The Middle Eastern Student Alliance has had a productive year so far! Being a relatively new board founded only a couple years ago, we have already been able to establish a tradition of our own and act as a safe place for Middle Eastern students. With three new members joining this year, it has been rewarding to get to know one another and discuss aspects of our lives and culture during meetings.
For Community in Action day, MESA’s presentation was on how the events of the September 11th attacks impacted Middle Eastern people in America. We touched on the misconception that Muslim and Middle Eastern people are essentially synonymous terms, noting that one of the main reason all Middle Eastern people faced an influx of bigotry-fueled offenses following 9/11 were due to this ignorant assumption. During the four workshops led by Abby Shrikanthan and Maya and Zenna Eberlin, students discussed issues such as the war on terror, racist charicatures of middle eastern people in popular media, and airline discrimination.
In the coming months, we will be hosting a forum, although the topic remains undecided for now. You can also look forward to our third annual iftar, which will be held in April, during Ramadan. Ramadan, in Islam, is the holy month of fasting, prayer, and community, held on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. During Ramadan, Muslims worldwide fast from sunup to sundown. Meals eaten before dawn each day are known as suhoor, while the breaking-fast meal eaten after sundown is known as iftar. This tradition was started by alum Asiyah Ball (‘20), and while she was unable to execute her iftar during the 2019-2020 school year because of the pandemic, MESA has been able to resume it since 2021!
We would love to see new faces at our meetings, so whether you’re Middle Eastern yourself or just looking to learn more about other cultures, come meet with us in Room 206 during Day 6 flex time!
