithful to fast and repent. To aid Christians in this time of contrition and mortification, students will not receive any time off from classes.
Furthermore, since Muslim students were permitted to use White Plaza for public, quite audible prayer, ASSU will be participating in Good Friday practices with Disco Skate Night, held in White Plaza! Since Stations of the Cross is quite a heavy affair, disco night provides a perfect alternative for those a bit lighter in the loafers.
Finally, one of the secular traditions that has followed Easter is the traditional Easter egg hunt. Certain Stanford dorms, recognizing the oxymoronic nature of laboriously hunting for eggs on the day of rest, have opted to conduct this event on Good Friday. This way, students can struggle to find colored eggs as Jesus falls under the weight of His cross—a fitting parallel.
After Jesus is laid in the tomb, the frats return in full effect. To keep in the somber spirit of Holy Saturday, however, the events are more muted. Just as the scattered disciples hid from the world, the frats will hold invite-only events, hiding themselves from the unholy rest of campus to prepare for their reentrance into the world.
Which is why KSig’s Open House on Easter Sunday is such a fitting start to the jubilant Easter season. Just as the temple veil was ripped and the temple rebuilt, so too KSig returns on Sunday, reopening its doors to the public.
In an age where the conditions of secularism have created a pervasive malaise of dejection and apathy, especially among college students and Gen Z, it is encouraging to see the Stanford student body come together in perhaps the most unified way since Treehacks, or the first quarter of this year’s Big Game.
There are many who worry that the future of tech and our society lies in the hands of godless, utilitarian pagans. The Stanford student body unanimously rejects this concern. After all, as God so clearly said, “because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” We can only hope we are spat into a summer at San Francisco’s next high-growth startup.
