Crowds of students and faculty gathered with Muslim Student Association (MSA) to receive painted henna designs in Kessel on Tuesday.

There was a variety of designs to choose from in the booklets provided at the event. Students paid only $5 to receive any unique design.

The purpose of the event was to educate others of Muslim culture.

Sheets placed across tables described the symbolism of henna.

The turnout delighted the MSA students, making them feel united with the community. Seated at the corner, Public Relations chair Mahnoor Kahn reflected upon the growth of the club.

Kahn a senior biology major has been an advocate for MSA since her freshmen year. Unfortunately, last year the club was forced to close due to the lack of members.

The closure of MSA made Kahn campaign an entire year to bring the club back to campus again.

“I did not want to let it go,” Mahnoor Kahn said.

With the help of Professor Hasan Arslan, criminal justice professor, advisor of MSU, they promoted the club through e-mails and flyers. In their first attempt, they held a meeting for the club, but the turnout was not substantial. Even though the meeting did not go as planned, Kahn and Arslan did not give up.

After a year of advertising, MSA was re-launched in the fall. This gave an opportunity for students to practice, educate, and support Muslim culture again.

Behind the aims of the club, lies a deeper meaning for the members of MSA. During a time of racial ethic religious biases, MSA advocates against the stereotypes of Muslim culture and wants students to learn more about Muslim culture.

In the future, MSA hopes to create educational panels led by Professor Hasan Arslan in hopes to eliminate these stereotypes in the Pace community.

“The world needs us. The Pace community needs to hear us because a lot has been going on politically and we need to layout a message. That we either agree or disagree so the Pace community can learn something about Islam, the true form of Islam,” Professor Hasan Arslan said.

Eliminating the stereotypes and bringing cultures together is MSA’s goal at Pace. President of MSA, Muhammad Wajid reminds people of this message.

“We are not the bad guys, we try to educate people, we love learning about other cultures, and everyone is invited to come, said Muhammad Wajid President of MSA. “Come teach me about your culture.”

Kahn has watched MSA tackle the stereotypes, growing from two members to now 10 members. Kahn feels very passionate about the club and feels hopeful for the future of MSA.

“I’ve doing this since freshmen year. Seeing it now…I feel so emotional because it grew so much,” Mahnoor Kahn said. “Graduating knowing there are more people now… it’s good to reflect on.”

MSA meets every Wednesday in Kessel’s Conference Room A/B at 12:00pm. They welcome all students to join.

The henna event was a success for MSA. They hope to continue educating others, to be able to learn about different cultures, and tackle the stereotypes.

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