Susan Giving Attendee A Henna Tattoo The Xavierite
On Thursday, April 3, the Office of Belonging and Engagement hosted a henna event in honor of Arab-American Heritage Month.
The event was held in the diner atrium from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Henna is a body art with cultural and spiritual significance in many cultures such as Arab and Middle Eastern.
Students were able to choose from a variety of tattoo designs, including flowers, swirls, hearts, and dots, as well as options featuring different colored glitter.
This event welcomed Susan from Sahara Henna Designs & Body Art. While students were getting their henna tattoos, many of them were asking Susan about her knowledge of henna tattoos and the different types of cultures.
Student Anahi Hernandez, an attendee, stated, “I learned that it is all organic matter for the ink.”
Susan explained that she uses the organic matter in her ink to prevent irritation to the skin but to also help the tattoo last longer. She also talked about her experiences working at weddings for Arab cultures. The weddings would host an event the day before the ceremony for the wedding party to get henna tattoos. She explained that it is very popular in Arab culture to have henna tattoos of symbols from their culture.
Nadia Ghouleh, an attendee, stated, “As a Palestinian-American student attending SXU, I thought it was nice to see my culture being represented at school, so I knew that I wanted to support and attend this event. I love seeing how SXU can represent the diversity of the students and the staff, so I also really love to attend the different culture-focused events we have.”
Hernandez continued, “I think it was a great event to showcase a tradition in their culture and wanted to experience it.”
Ghouleh also stated “ I would like to thank SXU for hosting these events for Arab-American Heritage Month. It’s valuable to see my culture be represented and shared in our SXU community.”
Throughout this event, Susan gave the attendees her business cards. On the back of her card, it explained what the attendees needed to do to take care of their new tattoo. Some include keeping out of water for 24 hours, not scrubbing the area, allowing the paste to come off by itself, and allowing the tattoo to last about a week or two.
Ghouleh continued saying, “I would definitely go to more of these types of events. I think that one of SXU’s strengths is the wide variety of cultures represented by its students and staff, and I think it’s so important for us to share our cultures, so we can better our community.”
Throughout April, events will be held on campus for Arab-American Heritage Month. The Den is where students can register for any upcoming events.
Students are encouraged to attend the upcoming events for Arab-American Heritage Month. Some events include the “Bisan:” Film Screening, the April Lunch-and-Learn, and the Arab-American Achievement Awards.
If a student would like to get in touch with Susan, she can be reached at (708)-738-2240.