Leading up to the reveal, education senior and Alpha Xi Delta sorority member Alex Sekulovski left clothing, handmade crafts and other goodies for her soon-to-be little sister.
But the experience was especially important to Sekulovski because she did not have a big sister in the sorority of her own. This year is the first time the MSU chapter of Alpha Xi Delta sorority has had a big-little reveal — and bigs and littles to reveal.
Following their fall 2013 recruitment period after recolonizing at MSU, Alpha Xi Delta did not partake in big and little activities because all the members were new.
Instead, the sisters were given twins. Similar to the idea of bigs and littles, the women had someone in the sorority to count on, study with and do other fun activities with.
Alpha Xi Delta president and theatre senior Whitney Bunn said having a twin is exciting but being given a little sister is a special occasion.
“Colonizing members are excited because they get to be a role model and someone that is there for a new member,” Bunn said.
Sekulovski and her little, psychology sophomore Shelby Fritts, like to go on lunch dates to Qdoba Mexican Grill, craft and just hang out together.
Fritts said she is an only child, so having someone to be there for her as a sister is special.
“It’s nice having that one person you can always count on,” Fritts said.
She said at bid day she found her home, but at the big sister–little sister reveal, she found her family.
Big-little pairings are kept a secret until the day of the reveal. Bunn said oftentimes, big sisters will leave clues by creating Twitter or Facebook pages for their little sisters — but giving the secret away early ruins the element of surprise.
For the first reveal, Bunn said the sisters traveled to a cider mill to have a social day with team building exercises.
The sorority celebrated the occasion by giving the “littles” a balloon with a slip of paper on the inside.
On the slip of paper was the name of the big sister — the secret that had been kept was finally out.
“The reveal is a cool day because your big is someone you’ve already formed a bond with, so it’s exciting to see and watch (the littles) grow,” Bunn said.
Sekulovski said having a little sister brings the sorority as a whole closer together.
“It integrates (the new members) as part of the chapter and I think it’s important to bring the two classes together,” Sekulovski said.
