February served as a cultural and religious hotspot as Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Ash Wednesday occurred in the same week, Feb. 17 and Feb. 18 during Black History Month. Many organizations and departments on campus took the initiative to conduct festivities honoring these religious events and heritage.
This year marked the 100th anniversary for Black History Month as it was first federally recognized in 1926. To honor Black History Month, Dr. Dwain Pruitt invited Dr. Edda Fields-Black, 2025 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in history, to discuss her book, “Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid and Black Freedom during the Civil War.” The book explores how Tubman led the largest slave rebellion and freed 756 people, highlighting the powerful role that Tubman played in fighting against slavery.
The Asian Studies Program and Chinese Program collaborated to host the Lunar New Year Celebration series for the month, starting with Asian Tea and New Year Card Writing to celebrate the Year of the Horse. Boba tea and Chinese tea were served and the first 60 attendees received a Lunar New Year postcard from a historic post office in Shanghai, Qing Post Office.
Continuing the Lunar New Year Celebration series, Cooking Night for Rice Cakes took place on Feb. 24. Through this activity, students and other attendees were able to make rice cakes and understand the importance of this delicacy as it signifies prosperity, growth and higher income in the coming year.
The concluding event to this series was the Asian Ink Painting collaboration with CREATE, where students were able to make art works using special brushes, ink and rice paper.
Ash Wednesday fell on Feb. 18 and Reverend Ron continued Wofford’s traditional Ash Wednesday Imposition of Ashes. Students, faculty and staff were able to join the ceremony with music and ashes, twice that day. During the month of Lent, Lenten Prayers will be conducted each Wednesday at 12:30pm, offering a 10-12 minute contemplative Christian worship experience with communion.
While Ramadan has not widely been celebrated on campus, the Muslim Student Association is making efforts to celebrate the religious holiday with peers and faculty.
This year, Ramadan began on Feb. 18 and MSA is collaborating with Wofford Asian and Pacific Islander Club and Wofford’s Interfaith Young Adults club to celebrate Iftar on March 11. Iftar will begin at 6:15pm that night where all students are welcome to enjoy Middle Eastern food. Those who are observing a fast will also have the opportunity to break their daily fast.
Arooj Zainab ‘26, a student who celebrates Ramadan, shares her perspective on celebrating this religious holiday on campus.
“Ramadan is something that is often touched upon briefly in normal classes so I think recognizing Ramadan outside of class is important,” Zainab said. “When Ramadan is recognized on campus, it feels like my tradition is being seen and called within the Wofford community.”
March marks Women’s History Month, a time to honor the achievements and contributions of women from the past and present. There are many organizations on campus that recognize the women on campus and in the community. One of these clubs, Wofford Women of Color, provides a space for women to connect with peers who share their heritage and background.
The religious festivities don’t just end here. Holi, a Hindu holiday that celebrates the triumphs of good over evil, was on March 3 and will be celebrated by WAAPI on April 4 as they partner with IFYA and the Religion Department.
There is always something to celebrate at Wofford and students, faculty and other members of the community have various opportunities to participate in not only to practice their own faith and heritage, but also learn about the religions followed by the rest of their peers.
“I believe it’s important that Wofford recognizes different religious and cultural traditions because the students learn about them. After college, we will be with people who are different from us so this gives us early exposure to that setting,” Zainab said.
