Pastel decorations took over Matador Square on April 17 as the Equal Opportunities Program (EOP) hosted its annual Easter egg hunt. Over 50 students in attendance were givenprovided with snacks, egg-themed crafts and photo opportunities.

EOP was established during from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and was officially enacted in 1969, when CSUN was still known as Valley State College. EOP is known for providing support services for first-generation freshmen and transfer students from historically disadvantaged or low-income communities, to help facilitate a successful transition to university life across all CSUs.

Senior Director Shiva Parsa started the tradition four years ago to bring the EOP community together. It has since grown to become one of their most popular annual events of the year.

“If you recall back to a childhood memory, you think about how much fun you had doing these little games, right?” said EOP Multimedia Specialist Leslie De Leon Tzic. “We modified the event, and now it’s grown and it’s such a fun event, because you get to be a kid again, and that’s what we wanted our students to have – a chance to forget about things, about class, and just enjoy themselves.”

As students enjoyed the festivities, they were surprised with a visit from the Easter Bunny, played by Undergraduate Advisor Minely Moradian, at a photo booth set up in the corner for print-out photos to take home.

Moradian was one of the main organizers who helped set up the event for EOP students.

“We’ve been planning for about three to four hours for our students to come on by and enjoy the snacks and the arts and crafts,” Moradian said. “We have the prizes with the egg hunt, so we were very excited to see what our students were gonna win.”

The egg hunt was divided into two rounds. Students were given small paper bags and had several minutes in each round to pick up five eggs filled with tickets on the outside of Valera Hall. The tickets were then exchangeable for prizes, including campus merchandise, candy, pens, water bottles and foam fingers.

“I think what stands out about EOP here at CSUN is that we have a great community,” said Tzic. “We have a great supportive administration on campus, we have support, which is great and it makes us stronger.”

Aside from creating a safe community on campus, EOP helps students in the program with financial aid grants, advising, academic support services and student engagement. Through EOP, students also have opportunities for summer transitional programs and access to mentors.

“We want to make sure that our students come to campus with a package so that they can succeed and get the opportunity to share their potential,” said Tzic.

For more information on EOP and how to apply, visit their website here.