Members of the Muslim Student Association passed out Skittles candy to students in the Memorial Student Center plaza on Friday, after a tweet by Donald Trump, Jr. regarding Syrian refugees made headlines.

The original tweet by Trump, Jr. included a picture of Skittles with the question “If I had a bowl of skittles and I told you just three would kill you. Would you take a handful?” followed by “That’s our Syrian refugee problem.” Trump, Jr.’s own comments were “This image says it all. Let’s end the politically correct agenda that doesn’t put America first. #trump2016.”

Suzann Al-Qawasmi, president of MSA, said she had the idea to give away skittles to spread the group’s message of love.

“It really bothered me,” Al-Qawasmi said. “I’m not Syrian and it’s not even because I’m Muslim. It’s a human thing. We just wanted to counter his message with our more universal message of love, compassion, acceptance and tolerance.”

Malak Khader, vice president of MSA, said the group is open to any student, Muslim or non-Muslim, who is interested in the religion or want to be informed.

“He (Trump, Jr.) is pasting a label on millions of people who are just trying to live,” Khader said. “The reason that they’re refugees is because they’re in an incredibly hostile environment, but they themselves are not hostile. They’re trying to leave and come to a sanctuary, come to a place where they can raise their kids and live a normal life, like all of us want. They want an education, they want to have jobs, they want to contribute to their communities and they want to do that in a safe place.”

In addition to passing out Skittles, members of MSA have organized activities such as bake sales, hijab events and events that honor Islamic holidays. Future events will include a blood drive toward the end of October and a take-back-the-night vigil, as well as events during Muslim Awareness Week beginning in November.

“Our organization is dedicated to strengthening the Muslim community, educating people about Islam and clearing up misconceptions,” Al-Qawasmi said. “I feel like a big part of why there is so much hate toward the religion is because people don’t understand. Our mission is not to convert people or try to get them to believe what we believe. It’s just to show people that we’re here and believe different things than they believe, but that doesn’t really make us that different. We’re all human. We all still love, we all still feel, we all still care. Our vision is to show that we can coexist in peace.”

MSA meets in room 231 of the INTO Center at 3 p.m. every other Friday.

Olivia Zarilla can be contacted at [email protected].