By Katie Higgs & Rachel Blackburn – May 10, 2018
Last semester, two of our current interns had the chance to take a DISC course at their respective institutions. The course, Intro to Islam, is usually taught by Dr. Mohammad Khalil at MSU. Rachel Blackburn took the course that was shared to Penn State, while Katie Higgs took the course on site at Michigan State. As this class took place in the fall, it was also during football season. The BigTen is full of great football teams, and the competition that creates doesn’t end at the classroom door. Below are the experiences of these two interns as their respective classes prepared for the Penn State vs. Michigan State football game.
Rachel, Penn State University:
Part of the unique experience provided in a DISC class is the relationship that develops between the two schools involved in the class. In the fall semester of 2017, I was in the Penn State DISC class, “Intro to Islam”, taught by Mohammad Khalil at Michigan State. The interactions that my peers at Penn State had with the students at Michigan State was different than what you would get in a traditional classroom setting, and more special because of that. One of my favorite memories from my class happened the week before the Penn State vs. Michigan state football game.
Professor Khalil had been hyping up the football game for weeks, inviting any Penn State students traveling to the game to a tailgate and saying that whichever school answered more questions correctly would win the game. The technology coordinator at Penn State suggested decking out the classroom with blue and white before the game, and all the students agreed. We showed up to class wearing Penn State gear and waving pom poms. Blue and white lights and Penn State flags had been hung all around the room, and we even had “WE ARE Penn State” projected in front of the desks. The Michigan State class was very surprised when they turned on their video connection to see us all cheering on our school.
Unfortunately for us, Michigan State beat Penn State 27-24 after weather prolonged the game to seven hours. As if that weren’t embarrassing enough, Professor Khalil brought Sparty, the Michigan State mascot into their classroom to rub it in the following week! Since we lost, my Penn State class did the Michigan State chant for them. Even though we lost the game, it was a really fun and unique experience between the two schools that I know I wouldn’t have gotten if I hadn’t taken a DISC class.
Katie, Michigan State University:
Who would have thought that Islamic Studies and College football would have been the intersection that provided a space to create community between two Big Ten Schools? In Fall 2017, DISC ran the “Intro to Islam” course that was taught at Michigan State by Dr. Mohammad Khalil and shared to Penn State. Dr. Khalil has made a bet on behalf of the students at Michigan State leading up to the football game between MSU and Penn State. The deal was if Penn State won, the MSU students would chant in class “WE ARE, PENN STATE”, and if MSU won, Penn State would chant “GO GREEN, GO WHITE”. The class before the game however, the students at Penn State had decorated their classroom with lights and flags and their college colors, while the MSU students had not shown their school spirit in quite the same way.
After a long game with weather interference, the MSU Spartans were victorious against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Dr. Khalil said that he felt the need to make up for the lack of school spirit we had shown before the game. He was able to reach out to the people who book Sparty for events, and invited Sparty to come to class after the game.
Creating a Community in a DISC Classroom
This class, though the focus was Islamic Studies, also provided a space for friendly Big Ten football rivalries to play a part in building community. It was a memorable experience for all involved. Students at both universities were looking forward to class to learn, but also to be part of the events involving the other school. Thanks to the participation and school spirit at both Michigan State and Penn State, students were able to have fun discussing outside topics in their DISC classes. While the classrooms are 450 miles apart, the laughs shared inside made it feel like the students were all together.