As about 60 students slowly trickled into Parkes Hall Wednesday evening, they mingled with others rather than heading straight for the food – even though they hadn’t eaten all day.

In an effort to strengthen campus unity, the Office of the University Chaplain, NU Council of Religions, Muslim-cultural Students Association, Fiedler Hillel Center, Catholic Undergrads and Om Hindu Students Council participated in NU’s first Interfaith Fast-a-thon.

Sponsors, including Domino’s Pizza, donated $1 for each student who fasted to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The event lasted from sunrise to sundown, when students gathered to break the fast.

“We’re hoping people meet each other and go outside of their comfort zones,” said McCormick junior Aamair Tajuddin, one of the event’s organizers. “We want to stress similarities and unite them through service.”

Tajuddin, a member of McSA, said he wanted to encourage philanthropy and more interaction between religious organizations. Students from the different groups spoke about what fasting means in their religions.

“It just breeds diversity,” he said. “It helps us understand that even though we come from different religions, we share the same values.”

University Chaplain Timothy Stevens announced shortly after 8 p.m. that it was time to break the fast.

“I’ve been told by someone that it’s time to eat, and he seemed really happy about it,” Stevens said.

“We would like to encourage people to mix up and sit with people (they) don’t know.”

Jaimee Stephens, president of Catholic Undergrads, said the event had meaning because fasting was a common tradition among different religions.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity to expand our horizons,” the Weinberg junior said. “We often stay in our bubbles, so it was nice to see something that links us together in our different faiths.”

Stephens said she challenged herself by not drinking water for the day.

“I refrained (from water) to try something new just from sunup to sundown, but Catholics generally don’t,” she said.

“Once you start doing different things, you don’t keep your mind on it. But there were a few times where I thought, ‘I should go take a nap.'”

Sabrina Siddiqui, a Medill sophomore and fundraising chair for McSA, said she was pleased with the turnout.

“We thought fasting would drive people away in 80-degree weather in the middle of May, when the sun sets at eight,” she said. “But I was happy to see so many groups come together.”

Siddiqui also said the event was important because it encouraged interaction between people of different faiths.

“I think there needs to be more collaboration between religious groups at NU,” Siddiqui said. “The cultural groups have done great things with co-sponsored programs, but religious groups have remained fairly segregated.”

Weinberg senior Ginnie Morrison participated in the Fast-a-thon.

She said the fasting was difficult at times but that she enjoyed it.

“I decided it was a good cause,” she said. “If I wasn’t going to eat for a day, I might as well do it for the children.”

Reach Ketul Patel at [email protected]