Visualizing Russia’s Advances on Ukraine Students Organize Drives for Earthquake Relief

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Turkish Americans in Charlotte collection center to help sort donations.

“We had constant communication with ISP during the whole process,” said Turkish student Idil Ira’26.

However, Ira found the student response to the donation drives to be minimal.

“First day at the donation drive almost no one stopped, people would walk around us,” Ira said.

According to Ira, the table mainly attracted ISP staff, host families to international students, professors and other international students.

As a whole, Ira was disappointed in the lack of support provided by the Davidson community.

“In the first week no other Davidson office [aside from ISP/DIA] reached out to us. When we were organizing we had to reach out to everyone. It made us feel excluded,” says Idil.

On Feb. 22 President Doug Hicks sent an email to the entire student body thanking those who volunteered in Charlotte, and sharing a message of gratitude from Emre Ergungo, president of the ATA.

“This example of your compassion and generosity is one of many acts that Davidson students, staff, and faculty undertake on campus and in the local community,” Hicks wrote. “In sharing a word of appreciation for this action, please hear my gratitude more broadly for this community’s care.”

This was the first campus-wide communication regarding the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, and some students felt as though it came too late. Ira “appreciated” the sentiment, but pointed to a disconnect between her relationship to the earthquakes and that of American students, and others without connections of Turkey or Syria.

“There are cities that don’t exist anymore,” Ira said.“That phrasing of ‘It’s great that your family is okay’ amplifies the survivor’s guilt when you are away from home.”

In an attempt to provide support for those impacted by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the ISP office contacted individuals and host families. The Center for Student Health and Wellbeing and the Chaplain’s Office offered counseling.

“While we understand the desire for institutional expression of supportive thoughts, the College often refrains from public comment out of concern for compromising the privacy of individuals or putting an undue spotlight and burden on a small number of students on campus,” Director of Media Relations Jay Pfeifer said in an email on behalf of the College. “Our aim is to talk about what we do, to show how the Davidson community is taking action to help.”

Maia Ferreyra ‘26 discussed the inability of many American students to relate to those impacted by the earthquakes.

“I feel like as Americans, we don’t really see problems like this affect us,” Ferreyra said. “We like to think that after one day, everything’s fine, because we don’t really know what it’s like, I don’t want to speak for everyone, but most Americans don’t know what it’s like to live in not a perfect place.”

Iasamin Hatem ’26 could relate to Ira and Ferreya.

“People who are not international care little about the problems that happen outside the United States,” Hatem said. “I don’t have an immediate support system in terms of identity. I felt helpless, overwhelmed and anxious.”

Every March, bright colored powder covers the bodies of those participating in the ancient Hindu tradition of the Holi celebration. On March 18th, Davidson’s South Asian Student Association (SASA) will be hosting its annual Holi celebration.

Holi marks the end of winter, and the arrival of spring. During the celebration. participants throw colored powder and water at each other to honor the joy of the new season.

Holi was first celebrated at Davidson in 2007. Organized by the Interfaith Fellowship (now known as Better Together) and the Curry Club (now known as SASA), a small number of students gathered on Patterson Court to engage in the festivities of Holi — throwing the colored powder and spreading joy. However, the style of celebration varies across communities.

SASA President Kwahish Sharma ‘24 was born in New Delhi and raised in the United States.

“Traditionally on the night of Holi, there’s a huge bonfire and a pyre, [...] [and] the next day, you play with colors [...] and you make everyone as colorful as the spring that you hope to come.”

Kala Thapa ‘25, SASA Vice President, is from Nepal. In her hometown, women light up and walk around a large stick, praying over it as a means of “burning away the old year.”

Sahana Athreya ‘25, was born in the United States but moved to Bangalore, India when she was eight. She recounted during Holi her entire apartment complex would come together and engage in the festivities, with food trucks, music, and tables full of colored powder packets.

Athreya emphasized the “chaos” of the celebration, saying that “there’s no escaping—it doesn’t matter if you’re just walking to [...] the grocery store, you cannot escape without having color all over you.”

The excitement of Holi lingers in the days following the celebration.

“It’s so nice going to school the next day, because everyone [...] has a patch of green on their ears or under their eyes, and it’s really funny,” Athreya said.

Sharma, Thapa, and Athreya all highlighted the unifying nature of Holi. Especially at Davidson, where the Hindu religion is a minority, Holi presents an opportunity for people of all different faiths and backgrounds to come together and celebrate.

“At the end of the day it is a festival of happiness and light and color, and it’s something that we can share with everyone,” Sharma said.

College Chaplain, Rob Spach ‘84, explained how celebrating

Holi at Davidson has given him the opportunity to interact with many students across all different faiths and traditions, which has aligned with his philosophy of having “a sense of reverence for the reverence of others.”

Spach referenced Davidson’s liberal arts identity in discussing the importance of such cross-cultural involvements.

“Students are going to graduate from here, and they’re gonna go into a very pluralistic world,” Spach said. “And so to be able to interact with people in many traditions, and get to know them as friends and have fun with them, and honor things that they care about, [...] it prepares you all the better to be [...] a person who is thoughtful, and [considerate] about that dimension of a variety of people’s lives.”

While all students are welcome at the Davidson Holi celebration, SASA aims to leave an impact beyond simply partaking in the festivities.

“Anyone who comes to [celebrate] should [...] come with an open mind to learn about a different culture.” Athreya said.

In an effort to spread awareness, SASA will be providing more background information in advance of this year’s celebration, as well as during their monthly Chai Chats.

As one of the first Holi celebrations at Davidson following the pandemic, students of any background are highly encouraged to attend and participate in the festivities.

“[Holi is] about inclusivity,” Sharma said.