Although Connecticut is the third wealthiest state in America, upwards of 250 people in Middlesex County alone struggle to feed themselves on a daily basis, according to the Middletown-based nonprofit St. Vincent DePaul. Last Thursday, Muslim, Christian and Jewish students at the University—and at over 240 college campuses across North America—fasted in the spirit of Ramadan and charity for the University’s second annual Fast-a-Thon.

The University of Knoxville’s Muslim Student Association chapter created the event in 2001 to raise awareness of Ramadan in the name of charity. Organized at Wesleyan by the Interfaith Justice League (IJL) and the University’s MSA chapter, the Fast-a-Thon allowed students to donate their unused points from that day to a giant Weshop account to be given to St. Vincent DePaul’s Amazing Grace Food Pantry. The mayor of Middletown, Sebastian Giuliano, also matched all donations $.50 to the dollar.

Students who had donated their day’s meals and points then attended an evening event in Beckham Hall, which included guest speakers, a recitation from the Qur’an, and a Haveli Indian dinner to break the fast. Nadeem Modan ’10, who helped organize the Fast-a-Thon, spoke in the event’s opening address, challenging participants to consider the extent of their own generosity.

“If your neighbor was hungry, would you eat?” he asked.

After receiving a hushed response from the crowd, he demanded, “So the soup kitchen can hear it.” The audience cried a spirited “no!”

The event was even more successful than the first Fast-a-Thon in 2007, raising more awareness and money. The number of participating students more than tripled from 250 to 800, raising $11,361, which far exceeded last year’s $4,500. Additionally, 21 resident advisors, six campus organizations, five program houses and seven religious organizations inside and outside Middletown helped sponsor the event.

Marwa Said Aly, the new Muslim chaplain, also spoke at the event, applauding students for being pioneers of social justice. She explained that the fast takes place during the month in which the Qur’an was revealed to Mohammed. Aly reminded the audience that the Ramadan fast is about more than just refraining from food and drink—practicing Muslims must also abstain from cursing, violence and sexual thought or activity.

Other speakers included President Michael Roth, who discussed how hunger is a daily problem for many residents of Middletown.

“Hunger is unacceptable in the land of plenty,” Roth said. “The point is by eating less you allow other people to have access to a meal.”

According to Ron Krom, director of St. Vincent DePaul, there are currently 276 people in Middlesex County who are hungry and 82 who are homeless. Krom’s program to combat hunger, which consists of a soup kitchen and food pantry, serves 685 meals per day.

Students could choose to donate either points or three meals. Only a fraction of the entire price of the meals, however, went to charity.

“Amazing Grace will receive the amount that Bon Appétit would have spent on food for those meals, which is 40 percent of the meal cost,” the IJL wrote in an e-mail to all participants. “The other 60 percent goes to overhead costs like workers salaries, which it would be unethical to infringe upon.”

The organizers of this year’s Fast-a-Thon, Modan, Rachel Berkowitz ’09 and Ann-Marie Illsley ’10, were the last three to speak before the call to prayer. To wrap up the evening, the organizers read various quotations from the Bible, Torah, Hindu Vedas and Qur’an, which University community members had cited as their favorite religious passages.

The Fast-a-Thon participants broke the fast in true Ramadan tradition—at the moment the sun set (6:42 p.m.). Muslim students headed for the prayer room on the first floor of Usdan after the call to prayer, which Sandy Yudhistira ’12 performed.

After the prayer, the remainder of the night took on a lighter note as students, faculty and residents of Middletown feasted together on Indian food. People were also asked to write down their personal reflections with crayon on construction paper for a project that has to be announced.

While the free shirts, $100 Best Buy gift card raffle and the free Haveli dinner lured many participants, students had other reasons for participating beyond the complimentary tchatchkes.

Stephanie Quainoo ’10 decided to fast for the entire month of Ramadan though she is not Muslim and has been sick.

“I’m not Muslim but I wanted to fast with my Muslim brothers and sisters,” Quainoo said.

Editor-in-Chief Miriam Leshin contributed to this article.