Rowan University Arabic Culture Club held one of their biggest events, a Valentine’s Day themed henna night on Feb. 13 in the Business Hall. When the event started at 7 p.m. room 121 of Business Hall was filled with Valentine’s Day decor and all kinds of sweet treats to get attendees in the holiday spirit. Music was playing to get the vibe up and smiles filled the room.

Members were given individual henna kits to explore and try their own designs on each other. The event started slow but then more and more people started to show while time was passing by.

“I like to see everyone come to see our culture. It’s nice to see everyone have fun, while they are exploring something new or even if it’s something that is not new and already their culture, they’re immersing themselves into it again,” said the President of the Arabic Culture Club, Maryam Mady, a senior at Rowan University.

Students of all majors and class years are welcome to come to these events to explore Arabic culture. The henna night came about originally three semesters ago, and the club’s henna idea is in an effort to offer an additional event to the members of the club.

“This club means a lot to me because I grew up in America but was born in an Arab country, so it is nice to have an academic setting where I can also go back to my culture and host these events for everyone else to witness the culture too,” said Mady.

The club hosts these events to have people socialize and learn about Arabic culture. Along the way, people can get to meet new people at these events. Members get to experience the culture and what their food is like.

“It is always fun when we get a bunch of people here and they get to experience the cultural music and the food. You see the looks on their faces and see how happy they are and stuff like that makes us really happy,” said the Event Planner of the Arabic Culture Club, George Khella, a sophomore at Rowan University.

This club allows people outside of the culture to explore new traditions. Being a part of the club allows the culture to spread around the university and allows people to learn more about cultures they don’t know about.

“Spreading our culture and having people try our food for the first time and listen to our music for the first time, brings joy to my heart. Expanding our culture outside our borders really puts a smile on my face,” said Khella.

Henna is one of the culture’s traditions and the Arabic Culture Club allows people to experience one of Arabs’ rich traditions.

“I was born in Egypt and I really do appreciate the culture. I like spreading the culture with people who don’t know a lot about the culture. I think being a part of it is a big thing so our culture is spread more and to have more people know about it, who are not sure how we do things,” said the Treasurer of the Arabic Culture Club, Joly Ayad, a junior at Rowan University.

During the event, members of the club were experimenting with henna designs for the first time and got to meet new faces. The henna night brought people together to learn more about cultures that are outside of their norms.

“This is my first time coming here and I love the club. It is also my first time trying henna too. It is an amazing and fun experience,” said a member of the club, Melissa Pongoh, a freshman at Rowan University. “You never know how fun a club is until you come in person.”

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