The club marched with a MU Hellenic Student Association banner, representing the school in the parade.
IOANNIS ROUNTOS / COURTESY
Barbara Vasquez, Production & Web Editor
On March 30, the Manhattan University Hellenic Student Association marched next to thousands of people in the 86th Greek Independence Day Parade to commemorate the 204th anniversary of Greece’s independence.
This parade is not a small event, pulling people from all around the tri-state area to celebrate.
According to the official NYC Greek Parade website,“More than 120 groups, with 52 floats and 15 bands will march up Fifth Avenue from 64th to 79th streets, including federations, societies, associations, professional groups, trade clubs, women’s organizations, businesses, schools, student associations, churches and religious communities from the New York metropolitan area, upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Montreal, Canada. According to the New York Police Department, the 2025 parade is expected to be one of the largest in recent years.”
For MU’s student association, which was founded newly this semester, this event served as an opportunity to further establish themselves as a group. President and co-founder of the club, Ioannis Rountos, a freshman civil engineering major, spoke positively about meeting people from other schools and organizations.
“Marching with fellow Hellenic clubs from other schools was an amazing experience, and being part of such an important part of our culture was surreal,” Rountos wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “At the parade, I had the opportunity to speak with the presidents of the Iona and Fordham University Hellenic societies. We established a mutual goal of working together to plan great events, and I think that we will all benefit from the collaboration.”
The club’s primary reason for attending the parade was not to grow their group on campus, but rather for celebration, pride and community.
“Growing up in a Greek household, our heritage means an emphasis on the ones you love most and a strong sense of community,” Rountos wrote to The Quadrangle. “I want to share our culture with all who want to experience it.”
Treasurer and other co-founder of the Hellenic Student Association Aristides Milonas, a freshman civil engineering major, reveled in the joy surrounding the parade.
“This was my second time attending the parade, but first time marching,” Milonas wrote to The Quadrangle. “It was a surreal experience as I was able to march down fifth avenue in the middle of thousands of other Greeks, while being broadcasted on not only the news, but also on Greek television. Marching in the parade gave me a sense of pride and joy to be a Greek and to have so many people around me celebrating our culture.”
The group marched alongside St. Peter the Apostle Greek Orthodox Church, though members carried a MU Hellenic Student Association banner with them to specifically represent their group and the university as well. The club was cheered on by university alumni as they marched, according to Rountos. Carrying this banner came with feelings of fulfillment for the members, Milonas specifically.
IOANNIS ROUNTOS / COURTESY
“A memorable moment was when I was carrying the Manhattan University Hellenic Club banner while marching, as I took a lot of pride in being the co-founder with my two other good friends Ioannis [Rountos] and Chryssanthe [Kontogianis] of the first Hellenic club at Manhattan University while achieving all of this as freshman,” Milonas wrote to The Quadrangle. “This was a big event for our club as it brought out members together to celebrate our heritage and take pride in not only our culture, but what we have achieved with the club in such a short amount of time.”
Attending this parade seems to be a landmark for the club, who plan on making it into a yearly tradition.
“I was extremely proud to be marching as our own club and I was so happy to see our members come and show their support,” Rountos wrote. “We worked together as a club to coordinate the day, and we are working from now to plan even bigger events for the parade weekend in 2026.”
The Hellenic Student Association will continue holding events throughout the semester and year, next participating in the Lasallian Day of Service on April 10.