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MEND Scotland: Freshers Fairs

MEND Scotland: Freshers Fairs

Categories: Past Event Articles

Wednesday October 13 2021

In total Scotland has been part of three Freshers Fairs in Scotland, Herriot-Watt which you can read about in full in previous articles, The University of Strathclyde and The University of Stirling.

They all took a similar format, early start, a lot of social distancing and mask-wearing, nervous first years having their first interaction with their peers, second years who had not had a fresher’s fair the previous year and wanted to make up for lost time and long hours.

But what we also found at Strathclyde and Stirling was an eagerness to get involved on an individual as well as ISOC level. At both these events, we had a greater number of sign-ups than we have seen at any other event we have had in Scotland.

Whether this is because the students are keen to get involved in anything after months and years of lockdown, or because in especially this area there is a real issue with Islamophobia, I am not sure. But what I am sure about and grateful for is that at both universities it was not just the Muslim population who engaged.

No, we saw many non-Muslim students and faculty not only engaging and requesting further information, input and contact, but we also saw a willingness and want from non-Muslim students to get involved in MEND. With one student speaking my thoughts before I had a chance to voice them myself: we all need to work together to tackle hate. I couldn’t agree more, the importance of allyship is underrated and underutilised in my mind. After all, it is not just one community that will eradicate Islamophobia, no we all need to work together to do that.

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