South Asian Student Union (SASU for short) is opening again in the 24-25 school year after its brief entrance into Meridian last year. While SASU was founded in the 23-24 academic year, the organization quickly fizzled out due to its hurried formation and lack of officers. However, this time, SASU is back with a bang and ready to start the year off stronger than ever.
When asked why starting back SASU was so important, sophomore and club Co-President Soha Noorani stated “Me and Sameeha aimed to have a club where we could feel represented and connect with people similar to us while learning about other cultures within that broad umbrella.”
Sameeha Tariq, a sophomore and club Co-President who shares similar goals, states “SASU is important to me because I feel like there are a lot of South Asian students here at Meridian and we need to find a way to get connected to learn more about each other. We need to spread awareness about the beauty of South Asian culture and how alike yet different we are.”
However, SASU leaders aren’t the only people looking to build that community, other South Asian students at Meridian are also advocating for this club to make its entrance: “I love SASU because it will allow me to represent my true identity as a South Asian. I feel very proud, especially because SASU will share knowledge about traditional and cultural values, which fosters the idea of an IB World School,” says Anish Senthilarasu, a sophomore supporting Noorani and Tariq’s efforts.
To help SASU take off, the Co-Presidents are working with their peers and upperclassmen for guidance: “We are working with a few people to get this off the ground. Their aid for us has been a huge help,” says Noorani. Since they just re-introduced SASU this year, their main goal is to start small and see where it goes with the end goal of reaching a wide network of SASU students in Meridian. To accomplish this, they have prepared plans such as “having socials, events for South Asian holidays, and maybe even doing fundraisers for charities or out-of-school events,” states Tariq.
All in all, as SASU makes its entrance back into Meridian, its main, overarching role is to connect the South Asian community together in regard to religion, race, and cultural values. Not only will this provide a place for students to embrace themselves and their heritage, but the club will also help encourage members to understand ethnic identities with an open mind, which will be explored further within the South Asian Student Union.