On October 19, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Middle Eastern Studies Department, will host Arab Fest on the Schmitt Quad.
Esra Awadallah, President of Students for Justice in Palestine, stated that, “SJP held an Arab Fest in 2019 in McGuire Hall and had performances, music and food. It was an event that exhibited specifically Palestinian culture. This Arab Fest is the first of its kind at SXU as it presents all Arab cultures, foods, and clothing.”
As posted on TheDen, students in attendance will have access to different performances and tables exhibiting different foods, as well as having chances to participate in a raffle and get henna done.
Jena Said, Secretary of Students for Justice in Palestine, stated, “There will be tables set up for each country to exhibit their individual cultures, so we’ll see tasty cuisines from the Levant, Arab Peninsula, and North Africa. There will also be traditional clothing, artifacts, and art exhibited at each table so that the SXU community can get a feel of both our differences and similarities as a region. Joining us will be a traditional Palestinian dance team performing a dance known as debka, as well as a henna artist.”
A large amount of time and effort has been put into this event, Said stated that, “We initially had this idea back in the Spring semester when talking about budgets. We hit the ground running as soon as school started, so I would say about 2 months of very busy work!”
The board members of Students for Justice in Palestine cannot wait for all students to attend Arab Fest.
Awadallah stated that, “I am really excited for the debka performance! They are going to stay after so that the SXU community can learn a few moves of various Palestinian dances, it’ll be a fun time for everyone involved!”
Said added, “I can’t wait until everyone tries Middle Eastern food. No restaurant does us justice and a lot of people are having some home-cooked meals.”
The Saint Xavier community is composed of many different cultural and ethnic groups, and events that showcase every group on campus are extremely important.
Awadallah stated that, “Saint Xavier has no Arab Student Union and barely any Arab representation, so SJP is hosting this event to bring Arab culture to our community. The title of our event is “Deconstructing the MENA Monolith” because it literally states our purpose! MENA refers to the Middle East and North Africa and people typically view the countries within as a singular culture rather than a region of diverse cultures, religions, and languages. Arabs are just one of the many ethnic groups that span the area, and we are recognizing this distinction while celebrating all people and their backgrounds.”
Said continued, “Most importantly, we want people to have fun while learning about our beautiful culture, history, music, etc. Instead of focusing on lecturing the student body, it would be nice to have more entertainment and informational flyers so people can have a first-hand experience with who we are as Arabs!”
To RSVP for Arab Fest, look for the event under the Students for Justice in Palestine RSO page on TheDen. For more information about the event, check out the Students for Justice in Palestine Instagram and Twitter pages, @sjpsxu_!