By Zainab Richardson | Staff Writer
Students from many cultures united Tuesday night at Bobo Spiritual Life Center to celebrate breaking the Ramadan fast and to build relationships across cultural divides at one of Better Together’s monthly Neighbor Nights.
Better Together and Multicultural Affairs co-hosted Neighbor Night Ramadan Tuesday night to offer a space for students to learn about Ramadan in an inclusive and fun way.
When students walked in, they were met with laughter and chatter as students of different cultures and religions came together as one community.
After an opening speech by event organizer and Houston senior Hanna Al Hayek, students could play Mheibes, a traditional Arabic game, or sit in a group and go through question prompt cards at each table.
Attendees also sat for a traditional meal and ate together, whether they were breaking their Ramadan fast or just enjoying food with new friends.
Houston senior Susan Ismail, president of Better Together, said the goal was to introduce the Baylor community to other religious practices without pressure. Ismail said she tried to make this clear through the event advertising.
“This event is not meant to convert anybody or attempt to convert anybody,” Ismail said. “It’s just the time for us to learn about one another and to educate on what Ramadan is and what Islam is.”
First-time attendees like Aledo senior Jessica Hardy said they expected the event to be more formal and were surprised by its casual, familiar feel.
“Honestly, I was under the impression that the Neighbor Nights were more structured,” Hardy said. “I didn’t realize that it would be more talking and having community and having fun, so that was nice.”
For Fort Worth junior Joseph Naylor, Al Hayek’s opening speech set the tone for the rest of the evening and helped frame his understanding of Ramadan.
“[The] speech on the Five Pillars … I had no idea that those existed,” Naylor said. “She told us about what they do it for, what their goal is, what they achieve by fasting.”
In addition to learning about Ramadan itself, Naylor also said conversation cards on the tables helped him learn more about his peers and build deeper connections.
“I think we had a lot of great conversations on cultural differences and how to embrace them,” Naylor said. “It is important for us to educate ourselves on things that are outside of our bubble or comfort zone, or what we’re used to.”
