The 5K was led by West Bank-born Palestinian, psychology sophomore and SUPR Outreach Coordinator Nasim Saed. Saed, who lived in the West Bank for about a decade, said he wanted to do something “impactful" to give back to his community.

Saed said he was inspired to host a 5K to support Palestinian refugees impacted by the Israel-Hamas conflict. As an employee of Okemos shoe store Playmakers, which hosts many 5K's, Saed said they were able to provide "great resources."

This was an idea that began in the first semester and blossomed into a “bigger than expected" event, he said.

“It's an event that brings the community together,” Saed said. “At the same time, it sheds light on a crisis that has been going on for the past 75 years. When you bring the community together, you create something you become part of a larger narrative. Hosting such events that bring the community together, can spread awareness even faster and create something such as a community gathering, which is associated with love to be a part of that larger narrative.”

Before the race began, Saed announced the event had raised over $16,000.

SUPR Social Media Manager and psychology sophomore Maj Boulos said he was “really happy” about the turnout and to be a part of something bigger than himself. 

“Our nation is eternal," Boulas said. "Our struggle has been consistent throughout centuries. And our people will never die. And while the world stays silent, it is our responsibility as people to ensure that the Palestinians are not silenced.” 

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. military would establish a temporary port to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian people living in Gaza. Boulos said it's a good initiative, but “too little too late.” 

“America has been complicit in this in this occupation from day one, with their unwavering support for the State of Israel,” Boulos said. 

Social relations and policy senior and Race for Humanity volunteer Mady Grant said the 5K was a way for her to help support a “good cause,” something she highly values. 

“We've taken like a nonpolitical stance,” Grant said. “We've kind of want to emphasize to people how this is like a race for a humanitarian effort. We're trying to raise money for people … not trying to make a political scene or anything. We're just trying to raise money and do the right thing.” 

Political theory and constitutional democracy and comparative cultural and politics sophomore Lana Elsibai, who also was a volunteer for the 5k, said the current events in Gaza are a “disgrace” and “encompass oppression.” By participating events like the 5k, Elsibai said, she really feels like she is making a difference.

SUPR Social Media Team Board Member and physiology sophomore Jeneen Doud said SUPR wanted to bring Palestine into the conversation with the 5K and named it “5K for humanity” for a reason. 

“Our whole goal was to help the refugees, because we couldn't get the funds into Gaza directly,” Doud said. “We want to see how many people we can get together to not even just for donations, you know, to support a good cause- a humanity cause.” 

Several members of the Michigan community attended this event. FAST Enterprises employee Saifur Rehman, who originally moved from Houston, Texas last August, said it was amazing that the student organizations raised more than $16,000. Rehman ran the 5k to support his community as a Muslim. 

“This is the most inclined I felt to actually run a 5K,” Rehman said. “ I know a lot of stuff like this going towards fundraising and we plan on like donating some portion of whatever I can to towards that cause. It brings a lot of awareness to what's going on because a lot of times people will just see that … but as we've learned throughout history, ignoring stuff isn't the best way to go about it, because it really doesn't fix anything.” 

Computer science freshman Raymond Deng finished second in the race.

“I’m feeling pretty tired,” Deng said. “The course was pretty hilly, I’m happy to have finished second and obviously its a great cause to support – send supplies to Gaza.” 

Saed said he feels good about the turnout and is proud of all the effort put into the event. 

“We are very, very very proud and happy of everyone that has helped out of the seven (organizations), and even the ones of everyone that was capable to take a humanitarian stance and be able to come out in this in this cold weather,” Saed said. “And we are very, very, very thankful for all the people. And lastly, we are very thankful for the ones that did not make it out but still chose to donate for our cause.”