“Welcome.” One word, short and simple, used often in our everyday lives. To sophomores Idil Kuner and Bryan Haddad Zamorano, however, “welcome” was the guiding principle they had in mind when they founded Aspelia, a new student organization focusing on Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture, this Spring Term.
Kuner and Haddad Zamorano, both its co-founders and co-presidents, sat down with me — welcomed me, if you would — to talk a little bit about how the club has grown and changed, even in the short time it has been active.
Kuner considered Aspelia to have been a spontaneous but productive endeavor. She and Haddad Zamorano were waiting in line for a Lawrence International (LI) food event, where each of the cultural clubs on campus brought a dish or two for Lawrentians to try, when Haddad Zamorano started thinking out loud: what kinds of dishes would he and Kuner bring to represent their Mediterranean and Middle Eastern heritages? Then, a question sprung forth: why wasn’t there a student organization on campus that represented the regions? Finally, the question evolved into an idea: What if there was? Haddad Zamorano, who has Grecian-Syrian heritage from his mother’s side, and Kuner, hailing from Turkey with a Greek grandmother, both spoke on their identities being integral parts of themselves, so why not create a space where they were uplifted and appreciated? It was at that moment that the blueprints for the club were drawn. Who would have thought that waiting for food would have brought this food for thought?
Once Kuner and Haddad Zamorano had an outline of what they wanted to see in the club, they were faced with a big question: their club name. “Aspelia” not only came quickly to them but also fit their values far better than they could have imagined. At first, they believed “Aspelia” was a word of their own making; they had merged the Greek words “aspro,” meaning “white,” and “elaia,” meaning “olive,” to create the amalgamation of “Aspelia.”
To their surprise, Kuner and Haddad Zamorano later learned that Aspelia was the name of an ancient technique where one directs tree branch growth towards its fullest potential.
Both co-presidents thought this new meaning for Aspelia was nothing short of perfect. After all, their two main goals for their new club were to encourage both international students from the Mediterranean and the Middle East as well as domestic students of the heritage to reach out, connect and express themselves with one another and for Lawrentians of all backgrounds to grow their knowledge and appreciation about the cultures. Additionally, they desire to plant Aspelia’s roots in the Lawrence community alongside established cultural organizations like Alianza, the Black Student Union, the Pan-Asian Organization and others.
Love of learning is something the liberal arts education aims to foster. Perhaps there is a unique willingness to learn in Lawrentians especially, chasing not only answers but the nuanced understandings of questions.
Still, we as a campus know how to have fun, from rocking out at LUaroo to impromptu frisbee games on Main Hall Green. Aspelia, in this Lawrentian spirit, interweaves the two; the club exposes Lawrentians to the Mediterranean and the Middle East through its art, food, music and other recreational forms of expression.
Their first official event brought Lawrentians together to make origami flowers and chill to some music from the regions. For an emerging club’s first event, the fifty-some people who showed up were a pleasant shock to Kuner and Haddad Zamorano, who also believed this event was a symbol of Lawrence giving them a warm welcome into the cultural kaleidoscope.
Their second event was their presence at the LI Hot Wing Throwdown, where Aspelia brought two hot sauces—shatta, made of fermented red pepper, and the Yemeni zhoug of mixed spices and coriander—to represent the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Haddad Zamorano extended his thanks to both LI and the participants, who he said also welcomed them warmly. Their most recent was a marbling table, where Lawrentians created bookmarks, tote bags and other craft items with flowing designs. Haddad Zamorano hopes that as they move into hosting weekly events, Aspelia will remain a place where Lawrentians can discover Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures through gateways like these.
There is much in store for what comes next with Aspelia; the sky is the limit for the directions the club might take to reach its greatest potential, just like the trees grown in the namesake style.
Before the end of the term, the organization wants to make up for lost time at the LI event that it sprouted from; the co-presidents agree that they want to do a food tasting event just like the one they plan to attend next year as a recognized organization.
So, yes, “welcome” is still a single, small word in the dictionary. But to Aspelia, that word is everything. Though each subculture in the Mediterranean and the Middle East are unique, Haddad Zamorano recognized that the regions share stark cultural commonalities.
With that in mind, he believes Aspelia to be a place where people can express themselves and participate in the shared beauty of the regions’ culture, whether that culture is their own or not.
Both he and Kuner hope that even once they leave Lawrence behind to pursue their futures, Aspelia, its members, and Lawrentians who drop by events even just every so often will continue to “welcome” growth and celebration of the cultures they hold so very dear for as long as it can.