The University’s Middle East Club invites students to follow the sound of the sitar to a free night of traditional food, music, dancing and fellowship tonight. At Riley Hall in the main lounge at 7 p.m., the event will include guest speaker Shaul Cohen, a University associate professor of geography , as well as traditional tea, hookah smoking and various books and displays promoting the Middle East.
President of the Middle East Club, freshman Natalie Tajipour, a biology and anthropology major, said she hopes that people from all backgrounds will attend.
“It’s all about raising cultural awareness,” Tajipour said. “Gathering
the community to share ideas
and tradition.”
The club hopes to raise $300 through donations at the event to sponsor an orphan from Bam, Iran, affected by the 2003 earthquake that left thousands dead and destroyed 70 to 90 percent of the residential areas of the ancient city. All donations from the event will go to the Kahrizak Foundation to sponsor the child.
— Brittni McClenahan