Oakland University Student Congress (OUSC) recently hosted its annual Middle Eastern Heritage Week from Nov. 13 through Nov. 17. This is the second year the event was hosted.
The celebration was organized to showcase the desire students on campus have for cultural events — and, ultimately, to institutionalize Heritage Week for future years so it will no longer be hosted only by student organizations.
“There’s a want for this on-campus by the students,” Valerie Aljajawi, OUSC’s director of diversity and inclusion, said. “From the success of heritage week… There are some departments that are working to put together a committee to institutionalize the Heritage Week, so it’s going to be a reoccurring thing.”
Aljajawi added that events such as the ones throughout the week are important to keep students engaged.
“Every year, whether you’re a new transfer student, freshman, whatever it is, everyone has their own ability to celebrate their culture, see themselves, feel welcomed, feel at home on campus and it helps with retention and engagement,” she said.
Some of the events throughout the week consisted of a Middle Eastern Student Organization Showcase, an Identity Round Table featuring OU student author Mena Hannakachl, live stand-up comedy from Ali Majed and a Friendsgiving featuring multiple Middle Eastern student organizations.
“We incorporated a variety of types of events so that everyone would enjoy the week regardless if someone was an extrovert, introvert, or just super busy with work and studies,” Aljajawi said.
One of the biggest hits, Alajawi said, was the Middle Eastern Dance Class on Nov. 15. More than 50 people attended the event.
“People were asking to do this every week,” she said. “It was amazing. We were teaching Chaldean dances, Kurdish dances, Iraqi dances, Debka, which comes from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan, and also Albanian dances.
“Everyone was starting to realize that all these dances were more similar than they really thought they would be, so that’s something that I was glad people caught onto,” Alajawi said. “Middle Eastern people, whatever country you’re from — even from Eastern Europe, like Albania, Greece, even Serbia and just the Balkan area — they have traditional line dances as well. And it was a very nice bonding moment that I saw happen between people, which was very sweet.”
Aljajawi also said she was glad to see people open up at the comedy show.
“People were so engaged, and that made me really happy because as OU, we’re a commuter school and especially after COVID, people tend to stick to themselves and are a little more quiet,” she said. “But I really felt like people let themselves open up today.”
Additionally, Hillcrest and Vandenberg Dining Hall offered Middle Eastern cuisine specials throughout the week, including Halva, Lokaymat, Chick Shawarma and more.
The feedback, Aljajawi said, was incredibly positive and uplifting in more ways than one.
“I’m also Middle Eastern, so throughout this whole week, I saw the people in my community light up with emotion and with smiles,” she said. “It was really nice for me to see personally, but it also just goes to show that students do want this, and there is a sizable amount of people on campus that are Middle Eastern.
“OU students will go to other universities for their events because…they don’t see themselves in the programming. So to be able to have an opportunity to provide that for the students, it makes me really happy,” Aljajawi added. “It makes the college experience more memorable and fun. And that it is partially what college is about.”
For more information about OUSC and its initiatives, please visit their webpage.
