The Arabic Club is one of the only groups at Highline still meeting despite the pandemic.

The club is overseen by faculty adviser Sam Alkhalili, a Business Technology instructor at Highline, and co-President Sareen Alhaj.

Alhaj said that anyone can join the club; there are no cultural requirements.

“At this time, we have only 10 active members, in the past we had nearly 25,” Alkhalili said.

The club offers students a place to belong, its adviser said.

“[To create an atmosphere where] students can connect with people who have similar believes and values; interact and practice their Arabic language,” Alkhalili said. “Students would preserve their culture by engaging in activities on and off campus; and the club will share their culture among the college campus and local community through food, games, and activities.”

Even though it didn’t stop them completely, COVID did take its toll on the group’s numbers.

“The COVID pandemic has prevented the club from engaging in many in-person activities and limited our participation and engagement. That is why we have low participants,” Alkhalili said.

The group has still accomplished a lot and is prioritizing togetherness.

“Despite the pandemic we are able to do the following virtual activities: Food demos, virtual karaoke, Culture Lectures.  In-person, we visited the mountains and Vashon Island,” Alkhalili said.

The club meets every week. 

“We meet every Friday at 11 a.m. to discuss potential activities and events; we also meet to chat and get to know each other better,” Alkhalili said. “Once we decide on activity or event, we send the information to CLS [Center for Leadership and Services] for approval and support.”Any new members who are interested can find this information on cls.highline.edu or contact Alkhalili at oalkhalili@highline.edu.