As the aroma of delicious biryani, falafel, and butter chicken intertwined with the ongoing chatter filled up the East cafeteria, new and old connections were fostered in just a single night. The Muslim Student Association (MSA) unfolded a tapestry of unity in hosting its annual fundraising banquet on Dec. 1 in the East cafeteria, sophomore Liyana Bhaigi said. 

The banquet included a dinner, speeches from the MSA board, guest speakers, a raffle, and a silent auction, Bhaigi said. The fundraiser was not only to raise necessary funds for the club itself, it was also a way to represent South’s Muslim community. The event was a fun way to showcase the club to the vast Glenview Community, Bhaigi expressed 

“The banquet [was] a good way to have [families and friends] come in and see what [MSA] is about,” Bhaigi said. “It is a way for us to grow as a group.”

The MSA came up with creative ideas to raise funds for the club, David Berkson, MSA sponsor and Social Studies teacher, said. 

 “[The fundraising events] turned out to be huge successes and contributed to the total amount of funds [the MSA] collected,” Berkson said.

Local Muslim-owned businesses, such as Pita Inn, OMG Grill and Bitez Express, were sponsors for the banquet this year, junior Ammar Khan, MSA Fundraising Director, said. He expressed his appreciation for the community support that made the event possible.

“We are very grateful for [the sponsors’] contributions in supplying food and helping our club to do more events in the future,” Khan said.

One of the goals of the banquet was to strengthen and empower South’s Muslim community, Berkson explained. To do this, MSA invited guest speakers, such as Illinois State Representative Nabeela Syed, to share advice with the students and families in South’s MSA about their growing Muslim community.

“They all taught us valuable life lessons about our MSA and gave us advice on how to continue to grow and help our club thrive,” Berkson said. 

Berkson noted the upgrade from last year’s banquet to this year’s. The guest list nearly doubled in size, pushing the club to switch from its original location in the Lyceum to the cafeteria, he explained.

“The banquet was so much bigger this year,” Berkson said. “We had so many more people involved in not only the preparation of the event but also the end result of the banquet.”

For many, the MSA banquet was an opportunity to form bonds with other Muslims in the Glenview community, Bhaigi said. 

“The banquet was a perfect opportunity to create connections with other Muslims [within the community] and strengthen the Muslim community,” Bhaigi said.