LOS ANGELES — As a sophomore at Pomona College, Aysha Gsibat remembers rushing to get into the dining hall to grab food to break her fast during the holy month of Ramadan, which involves abstaining from food and water from sunrise until sunset.
She read prayers while waiting for the sun to go down. Alone in her dorm room, Gsibat had iftar, the sunset meal usually eaten with friends and family, as a party of one.
Freshman Ismail Kavuran hasn't seen his family in Turkey in eight months, and it will be another eight before he sees them again. As an international student at Harvey Mudd College, the 18-year-old worried he would spend Ramadan eating by himself.