By Maya Nasr

LMU ULC Secretary

The Lebanese Student Association at Loyola Marymount University has participated in a number of activities to celebrate Lebanese culture with our members and other students. We are always trying to be as inclusive as we can, and, for this reason, we constantly try out new events that allow us to engage in diverse and sometimes slightly random programs.

This past September, LSA joined Heal the Bay’s Annual Coastal Clean-Up for the second time.

Instead of heading over to Dockweiler Beach as done in the past, a group of LSA club members carpooled to the Ballona Wetlands in Playa Del Rey, CA, only a few minutes off-campus. We met up with the Friends of the Ballona Wetlands who told us about the history of the area and how the wetlands were supposed to function as a filter for the water before human development began destroying them. We then joined other Heal the Bay volunteers in picking up trash and sorting out the recyclable materials left in and around the water. It was a great way to catch up with some of the older LSA member and meet newer ones, as well as honoring the LMU Mission of promotion of social justice and service in the beginning of our Fall semester.

LMU’s Unity Fest is a celebration of diversity with student organizations on campus sharing their culture with the whole campus. Some LSA members performed the Lebanese Dabke, while other members set up an information booth for individuals to learn more about our club as well as to sign-up for our belly-dancing and Arabic classes. The belly-dancing classes are an opportunity for LMU students to learn more about our Lebanese music and dance. We are also hoping that the classes will prepare us better for Diversity Fest, in which cultural clubs perform in front of an audience showing their many traditions. We will keep you posted on how Diversity Fest goes this year, as it will be our second year performing!