The Pakistani Students Association held its first event of the spring semester, an Eid dinner, after spending the past year struggling to find a foothold in the UT community.
"Eid ul-Adha, or Bakra Eid, is celebrated marking the end of Hajj - pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that all Muslims should undertake once in their lifetime," said Fahad Shamsi, an economics junior and spokesperson for PSA.
Anam Azeem, a biology sophomore and general secretary of PSA, explained that Eid ul-Adha is celebrated by sacrificing a goat or sheep "to commemorate Prophet Abraham, who was ready to sacrifice his oldest son Ismail for Allah; but Ismail was saved and a goat sacrificed instead."
In September 2003, Pakistani student Umer Zaman was charged with forging transcripts to enter the country. UT's Young Conservatives of Texas passed out "wanted" signs with the image of Zaman, and PSA briefly removed its table from the West Mall fearing retribution after the charges.
A year after PSA went "underground," Amin Khoja, an accounting senior and current PSA vice-president, took over the leadership in an effort to revive the organization.
"We used to have regular cultural shows before the Zaman allegations," Khoja said. "We are trying to get our reputation back."
Current PSA president Shabih Syed, a computer sciences senior, said the fate of the organization rests on student response.
"We are definitely hoping that things will get better for PSA as more students get involved. We have started from zero and hope to promote PSA as a cultural organization while making our own space," Syed said.
The students, including Ratna Kaneria, a chemical engineering sophomore, said they enjoyed the Eid dinner, which was home-cooked by friends of the committee members, and voiced their concerns to the committee.
"I haven't seen PSA do cultural activities in the past year. All they do is talk about doing things," Kaneria said.
Naomi Dsouza, a business senior, said the dinner catered more to women than usual PSA activities.
"I admire the new committee for making an effort to change things," said Dsouza.
PSA has a number of events lined up for the semester including a cricket tournament and a talent show- if they get a positive response from members.
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