When Kat Raymond started hanging out with her friends on the steps of The Union seven years ago, she didn’t know she was starting a tradition still going strong today.
Raymond and her friends have become a fixture at Mississippi State University, always visible playing Hacky Sack, smoking or just talking on the steps of The Colvard Student Union.
Raymond, who still hangs out on the steps every day, said hundreds of regulars have come and gone to the steps and there are about 50 who hang out there now.
The group is not exclusive, Raymond said. She does, however, recommend an “open-mindedness” for those interested in hanging out on the steps.
“(You need) an open-mindedness, I guess, but as far as being clean cut or a hippie-it doesn’t matter,” Raymond said.
David Mandville, a longtime frequenter of the steps, said anyone is welcome to become part of the group.
“We are not an official affiliation,” Mandville said. “We are just us and we accept anyone who is friendly to us.”
Jamisen Burkeen, who also claims the Union steps as his stomping grounds, said he was drawn to the area about a year ago by some of his friends.
“(There is) a lot of talking, swapping stories, stuff like that,” Burkeen said.
Raymond said her group of friends hangs out on the steps year-round, even enduring the cold for fellowship.