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Thursday, 04.14.22
Ramadan event teaches students about Arabic culture
FRANCESCA BOSTON
reporter
Egyptian culture, history and traditional Arabic calligraphy were on display last week at the Arabic Club’s Calligraphy Ramadan Night.
Ramadan is an Islamic holy month, which can happen at any time of the year, and involves fasting from dawn to dusk and emphasizes prayer and community.
Yousra Elbaz, a graduate student in a cultural exchange program from Mansoura, Egypt, was in charge of the event. She said while Ramadan is deeply religious and important for Islam, in Egypt Ramadan is both a religious and secular celebration in which most people participate. She said it is a celebration of family and a time to do good for others.
“It’s a very good time to reconnect with your family and your friends. This is the time of peace, literally spiritually, psychologically, religiously, socially at every level. Let’s say it’s our Christmas,” Elbaz said.
Elbaz said in her presentation that during Ramadan, decorations are placed throughout homes and cities. In Egypt, lanterns line the streets and are often given as gifts as well. Elbaz said that many of the desserts and dishes eaten during Ramadan are special, and for Iftar only. Iftar is the breaking of the fast, which is done after the sunsets.
Elbaz taught a group of students how to write “Ramadan Kareem” in Arabic, which roughly translates to “blessed Ramadan” or “happy Ramadan.” She said that Arabic calligraphy is an art form, and it can take years to master it.
“The Arabic calligraphy used to be used in decoration, and so many palaces and so many mosques in very old times, now it is used in hotels and such,” Elbaz said.
Many of the students shared that they celebrate Ramadan today, but they are from different countries, so their celebrations looked different than the Egyptian celebrations.
Junior Aisha Dinceroglu, an integrative studies major from Belleville, Illinois, said she grew up celebrating Ramadan as she is half Turkish and half Albanian.
“I want to learn what other cultures do for Ramadan,” Dinceroglu said.
The observance of Ramadan will end with the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which takes place on May 2 this year. The Muslim Student Associate will be hosting a Fast-athon event on April 22, where students are invited to break fast with an Iftar dinner and learn about Ramadan with cultural experience booths. For more information, visit Get Involved.
Ramadan is a time of community when many people participate in community service, including providing food for those who cannot afford it and spending time with friends and family.
| Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle
Aisha Dinceroglu works on the Arabic alphabet, practicing the letters before writing “Ramadan Kareem” in colorful markers to mimic its bright decorations.
| Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle
A group of students show off their works, several of which are decorated with traditional art, as well as their own names spelled out in Arabic. | Clair Sollenberger / The Alestle
LIV KRAUS
reporter
SIUE aims to bring students together through band performances, food and glow parties.
SIUE’s Day of Giving will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 21 out on the Stratton Quad near Lovejoy Library.
Julie Babington, senior director of annual giving, said the whole purpose of SIUE’s Day of Giving is to bring everyone together. She said that the idea for this day was inspired by Giving Tuesday.
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the national giving initiative called Giving Tuesday. It’s usually in the Fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have always participated in that since 2015, but we’ve really just been working to have our own day that’s specific to SIUE,” Babington said.
Babington said that each academic unit has their own fundraising goal. She said they are hoping for gifts of up to $10,000 from all constituencies. The overall goal is to raise a total of $350,000.
Aside from raising money, Babington said that some departments are bringing different activities and displays to the Day of Giving event.
“Our School of Engineering really rose to the top this year. They’re gonna have the solar car on the quad. We have a STEM table that will have some light up interactive activities,” Babington said.
Kyle Moore, senior director of development, said his job is to promote the event within the College of Arts and Sciences to faculty, staff and students. He said that he also reaches out to the community members and alumni to get support for the Day of Giving.
Moore said that they’ve been wanting to host a Day of Giving at SIUE for years, but due to the pandemic they were unable to host an in-person event.
“We used to do a community breakfast, where we’d bring the community to campus. It was a wonderful event and then COVID happened. This is a chance to rethink and sometimes it’s good to try new things and that’s what we’re doing, trying to bring everyone together with the opportunity to meet an exciting new chancellor and kinda bring the whole community together,” Moore said.
SIUE’s new chancellor James T. Minor will be attending and speaking at the event. Babington said that this would be a great opportunity to meet the chancellor and offer him a warm welcome.
The night will start off with a performance from the Midnight Piano Band. Dining services will be providing cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, while The Cup will donate some cupcakes for the event.
When the sun goes down at around 7:45 p.m, the buildings will be lit with red lighting and the student glow party will begin.
“We have glow necklaces, glow bracelets, glow straws. At sunset, we’ll be lighting the entire campus with a red glow,” Babington said.
The festivities do not end there. According to Babington, there are more activities planned to take place after the event.
“The Kimmel leadership center is involved with the student work. They have some activities focused on this event,” Babington said. “So as soon as that reception portion is over, the student body has a DJ and all these wonderful activities,”
Moore said that with this being a firsttime event, it makes everything new and exciting. He said that it’s a chance to reflect on our successes and build towards the future.
“We’re all pretty excited. We’ve been working on it, on the unit level, probably the last three months really digging in and putting our back behind it trying to get money raised and people to come to campus to support the event,” Moore said.
Babington said that this event is not only for students, but for all members of the community. SIUE’s Day of Giving event will be family friendly.
“There’ll be a number of people across campus. It’s faculty and staff, students of course and our community people,” Babington said.
Babington said that they have put a lot of heart into this event and hope to see a great turnout.
“We’re looking for people to register. We wanna be able to plan and make sure we have adequate food and drinks available. It is free to attend,” Babington said.
Anyone is able to register and see the money that’s already been raised on their website.
