This year, Ramadan will last from sundown on May 5 through June 4, marking 30 days of fasting from food and drink between sunrise and sunset for observers. Before dawn, around 5 a.m., a traditional, modest meal called suhur accompanies a morning prayer. The next meal, called iftar (translation: “breaking fast”), comes after sunset. The 11 to 16 daylight hours in between consist of fasting. Ramadan is scheduled on the 12 month lunar calendar rather than the solar calendar, meaning that the holiest month of the year for Muslims does not occur during the same time each calendar year. Ramadan begins approximately 11 days earlier each year.
This year, since fasting will occur during the school year and through finals, the Muslim Educational and Cultural Association (MECA) has worked to find meal accommodations for Stevens students on the meal plan who observe Ramadan. Without accommodations, many students with meal plans would only be able to eat during times that on-campus dining services are closed.
Stevens Dining has agreed to provide Muslim students with to-go containers when they swipe in for dinner. These containers can be filled for the next day’s suhur.
This decision was made collaboratively between Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Keith Marciniak, Senior Director of Dining Services at Stevens, and the current President of MECA, Iman Alshafie. Accommodations will occur in America’s Cup and Pierce Dining Hall in order to provide students using meal swipes with as many options as possible while on campus.
More information regarding meal accommodations for Ramadan will be distributed by MECA and Stevens Dining Services.
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