Every year for 30 days, over a billion people around the world fast from sunrise to sunset for the holiday Ramadan. Ramadan is based around the holiest month for Muslims and is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Various students and faculty at University Prep celebrate Ramadan and have different experiences with how they celebrate and the culture the school has around the holiday.

Ninth grader Ilwad Mohamed has fasted for Ramadan every year since she hit puberty, which is when Muslim people often begin fasting. While it can be a challenge, fasting doesn’t affect Mohamed a lot.

“I feel like you get used to it after doing it for so many days,” Mohamed said. 

Junior Kian Baghai also fasts for Ramadan and has been trying to fast more every year.

“For the first few years, I probably only did like a weekend but I keep doing a few more days every year,” Baghai said. “Hopefully one year I can do every day and I’m getting closer to that goal. Like last year I made it to like 20 days.”

Similarly to Mohamed, while Baghai feels like it can be hard to manage school and sports while fasting, he gets used to it quickly. However, he finds that the biggest challenge with fasting is feeling out of place.

“It’s hard when all my friends are going off campus for lunch or even just going to get lunch every day and I’m just sitting there watching,” Baghai said. “It also makes it more difficult for like hanging out with friends on the weekends and stuff because usually when I hang out with people it revolves around food.”

Around the greater school community, Baghai and Mohamed both think that UPrep could be doing more for Ramadan. 

“I really wish that [Ramadan] was just more out there,” Mohamed said. “Like other holidays just have a day off but for us, we have to request to have a day off for Eid which is the celebration right after Ramadan ends.”

Baghai feels like people don’t know the basics of what Ramadan is, and the lack of discussion from the school doesn’t help.

“I don’t think UPrep has acknowledged it at all this year and it’s a little unfortunate, but it’s really the bare minimum that they need to do.”