By Shivali Shah, Co-Editor-in-Chief
The Desi Student Association (DSA) transformed the outdoor classroom into a vibrant celebration of Holi on April 10th, bringing students together for an afternoon of color and community.
Holi, the Hindu festival of colors marking the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil, was officially observed on March 4th this year. At River Hill, students celebrated the occasion later, with a school-wide event featuring warm samosas, Bollywood music, and the iconic throwing of brightly colored powder.
“I came to support my friends and get to experience a new type of cultural event. I’ve never played Holi before, and it was really fun. I think our school should host more events like this,” says senior Annika Borowski. “My favorite moment was definitely seeing everyone covered in colored powder and just completely in the chaos of the event.”
While enjoyed by many who attended, the event took months of planning and coordination to execute. “We started planning a few months ago…we had to get approval from our sponsor Mr. Wolters so that we could allocate funds and budget. We then went about reserving space and marketing the event in the announcements as well as on Canvas,” explains DSA co-president Sia Saraiya.
However, the planning process was not without its challenges. The DSA officer team faced multiple setbacks leading up to the celebration, including completely cancelling their originally scheduled event date on March 13th due to inclement weather.
While the event ultimately was a success, DSA officers acknowledged that there is still room for growth. “We didn’t get as many people as we would have liked to come to the event. Holi is always a lot more fun when you have a large number of people, and it would have been especially nice since we have such a large desi population at the school,” senior Trisha Seth, DSA co-president, says.
Planning ahead, the club is already working toward improving future events and activities. “We’re working on marketing our events better,” Seth explains. “We’re trying to gain a bigger social media presence, and we’re thinking about collaborating with other Desi organizations at other schools to help with turnout and also funding.”
Beyond the Holi festivities, the event exemplified the DSA’s broader goal of fostering inclusivity at the school. As Saraiya describes, the organization aims “to make sure that River Hill is a diverse place that is also inclusive of a variety of cultures. And to make sure that the students of River Hill feel included and seen.”