All Women Swim stays afloat for the 2023-24 school year
2023-24 MSA leads. Credit: Najma Hussein
By Skylar Mattson
The Muslim Student Association (MSA) keeps All Women Swim afloat this year after debuting the event last fall. All Women Swim is an event where the Butler Center pool becomes a safe space for any woman at St. Kate’s to come swim. Students in MSA cover all of the windows and doors around the pool, so people are unable to see inside. Daily, the pool has open hours for anyone to use it, and it is open to anyone’s gaze. During All Women Swim, the pool is transformed into a private space for only women to make a splash.
To learn about MSA’s dedication to hosting All Women Swim, I met with MSA treasurer Najma Hussein ’26 (International Business and Economics/Marketing). Hussein said that All Women Swim got its start so the association could offer an inclusive environment for Muslim women on campus to swim and not feel like they were showing too much.
Hussein shared about the work that goes into planning the event, including working with the Butler Center and the CSSJ to select dates, preparing pizza orders and publicizing the event. After learning about all the time that goes into planning All Women Swim, I was curious about what makes MSA continue to host the event. Hussein explained that MSA likes giving students the chance to come together in the pool, and she added that the event can be stress relieving for students. She said that MSA hopes that as All Women Swim continues, students make it a tradition they can look forward to.
On Friday, Oct. 27, the windows and doors surrounding the university’s pool were covered for All Women Swim. The curtains allowing everyone to feel comfortable is one aspect of the event that those in attendance appreciated most.
I chatted with some of the women who came to gather their thoughts about All Women Swim. None of the women I talked to at the event were members of MSA, but they came to support their friends in the club, make new connections and swim in an inclusive environment.
Aubrey Khang’ 25 (Nursing) explained that attending an event where everyone gets to be comfortable is “liberating and empowering.” For Pa Tshia Lee ‘26 (Chemistry), this was her first time using St. Kate’s pool. Lee pointed out how thoughtful those who put on this event are. Patrons I chatted with were appreciative of the inclusive swimming environment MSA created for them to feel comfortable in the water.
Caption: Upcoming All Women Swim dates. Credit: MSA
All Women Swim will be surfacing again on Thursday, Nov. 16 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hussein told me that MSA is also busy preparing to attend the largest Islamic convention in the nation, the MAS-ICNA conference, in December.
The group has some opportunities in the works to get to know the association. MSA used to host an event for Muslim students titled Shax and Sheeko which translates to tea and conversation. Instead, this year MSA is moving toward hosting Bonds and Barakah or Bonds and Blessings, in hopes that this event will be more inclusive to all students. Stay up to date on MSA’s events by following them on Instagram @msa.stkates.
