This past Tuesday in Baldy 101, the Organization of Arab Students (OAS) held their first annual 7alaween, a new take on Halloween that combines traditional Arab dances with Halloween celebrations.
The event started at 4:00 p.m. and continued until 6:00 p.m. and within those couple of hours there was plenty of fun to be had. When you walk into the lecture room you’re immediately pulled in by lively music and friendly faces. The event goers were wearing everything in between from regular clothes to intricate costumes like Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat. The tables were covered with candy and donuts for decorating. Later in the evening, the attendees started a dabke line, a traditional Levantine dance that the club frequently performs. Following the dancing there was a costume contest where participants got to rock the runway and show off their creativity.
Jasurbek Abdujalolov the event coordinator of OAS said their , “main goal is for everyone to have a good time and to have a positive experience with Arab culture.”
The importance of the event and what it means to the club members could not be overstated enough. how,
“I really enjoy having this community of Arabs here in Buffalo so far away from home. I haven’t been in the U.S for very long, so sometimes it does feel very homesick… so I really like seeing folks that speak my language and seeing parts of my culture and being able to dance with them and share stories and have a community that understands me,” Fatima Mahdi, the president of the organization said. “I also hope that coming to OAS events and meeting with Arabs really helps to break the stigma about what my people are like and to get [more] advocacy for my people.”
UB has so many diverse clubs to provide a safe space for different communities and offer representation and education for the people outside of them.
“This was the 7alaween event, it was a play on the word ‘hala’ and Halloween. We spell it with a seven, because that represents a different word in Arabic. One of my favorite parts of our culture is the language,” Adam Abid, the treasurer said.
“Being Moroccan myself, my dialect is called Darija, which is not very understandable to other Arabs. Coming to UB and joining OAS and learning how everyone else speaks their dialects is so interesting because I get to learn all the little differences we have.”
OAS can be found on Instagram at: @oasatub if you’re interested in learning more about Arab culture and getting to meet all the lovely people here.
Marina Noack is a senior arts editor and can be reached at marina.noack@ubspectrum.com
