Friday Festivities
Part One: Courtyard Carnival at College Halls
Yesterday afternoon from 3 to 6pm, the College Halls hosted an outdoor carnival! With Sno-Kones, popcorn, tie-dye t-shirts, a dunk tank, and an inflatable water slide, the afternoon made me feel all of five years old. Actually, it only took going down the water slide once to enforce that carefree feeling. Most of the dunking victims were RAs, but I also had the privilege of being dunked by our Area Coordinator, Matt Sinclair. That guy definitely has had some experience throwing baseballs, because it didn’t take long before I was underwater.
This event is just the first in a series of community events planned for residents of the new Halls. They’re definitely open to all Vanderbilt students, but they are designed to foster a sense of togetherness among the 660 members of Warren and Moore.
Part Two: Eid al-Fitr at Commons
After I’d dried off and worked up an appetite, my friends and I revisited our former stomping grounds at Commons for the annual Eid celebration. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, a period of fasting and spiritual reflection in Islamic tradition. Although we could appreciate the religious and cultural significance, my friends and I honestly just came to eat free halal food and get henna tattoos (thank you, everyone who volunteered to do the mehndi!). My fellow blogger Musbah also not only attended the celebration, but served as an M.C. for the event as a representative from Vanderbilt’s Interfaith Council.