syria Vigil held at U. for chemical attack victims
sends a positive message to the Rutgers community
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Candlelight vigil honors victims of Syrian attacks Chloe Dopico associate news editor
With tears in her eyes, Hiba Raza explained that on Wednesday morning, she woke up to watch violent videos of 5-year-old children convulsing in Syria after the chemical attack Tuesday night. Reminded of her own 5-year-old sister, she knew something needed to be done. The School of Arts and Sciences junior organized a candlelight vigil for the victims of the attacks, which was held Monday night. More than 50 students and staff gathered on the steps of Brower Commons to honor the victims of the April 4 attacks that left 90 people dead, according to Bloomberg.com. “The trend that I’ve personally seen is that unless you’re European or American, your death doesn’t matter,” Raza said. She said there is a lot of suffering going on in the Middle East that the general public is unaware of, and said it is the job of the community
to bring attention to such events, especially since so many children died in the recent attacks. “And these children, especially, children because you cannot get purer or more innocent than a child. Think back to when you were a child, what were the things that you cared about most, what were the things that mattered to you? Think about a time where you still believed in good. Think back to a time when you still believed your parents were superheroes, and your family is the most important thing in the world to you. And then to have that all taken away from you, to have that snatched from you,” Raza said. The one-hour vigil consisted of eight student speakers, all of whom were Syrian, Raza said. She asked all speakers to keep any politics out of their speeches. Some students read commentaries while others performed poems. After all of the students spoke, the Muslim Chaplain Kaiser Aslam offered a few words and then a closing prayer.
More than 50 members of the Rutgers community attended a vigil on Monday night to honor the victims of the April 4 chemical attacks in Syria. JEFFREY GOMEZ / PHOTO EDITOR Raza said she wanted the space to provide anybody affected by the attacks to speak up and take the lead. “Right now, no one cares. As a Muslim woman, I know what it’s like to be spoken for, to have someone say ‘this is what you
should do, this is what should happen to you,’ and that’s the exact opposite of what I’m tr ying to do. I’m tr ying to make sure that these people come and see that I’m not going to speak for them, I’m going to make sure they’re heard. That’s what’s most important — I want
them to take the lead in their own marches, in their own protests, in their own movements, and they want to take the lead, but how can they take the lead when other people are already deciding what’s best for them?” Raza said. She said the reason she held the vigil is to allow people who are personally affected to take that lead. School of Arts and Sciences firstyear Leen Kharboutli said she came out because she is a person who is very concerned with ethical issues, but also because she is a Syrian who has family who is affected by attacks similar to the one last Tuesday. She spoke of her personal connections to Syria and the attacks going on, starting with a memory she had years ago in which she felt Syria was actually safe and compared it to the reality of the country now. “While the chemical attacks grabbed the news attention, every single day are these banal stories of tragedy that are so easy to forget and write off as just another thing going on in the world. But the fact of the matter is that we do keep these things in our memory and really all I can do is try to relay these stories so people can possibly take from See vigil on Page 4
GAYpril brings Rutgers community together for series of 25 events Jillian Pastor contributing writer
Rutgers “GAYpril” kicked off last week with a high-energy opening ceremony in the Busch Student Center. During the week, “GAYpril” related events included “Breaking Boundaries” with transgender advocate Andy Marra, and a “Safer Sex and Relationships Workshop” hosted by the Queer Student Alliance (QSA). Next week the annual Demarest Hall Spring Drag Show (Ft. Will Wood) will take place at Demarest Hall on the College Avenue campus. In total, the month-long series will continue to feature more than
25 events and activities for people of all races, genders and sexualities. The goal of the month is to recognize the LGBTQIA community on Rutgers campus. “GAYpril” is an opportunity for the entire campus to involve itself in educational and celebratory programming related to queer issues, according to its mission statement. The Center for Social Justice Education & LGBT Communities (SJE) has collaborated with the Asian American Cultural Center to kick off the celebration of “GAYpril” and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Keywuan Caulk, the assistant director of SJE, has been at Rutgers for the past two years serving
GAYpril, which is coordinated by the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities (SJE), consists of lectures, workshops and events like the Demarest Drag Show. CASEY AMBROSIO
in the Office of Residence Life on Busch campus. “This is a time where we celebrate LGBTQIA heritage,” Caulk said. “We acknowledge the struggle and the progress we have made along the way.” SJE promotes a supportive environment for students of all backgrounds, with a focus on gender and sexuality, he said. The organization promotes both social and educational opportunities for leadership, identity and social justice advocacy. The organization also works with the students, faculty and staff to develop relevant policies that center around diversity and inclusion. Filipino American poet Regie Cabico and poet Staceyann Chin performed at the opening ceremony celebration. Guests from past ceremonies have included the Prancing Elites, George Takei, Lance Bass, Jujubee and Rosie Perez, among many others. Cabico has been featured on two seasons of “Def Poetry Jam” on HBO. “Your struggles are important,” Cabico said. “Nobody is going to tell me I cannot be on stage.” Cabico shared his slam poetry on stage as well as personal stories from his own life as an Asian-American gay man. See gaypril on Page 5
The Rutgers Muslim Student Association (RUMSA) organized Islam Awareness Week to encourage Rutgers students to become more informed about the Islamic faith. JEFFREY GOMEZ / PHOTO EDITOR
Islam Awareness Week draws substantial turnout Nicholas Simon staff writer
Last week, students had the opportunity to partake in “Islam Awareness Week” (IAW), an annual event on campus that celebrates the Islamic religion. The event was organized by the Rutgers University Muslim Student Association (RUMSA) and was held in a tent outside Brower Commons from Monday to Thursday. Throughout the week, students who stopped by the tent could avail themselves of amenities provided
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by RUMSA — free food, henna tattoos, informational pamphlets on Islam, pocket-sized Qurans translated to English and more were made available. RUMSA volunteers were also in attendance to encourage curiosity and answer student questions pertaining to Islam. At night, dif ferent Islamic scholars gave speeches outside the tent on topics ranging from the Quran to “The Muslim Next Door” by Sumbul Ali-Karamali. See turnout on Page 5