Harvard, Help Me Eat During Ramadan

At Harvard, all students living on campus are required to pay $4134 each semester for an unlimited meal plan. I want part of that money back.

Last month, I observed Ramadan, a religious practice where Muslims abstain from food from dawn until sunset for 30 days. This Ramadan, during the only period Muslims are allowed to consume food, Harvard University Dining Services only offered one meal — dinner.

Given Boston’s early sunrises, Muslim students must eat their pre-dawn meals before Harvard’s dining halls open. As a result, observers including myself have had to fend for themselves financially for breakfast. Unless Harvard plans on reimbursing Muslim students for an entire month, the least they could do is offer earlier breakfast hours.

While the community has organized a limited number of pre-dawn meals to eat together on campus, these meals are not everyday, forcing Muslim students to either not eat or spend more money than they otherwise would have. In the past, Harvard used to host iftars, our post-sunset meal, during all 30 days of Ramadan. Last year, they reduced Ramadan programming to occur on seven of the 30 days.

Coming to campus, I was all for an unlimited dining hall plan. After hearing horror stories of my friends rationing their school’s dining dollars, I felt relieved that none of these problems would follow me to Cambridge. But when I pay for exorbitant dining hall fees without being able to eat properly during one of Islam’s most sacred holidays, more flexible dining hall options become all the more enticing.

During Ramadan, I was only able to make use of the dining hall once a day, leaving two-thirds of my prepaid meal swipes completely unused. I felt like I was throwing my money away without means of recourse.

Ramadan on campus already provides its fair share of struggles. We are miles away from family and old friends during a time where community is paramount, and the goal is to become closer to God and Islam as a whole. The added hurdle of finding food has prevented us from being able to fully achieve that.

Rather than waking up with my family and sharing dates and sambusas — traditional foods eaten during Ramadan — for our pre-dawn meal, most days my roommate and I must trek to Dunkin’, CVS, or consume cold leftovers and snacks by ourselves. This alternative to dining hall eating proves to be pricey over time.

While dining halls remain closed during Suhoor, Ramadan’s pre-dawn meal, students have found ways to make do. Through HUDS, students can pick up a bagged meal at dinner or communicate with kitchen staff — at least two days ahead of time — to access provisions for a hot breakfast in their respective community kitchens. These options become laborious and needlessly complicated for some students, especially compared to the ease of simply swiping your card at mealtime.

Suhoor is essential to Ramadan and fasting, and the importance of fueling oneself with healthy food to sustain us through lectures and problem-setting cannot be understated.

Harvard should offer a partial refund for the month of Ramadan to Muslim students. Doing so would help alleviate the burden for Muslims on campus and allow them to more easily afford healthy meals outside of dining halls.

Students could use the money for groceries or even to help fund a greater number of community meals. Alternatively, if Harvard isn’t willing to cough up the money, they should open a dining hall during the hours of Suhoor for the 30 day period.

A one-size-fits-all dining plan simply doesn’t meet the needs of Muslim students. By providing refund checks for those observing Ramadan or offering earlier breakfast times, Harvard can ensure Muslim students can observe Ramadan without undue financial burden.

Harvard, celebrating Ramadan is hard enough on campus — so at least undertake the courtesy of helping feed us during it.

Siyanne A. Redda ’28, a Crimson Editorial editor, lives in Wigglesworth Hall.