Egg Hunts and Seder Dinners

With the spring holidays falling in the middle of spring semester, many undergrads won’t be making it home this year for Passover or Easter.

So colleges are trying to pick up where mom, dad, and the Easter Bunny left off.

At Indiana State University, students arriving on campus last week found a thousand blue eggs scattered throughout campus. As part of Project Beautiful, the event was organized by the division of student affairs, which arranged to fill the eggs with prizes donated by local businesses including gift certificates, prizes, and coupons. All the eggs contained inspirational messages and quotes. The hunt will continue through Monday, April 9.

In a more unusual celebration the holidays, Santa Fe College is offering the 2012 Lunar Festival: “Easter Egg Moon.” Students and the community are invited to enjoy planetarium shows, telescope viewing, crafts, and more, on Saturday, April 7 at Santa Fe’s Kika Silva Pla Planetarium.

"This is an event to celebrate the moon which leads to Easter, but we're also going to celebrate some other things such as the 40^th anniversary of Apollo 16 and 17," said SF Astronomy Professor Sally Hoffman.

Locally, the Hillel at George Washington University will join with the GW Williams House and JSA to celebrate Passover with a “Freedom Seder.” Scheduled for the evening of Saturday, April 7, the event will explore traditions within the African American and Jewish communities.

Also on Saturday, April 7, members of the Theta Nu Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta at James Madison University are organizing an Easter egg hunt at the Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, for area families and children. The following week on April 15, Campus Cookies and the Office of Residence Life will hide over 250 pieces of candy and prizes along the trails of the Arboretum—this time JMU students are invited to participate!

And at the University of Maryland, the Jewish Student Union will partner with Maryland’s Hillel for a Kosher for Passover BBQ on Chapel Field, on Wednesday April 11. In addition to great eats, the party will include a variety of activities and lawn games.

Maryland students will also celebrate Passover with a Freedom Seder on Tuesday, April 10, and a Chocolate Seder on Wednesday, April 11, including invited friends from the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes.

However you spend the holiday, enjoy!