April is Arab American Heritage Month and to celebrate, the Students for Justice in Palestine hosted Arab Culture Night.

People from all walks of life participated in the Arab culture night, immersing themselves in familiar and unfamiliar traditions.

Cultural wear, authentic dishes and traditional music were displayed.

The event took place at the Global Community Center. They had free henna, a stuffed grape leaf rolling competition, and performed traditional dances done at weddings.

Though the president of SJP at LSU considered the event to be a successful gathering, it wasn’t what the club originally wanted to host.

Thanks to cutbacks on DEI, they had to broaden what was once an event focused on a specific ethnic group.

“Initially, we wanted to do Palestine Culture Night because that’s our organization, Students for Justice in Palestine, but unfortunately, they’re very specific in how you word certain stuff,” said the president of Students for Justice in Palestine Ayah Hamdan. “So, in order to get funding, we had to be able to change it to Arab Heritage Month, and I’m just very glad that PTIF was able to fund so much of the event today.”

Hamdan said to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month, get educated on the contributions Arab people have made.