Members from Greek organizations in the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), the National Panhellenic Council (NPC) and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) joined to throw their first welcome back pool party.

The pool party included food, drinks and a DJ. Approximately 89 students attended the pool party.

Psychology major Durrand Smith said he was excited by the number of people who attended the event and are involved in Greek life.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect it to be a big as it was,” Smith said. “There were a lot of people and good food, and I enjoyed watching organizations from NPHC stroll. It was what Francis Marion needs, and that’s unity among the students, along with more things to do on campus that students will actually attend.”

Smith said the most positive aspect of the event was the community atmosphere.

“Throughout the entire thing, I noticed no one was sitting alone,” Smith said. “I really enjoyed seeing that. One of my biggest worries when I first started college was that I couldn’t find anyone to associate with. It’s nice to see students welcome each other with open arms.”

Senior Eric Squirewell was one of many who helped promote the pool party. Squirewell said that the pool party lived up to his hopes for it.

“I was really pleased,” Squirewell said. “We spent time planning and prepping for the party to see it come to fruition with such a great turn out.”

According to Squirewell, each of the groups involved put in large amounts of communication and planning for the event. Members of each organization spent time during summer break organizing the pool party.

“At the end of last semester, we were thinking of ideas of what events we wanted to do next semester,” Squirewell said. “Over the summer, we received word that we could host a welcome week pool, so we began planning almost immediately. A good portion of the summer was dedicated to planning. For the most part, everything was fine, but it would’ve been nice to see more mingling.”

Members of the participating organizations said that although they have not currently planned another joint event, they would enjoy collaborating again in the future.