Brother’s Basketball Tournament
by Noman Syed
The first MSA Loyola Basketball Tournament held on August 29th turned out to be a great success. The MSA tournament served as a great means to build brotherhood as well as build new friendships at the beginning of the year. There were a total of 28 players that participated in the tournament - making up 4 teams. The 4 teams were chosen through a draft held by the 4 volunteer captains. One major reason for the success of the tournament was the willingness of all the brothers to coordinate and follow directions in an organized manner. It was truly rewarding to see the goodwill between all the brothers in the way they greeted and encouraged their teammates as well as their adversaries. It was also inspiring to see all the brothers gather together in order to pray Asr and Maghrib prayer in congregation.
Though the main purpose of the tournament was to build brotherhood, another focus was to raise money for the Orphan Sponsorship Drive, which is sponsored by the Loyola MSA. Each player donated a minimum of $3 in order to play in the tournament and all the proceeds went directly to the Drive. It was great to see brothers donating more than the mandatory $3 fee when they became aware that the proceeds would go towards charity. We were ecstatic to find out that we were able to raise a total of $90.
With the success of the first tournament, we hope to continue having basketball tournaments throughout the year in order to both build brotherhood as well as raise more money for the Orphan Sponsorship Drive. We hope that we are able to gather even more brothers for the next tournament, which we plan to have in November. Ultimately, we hope to build an environment of fun and excitement in which the brothers within the MSA can enjoy a day full of basketball and brotherhood. To conclude, I would like to ask those that participated in the tournament to make sure to give a special thanks to Zafar Siddiqui, Danial Asim, Mohammed Farooqi, and Anas Gandhi for helping to plan, organize, and coordinate the tournament.
Fajr By The Lake
by Anbreen Basher
Due to its assured bonding experience, Fajr By The Lake has become a Welcome Week staple. Not only do we strengthen our bond with Allah (SWT), but we get the opportunity to strengthen the bonds we have with our fellow brothers and sisters as well. Fajr By The Lake is a lovely environment to welcome the new freshmen to their home for the next four years; salah and the sunrise create an incomparable bond. Nothing beats spending time with old and new friends, watching the dazzling sun rise above the placid lake, appreciating the beauty of Allah (SWT)’s nature. Senior Hannia Farooqi describes Fajr By The Lake as “a soothing, unique experience”; the sound of the waves crashing in the background of a beautiful Qur’anic recitation is definitely something you won’t experience anywhere else. The additional halaqah after salah takes the experience to a heightened level of spirituality, offering, as sister Hannia put it, “deep wisdom that is nice to start the day off with.” All in all, Fajr By The Lake is by far my favorite Welcome Week event, and I feel that everyone should partake at least once in an unparalleled experience that is truly exclusive to Loyola.
Welcome Week 2014