To support University of Rhode Island students celebrating Ramadan, the Muslim Student Association is providing students with nutritional and academic resources.
By partnering with different student organizations and the local mosque, the MSA has provided students with evening meals, called iftars, from different cultures, thus fostering a sense of community when breaking fast, according to MSA president and fourth-year student Sanah Feroz.
Some student organizations that MSA has worked with this year include the South Asian Student Associate and the Middle Eastern Student Association, according to Feroz. This collaboration aims to provide different kinds of cuisines to students who are fasting and bring a different set of students in to participate in MSA meetings.
“It’s all in the spirit of working in the community and collaborating,” Feroz said.
The MSA has also partnered with dining students to provide students who are fasting with a nutritious suhoor, or morning meal, before they fast, according to Feroz. Even students who do not have a meal plan can pick up suhoor packages from the dining halls on campus. The packages contain foods such as yogurt, fruits, granola bars and dry foods.
The MSA is also supporting students academically during Ramadan.
“We noticed that, through our personal experience as students, it’s really challenging to observe your fast and also give your exams and just concentrate in classes,” Feroz said.
Students observing Ramadan can now reach out to the Academic Testing Center to schedule their exams for either right after their morning meal or evening meal, according to Feroz. By taking their exams right after meals, instead of during their fasting period, students will hopefully be able to focus and perform better on their academics.
Throughout the season, the MSA has hosted multiple events for students to come together to break their fast, according to Feroz. During the first week of Ramadan, the MSA hosted a dinner with the South Asian Student Association.
Over spring break, the MSA partnered with organizations at Brown University, Rhode Island College and Johnson and Wales University so students from multiple universities could come together to break their fasts, according to Feroz. On Tuesday, a local charity provided students with dinner at the local mosque.
On Thursday at 6:30 p.m., the MSA will be hosting a dinner in collaboration with the MESA in the Multicultural Student Center, according to Feroz.
At the end of the month of fasting, on April 6, the MSA will be hosting a banquet in the Memorial Union ballroom, according to Feroz. Students outside of the MSA are welcome to attend the banquet as well.
The MSA has been hosting these community meals during Ramadan for three to four years now and has received positive feedback from students who have participated, according to Feroz.
“A lot of students have felt positively, they’ve really enjoyed having the sense of community during such a time that can feel very isolating and very lonely to do,” Feroz said.
As part of their tenure on the executive board, members have created a newsletter to not only keep students informed on the MSA’s events but also their families and members of the community.
“We wanted families to know that, for future students who want to come to URI, there is a space for them to observe their faith and feel secure and have a community,” Feroz said.
The organization has also aimed to expose more students to URI’s Muslim community by having members bring their friends and even professors to events, according to Feroz. They also hope to emphasize collaboration more, whether that be through other URI student organizations or with other universities.
“I think our diversity is one of the biggest things that stands out,” Feroz said.
To stay updated with MSA’s events held throughout the year, visit their Instagram @uri.msa.
