The South Asian Student Association hosted their annual Holi celebration on Sunday April 24 on the library lawn. During the event, students were given white T-Shirts and were able to adorn themselves and their classmates in colored powder. 

Featuring music and playful competition, the event offered students an opportunity to celebrate the South Asian holiday. 

President of the South Asian Student Association Manjot Singh ‘23 explains the significance of the event. Holi is a Hindu holiday known as the “festival of colors,” she describes, and relays that it celebrates the new season. 

“We’re just bringing a little bit of that [South Asian] culture to campus today,” Singh states. 

Signh cites the event as a catalyst for increased visibility of the South Asian community on campus, and is optimistic about its impact. 

Singh relays that many passerbyers were curious about the colorful event. 

“As people are asking us questions, we’re able to share some information. We’re able to spread awareness about South Asian culture while having a lot of fun” she says.

Junior Jenisha Khadka expresses that SASA’s annual Holi celebration “was the reason why [she] chose Fairfield.” 

When she visited Fairfield, she observed the Holi event and was inspired to join the campus community. 

“I really felt like this was my place. Where I went to high school we never did events like this […] When I came here I saw people playing Holi and it really connected with me because it’s something I grew up playing,” Khadka explains. 

Treasurer of SASA Raqibul Haque ‘22 expressed his enthusiasm about the event, which he had not attended since his first-year on campus. 

Eager to celebrate again, Haque says, “it’s been a great experience,” which he believes exemplifies SASA’s “hard work this semester to get ready for the event.” 

President Singh hopes that this event will help with a larger push for South Asian representation on campus. 

When prompted about minority representation on campus, Singh says, “I would say diversity is a big thing that we need to work on improving.” She adds that these “multicultural events” contribute to such representation efforts, particularly among the South Asian community on campus. 

Singh states, “Oftentimes if we don’t put on events, it’s hard to get representation. So a lot of the work we do in our club is getting us some more representation.”

All members of SASA interviewed expressed their enjoyment of the celebration, one of the club’s “major” events during the academic year. 

 

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