The Muslim Student Association (MSA) formed last school year, hosted an event in which anyone of any culture was welcome to get henna, a temporary dye used on skin and hair, done on their hands and arms. The event was hosted in Cafe B on March 14th, where people had to RSVP with the details of what design they wanted and where on their hands. Charging $5 per hand, students could leave with beautiful artwork on their hands, made by students who are proud to share their cultures.
Henna originates from several cultures, including North African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian backgrounds. The MSA wanted to host a unique fundraiser “that would be fun for both teachers, students, and us,” according to Sabrina Kharkhach, the Event Coordinator for MSA. “We all thought henna would be a great idea, especially since it's a commonality all of us officers have within our cultures.”
“Sabrina was the one who came up with this idea, she suggested it, and we agreed that it would be a really fun event that we think people would like to come to,” said Shiza Zahid, Secretary for the MSA. “The funds for this fundraiser will go toward events we have coming soon, I won’t spoil it however it’s something we’ve been planning for a bit!”
“I wanted to get it done because it looked cool and I like exploring other cultures,” said Yawen Zuo, a freshman who participated in the event. Zuo paid for an artist to do a freestyle design on her hand and expressed she wanted the designer to “be creative” and “take the lead.” Zuo later explained how she appreciated the technique and how talented the club members must be to host this event.
“Preparing for this event was a bit stressful, we wanted to make sure that everyone would be happy with their henna designs and that people enjoyed the event. We also wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly so we had to make a plan for how we were going to set up this event,” described Zahid. The event went smoothly despite the officers’ concerns. Many people showed up and had positive reactions to the designs.
“I’m really happy I got it done because Henna is a really beautiful thing and it's a beautiful culture, and henna can get expensive and it can get very time-consuming, -and for $5, it's a very reasonable price, I’m glad I got it done!” exclaimed Marianne Rivadeneira.
“We had plenty of customers and received great feedback on the fundraiser. A lot of people have been questioning if this event will come back soon and we sure hope so!” expressed Zahid. The Muslim Student Association was met with positive reviews. They shared an important aspect of their culture with this event, and you can learn more about their religion and practices every Tuesday after school in room B336.
