Assalaamu alaikum all,
First and foremost, alhamdulillah for such an amazing school year. A year that was filled with insightful events, dialogues, classes, and donations is about to come to an end. This will be a short list and reflection of not only the various events the Loyola Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) hosted but also the positive impact they’ve had on our beautiful campus, the Greater Chicago community, and around the world.
Where to start?!
Loyola University Chicago welcomed its first Muslim Chaplain: Professor Omer Mozaffar. Every week, Professor Mozaffar volunteers his time at chaplain office hours and weekly Quran and Student Life classes for students to discuss, learn, and share.
In November, the MSA hosted Fast-a-thon, which was part of Loyola’s Hunger Week. People of all faiths pledged to fast from Fajr (sunrise) to Maghrib (sun down). At the dinner, many shared their experience with fasting and some of the things we all learned includes the importance of self-restraint, patience, and empathy towards those who are in need.
The Loyola MSA also hosted several events throughout the school year featuring world renowned scholars, imams, and leaders including Dr. Ramzan Shahid, Mufti Hussain Kamani, Imam Suhaib Webb, Boonaa Mohammed, Yasmin Mogahed, and many more.
In February, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) and the Golden Key International Honor society hosted a campus wide Spelling Bee to help the MSA fundraise for their Orphan Sponsorship Drive. By simply participating, the spellers and spectators helped provide food, shelter, and education for an orphan in need.
The three most impactful, year-long events include the bagged lunch events for the homeless in our neighborhood, the LifeSource blood drives, and the orphan sponsorship drive. We could let the numbers do the talking: a total of 2665 lunches, over 100 donations of blood, and over $3000 raised for Syrian Orphans. However, there is so much more behind these numbers. These numbers represent the collective effort of not only the Loyola MSA but our Loyola community as a whole coming together for the bettering of humanity.
But there’s more! Among many others, there was also Project Rizq: Feeding Our Neighbors, Blanket Drive for Syrian & Iraqi Refugees, Winter Clothing Drive, and Humanitea time.
Finally, we arrive to the largest event of the year: Islam Appreciation Week 2015 (IAW). Months of planning went into this amazing yearly event whose goals are to increase interfaith dialogue, dispel misconceptions, and increase understanding of the Islamic faith on campus. IAW was jam packed with events, such as Taste of Faith, Exploring Islamic Art, Walk a Mile in her Hijab, Bagged Lunches: Serving our Neighbors, and, of course, the Culmination Dinner.
Just reading through this article seems almost overwhelming from how much great work this student group has made and continues to make. We hope that the Loyola MSA continues to host and create not only a large quantity of events but incredibly unique events that positively impacts our beautiful Loyola community.
Assassins is a cutthroat game of skill and wit. After a grueling week of competition, paranoia, and betrayal, the Spring 2015 victors have emerged-- Ahmed Mian and Ariba Raza.
The Spring semester’s MSA Assassins game has come to an end. After seven long days of intense killing, running, and hiding two winners were left. Ahmed Mian from the brothers and Ariba Raza from the sisters won this semester’s game. Ahmed, a junior and transfer student, was new to Loyola and really made his name from the Assassins game. Ariba, a sophomore, has played in the past but has never experienced a victory.
I had the pleasure to speak to both victors and ask them about their wonderful experience of the game. I talked to Ahmed first, and he was quite excited to explain how he had won. “I tried not to think too much about it, and I guess tried to stay in more. I just did that and didn’t think about the game as much. If it came, I let it come. If I knew I was in trouble I would try to leave right away or if I knew something was going to happen I would just flake.” Ahmed was passionate and he even gave me a few tips. “Having a few guys that you really trust helps, because it is really tough. I don’t think anyone could win on their own, so you need that truce between a couple people,” said Ahmed. He also told me about the craziest moment of the game. “So I get back at 9 p.m. at my place, and I am warming up my biryani. I get a knock at my door and I’m like who’s at my door? So I go check and there were two people that showed up, and an unknown person came in and rushed me. Suddenly I find myself on the ground. This is when I found myself a moment away from death, staring at the clip right in front of my face. I thought it was almost over. Then Bilal and the squad came to the rescue. Thanks to my man Zeeshan for giving me a place to stay until the anonymous killer left my place.”
Assassins
I asked him what I would have to do to win and he gave me advice for future assassins games. He told me “not to overthink it, because when you overthink it you have to keep your cool. You have to have those one or two people you can trust. It makes it easier and less intimidating. There is less pressure with those people with you. Most importantly, you need to just have fun with it. Also, stay strapped with multiple pins by your side.”
Ariba was very happy to tell me about her victory. She exclaimed “I felt like I needed to watch my back at all times. Like even right when the whole game first started, I felt like I couldn’t be seen at any sort of primetime. I was super crazy and paranoid so I was able to identify all of my assassins by the looks in their eyes. And it’s funny ‘cause I didn’t even know the girl who tried to get me, but I figured out it was her even though she was really subtle. It’s all about staying low-key.”
The craziest moment of the game for her was “Getting Arjumand.” She further added, “I don’t remember who spotted her for me, but I found out that she was in Mundelein. By then, I had collected several pin things, and I had them strategically placed in times of need around my zones of best reach. The first clothespin I had, she grabbed before I could even open it. She thought she was free and tried running into the girl’s bathroom, but I was already ready with another pin. I was able to clip her as she squirmed away. The funny part is, I didn’t even tell her she had been clipped.
I asked Ariba how to win in the future as well. She said “make friends and always be aware of the people around you. Also, don’t hide because you can’t get anyone when you hide. You will also get taken out of the game if you’re hiding for too long.”
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience speaking to the winners of the MSA Spring semester’s Assassin game. I learned a lot of tips and tricks that I will be able to implement. I can’t wait to see who will win next year. May the odds be ever in your favor and may the best assassin win!
Zeeshan Qazi