A cultural fair was jointly organised by the South Asian Students at Hopkins (SASH), Bangladeshi American Student Association (BASA) and Pakistani Student Association (PSA) on March 11, 2023.
In an interview with the Hopkins News-Letter, senior BASA co-president Mashiyat Ahmed revealed the reason behind the event was to let South Asian students participate in cultural activities in exchange for stamps on a paper passport.
“My co-president Tasfia and I were reflecting on what is missing from our experience of Hopkins as Brown students... and we realized that while we have excellent student groups like SASH and PSA, we don't see a lot of collaboration [between] the groups,” she said.
Junior and SASH co-president Maansi Barnwal also spoke about how the event could greatly impact a number of cultures.“We were even able to invite students who are not part of any of our organizations, like Nepalese students, who do not have their own organization right now [but were able to come and perform],” she said.
The fair was initially planned on Keyser Quad on March 10 by Barnwal and her co-organizers. However, weather conditions forced them to make last-minute alterations to the location and date.
“We usually have one big [cultural] event every semester, so our goal this semester was to have those big events but also focus on advocacy,” Barnwal said. “[For] this mela, we were able to incorporate different organizations that are working for causes like sustainable clothing, cataract surgery and children in India.”
“We're here to tell South Asian students that there is a community they belong to and that we want [them] to come,” she said. “[And actually], many non-South Asian students come [as well] because our culture is so colorful and welcoming.”
