Asalaam Alaikum,
Welcome to a new MSA year! I hope that your summer is off to a good start. Here at the MSA, we have turned over a new leaf. On June 1st, a new structure came into being, and with it came a new group of executives. I invite you to take a minute to meet the new MSA executives on campus.
Before I go further, I must thank all the previous executives for their dedication during the last academic year. From the Frosh Week all the way to the Farewell Social, they infused a new life into MSA programming. On behalf of all the MSA members, I wish them success and happiness in their future endeavours.
MSA at University of Toronto was formed in mid-sixties and is the oldest MSA in Canada. Continentally, we are part of a growing society of nearly three hundred university MSA’s. We are also one of the largest and most active groups on campus. This year, as we enter our sixth decade on this campus, we have new challenges to face and also new opportunities to grasp.
In the last few decades, MSA has evolved dramatically in its size and programming. In order to adapt to the pace and direction of this evolution, we are experimenting with a completely new structure this year – a smaller executive body and larger group of directors, each one with a specific mandate. Our aim to reduce the bureaucracy, improve the quality of events, cut down the time delays in planning stages, and, most importantly, reach out to a wider audience. While we pursue this experiment, I am hopeful that you will lend your support in every possible way, especially by attending our events, spreading word about us and volunteering with us.
This year, besides the religious services that have been at the core of MSA programming for decades, we will be focusing heavily on building a more vibrant and lively social life for Muslim students, creating a pro-active platform for social justice activism, forging new partnerships with Muslim and non-Muslim groups, and most importantly, engaging Muslims from all kinds of backgrounds, cultures and religious inclinations. Whether your focus in life is academic, athletic, political, intellectual or spiritual, we will definitely have something to offer you in the next twelve months that will spark an interest in you. All you have to do is to stay in touch with us. Better yet, you can come up with your own ideas to interest other people and we will provide you all the support you need – financial, logistical and otherwise.
On a final note, I hope you like our new MSA-L email design. In the coming weeks, insha Allah, you will see a revamped website, our Frosh Week and Ramadan programming, as well as new and improved services. If you want to be a part of what promises to be an exciting school year, please get in touch with one of our Vice-Presidents or Directors and they will be more than happy to make you a part of their teams. If you have other comments, questions or suggestions, please feel free to send them my way at president@uoftmsa.com.
On behalf of the new MSA executives, I welcome you all to a new MSA year.
Mueen
