On Wednesday 11th February Loughborough’s Jewish and Islamic societies came together for a peaceful evening. The recent events in France led to the evening of commemorations as well as a consideration of the kinds of racism and anti- Semitism that occurs in the UK.
The main aim was to celebrate the fact that here in Loughborough we are all one, hence the hashtag #OneLoughborough. People were able to go along to Cogs, listen to speeches from VP Societies, Sophie Farley; Co-ordinator for the CFS/Methodist Chaplain, Deacon Jan Sutton; from the Jewish Society we had Esther Malkinson; and from the Islamic Society, Awab Elniel.
Speeches from Esther and Awab clearly showed the attendees of the event that students of Loughborough are accepting of their peers. Esther recalled some advice given to her in Secondary school, saying “I was warned, undoubtedly, that I would receive anti- Semitic comments”. Esther says that she has found the complete opposite coming to University and that “educating people at Loughborough about Judaism has being a pleasure”. Being the main organiser of the event, Esther prompted everyone to “be the positive impact on social media”, asking people to share their images of lit candles on Instagram and Twitter. Awab also presented us with a speech, saying that it is “dangerous to ignore the rage” that has being happening recently. He also said that “as the Muslim community- we stand alongside everyone”.
The event was particularly uniting and moving for all who attended and the night presented us with a wonderful concept of peace and commemoration. People were also able to take an electric tea light and place it at the front of the stage, as well as leaving a message about unity and “one Loughborough” on a board. You are invited to share your messages and images of support throughout the month of February on social media, using #OneLoughborough.
Katie Wilson
