Comparative cultures and politics senior Ania Bieciuk, left, and psychology sophomore Anna Stala prepare eggs to be decorated with members of the MSU Polish Club Tuesday evening at Wells Hall.
In an effort to strengthen ties between members’ shared nationality and connect to other students curious about the culture, the MSU Polish Club hoped an egg-ornamenting event Tuesday was another step toward the club’s revival.
With about 50 to 60 active members in the “Polski Klub” at MSU and close to 100 involved on Facebook. The group aims to strengthen Polish ties with friends in a setting where speaking Polish is the norm, comparative culture and politics senior Ania Bieciuk said.
“There wasn’t really a language group offered until last year,” Bieciuk said. “This year motivated me to start, (as) there were so many people talking about starting the group and saying ‘It’d be nice if we had a place to come and speak Polish.’”
The club sponsored the egg-decorating event Tuesday in celebration of this weekend’s Easter holiday. Pisanki, derived from the Polish word “pisac” meaning “to write,” is the term used to describe the technique of decorating an egg with any pattern or image desired. During the holiday, the eggs are shared among friends and family.
The process of decorating the egg is relatively simple — a needle first is poked though the top and bottom of the egg so that the insides can be blown out and painted. Psychology sophomore Anna Stala said traditional activities like these connect with one’s roots.
“A lot of first-generation parents want the Polish culture in their child,” Stala said. “(Next year), I want to create more postings and get more events planned to get more people involved.”
Bieciuk said the Polish group was offered to students about 10 years ago alongside a Polish language course. Although the language course will not be offered next year, she hopes people’s interest in the club will remain.
With a plethora of backgrounds and ethnicities attending MSU, nursing senior and first-generation Polish American Anna Zgorecki said she always has been interested in the history and background of the Polish people. She said although the group is comprised of primarily Polish students, anyone can learn about the culture by spending time participating in activities.
“A lot of (students) can socialize with (each other),” Zgorecki said. “Anyone on campus can learn about the range of crafts to (learning) Polish dancing and things like that.”
Bieciuk created ornamented eggs in preschool and said her previous experience allowed her to appreciate Polish traditions.
“Being Polish is who I am,” Bieciuk said. “I can identify with it so much.”
Staff writer Alanna Thiede contributed to this report.
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