Ball State students were invited to discover Saudi Arabia at the Saudi Student Club's celebration of Saudi Arabia’s National Day.
The national day marks the unification of the region by King Abdulaziz, who was the first king of Saudi Arabia.
“What we wanted [to achieve] is to [explain] what Saudi Arabia is, what's it like in Saudi Arabia and come and discover Saudi Arabia,” said Yasser Alshaalan, a senior human resource major and president of the Saudi Student Club.
Alshaala helped organize the holiday's celebration gathering on Sept. 23 in the Bracken Library. It was one of three events the group is required to organize.
The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission requires Saudi student groups on college campuses to prepare events for Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr and Saudi National Day.
The Saudi National Day celebration featured traditional foods, henna, clothing, item displays from the country and PowerPoint presentations about the country.
Nathan Dulaney, a senior wildlife and biology major, attended and loved the food and the style of furniture at the event.
“I’m definitely a foodie of sorts; the food's delicious,” Dulaney said.
The concept of sitting on the floor to eat was new to Dulaney, but he did feel like it brought people closer together.
“It seems like a much more personal setting than sitting at a table, which definitely comes off as more formal,” he said.
Dulaney also enjoyed the PowerPoint presentations and thought the one about the country’s vision to cease dependence on oil, known as Saudi Vision 2030, was the most interesting.
Savannah Lundgren, a junior wildlife zoology major, attended the event because she likes learning about other countries and a Saudi student invited her to come. She thought the event had a genuine feel.
“To actually get a cup of authentic Saudi Arabian coffee, come sit down in a nice seating area with a rug and actually get that feeling that you would if you were actually in that country is a really important aspect,” Lundgren said.
Kiera Cromer, a freshman anthropology archeology major, came because she wanted to learn more about the Saudi community on campus. At the celebration, she tried on traditional clothes.
“[The clothes are] very comfortable actually, very beautiful, and I can move freely. I think they are great,” she said.
Cromer also thinks the concept of a national day is a good thing for any country.
“I think it’s good to have pride in your country and to celebrate it with a day,” Cromer said.
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