The Omani Student Union (OSU) celebrated on Saturday for the 54th annual National Omani Day featuring authentic Omani cuisine, traditional music and cultural displays.
The displays were through a booth exploration around the Mississippi Room in Coffman Union where students could learn about the culture and history of Oman, a small country in Western Asia.
Booths included pictures, an Old Grocery set up, knfaeh served by Golden Nuts, a Palestine booth and a henna table.
After attendees went around the different tables, an OSU member recited the Quran followed by traditional performances of the Omani sword dance and Omani poetry.
The event ended with a presentation on Palestine by Students for Justice in Palestine on what students can do to help Gaza and a speech by OSU President Bashar Al Jashmi.
The event had well over 100 attendees, according to Al Jashmi, and was sponsored by The Golden Nuts and Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co.
Al Jashmi said the booths and event served as a way to get visitors to experience Oman culture actively. He added he believes that not many people know about Oman.
“If I want to let people know about Oman, I will tell them it’s neighbors to Dubai,” Al Jashmi said. “This is an issue and we need to solve it, and the way to solve it is to let everyone know about Oman and that it is a country in the Gulf.”
Oman is a country occupying the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula at the confluence of the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.
OSU Event Coordinator Arwa Al-Busaidi said the event was a success and made her feel seen.
“It makes me feel like people want to know more about other cultures, and that’s intriguing and interesting at the same time,” Al-Busaidi said. “I really want to represent my culture and country in a perfect image, but at the same time I don’t know what they’re perceiving from that.”
Busaidi said while people know about many Middle Eastern countries, not many know about Oman. Union activities aim to celebrate the culture and spread awareness.
“I feel like we’re doing this just to get people’s attention and tell them more about Oman, our rich culture, because it’s the first independent state in the Middle East,” Al-Busaidi said.
OSU Vice President Tariq Al-Abri said he saw the Omani community at its fullest at the event, which made him feel proud to be from Oman.
“I want people to know that we represent a full culture here, and I want them to know about Oman itself,” Al-Abri said. “I want them to know how different people come from different parts of the world.”
Al-Abri said it is easy for students to lose their culture in the U.S., but the group is there to remind Omani students.
Al-Abri said the Union put in a lot of hard work into the event and said seeing the event at its fullest made him proud to be Omani.
Second-year student Isaac Chmieleski said he came to the event because he was invited by his friend and did not know much about Oman going into the event.
“Everyone’s been so kind from the moment I stepped in here,” Chmieleski said. “Everyone’s been smiling and they’ve just been laughing and I’ve gotten nothing but kindness.”
Chmieleski said his favorite part of the event was listening to the Omani national anthem and getting Baymax henna on his hand.
Fourth-year student Maryam Ali-Daar said people should check out the event.
“The vibes are amazing,” Ali-Daar said. “I mean it’s really a change of mood if you come in here, you’ll be satisfied.”
Al Jashmi said students can expect to see more events next semester and hopes more students will continue to learn about Oman.
