A is for Arab comes to Transit Center

posted on: Oct 14, 2014

Students in the transit center will now have something a little more interesting to look at as it has become home to the “A is for Arab” exhibit. The display includes political cartoons, film stills, comic books and other striking depictions of Arab
culture.

The “A is for Arab” exhibit points out the negative stereotypes within American media and overarching American perceptions of Middle Easterners. The exhibit is on loan from New York University from the Jack Shaheen Archives and is made up of several different panels showing the commonly portrayed image of an Arabic icon, while the opposing sides dive deeply into the origin of those stereotypes.

“I think it’s really important for students at Boise State [to view this exhibit] because of the huge influx of Middle Eastern students that we’ve had over the last five years. We’ve gone from about 40 students to about 250,” said Drew Clippard, student support coordinator for International Student Services.

Clippard spent several years teaching in the Middle East and feels that the education system in Middle Eastern countries has vast differences from those in the United States. This creates a point of view and cultural divide between international students from said regions and American students.

“Students from the Middle East endure a much greater degree of discrimination and stereotypes than other cohorts of students on our campus,” Clippard said.

“A is for Arab” creates an outlet where students can open their eyes to perpetuating stereotypes that they are unaware of. Bader Alsanea, health information management major senior, is an international student from Saudi Arabia who has experienced discrimination first hand.

“You meet a lot of people; some of them accept your culture and others just choose to ignore it. The rest are not even involved, but people who are involved usually accept it,” Alsanea said. “You can’t change the stereotype, but you can face the stereotype and change it in some people’s minds.”

Alsanea commented on how “A is for Arabic” gives domestic students the chance to start the metacognition that will lead to a more accepting university.

“(The exhibit) tells a little but it opens up the idea of knowing the other people,” Alsanea said.

According to Clippard, one of the topics not touched on by “A is for Arabic” is the slew of movies that were funded by the Department of Defense in the last 10 years.

“There are about a half dozen movies out that portray Arabs in a very negative light, that were funded by the Department of Defense,” Clippard said, citing “True Lies” as an example.

For students more interested in an additional film aspect of the exhibit, International Student Services will also be holding two screenings of a 50-minute documentary called “Reel Bad Arabs.” The documentary dives into the Hollywood depictions of Arabic ethnicity. The screenings are on Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the Jordan Ballroom in the SUB and on Oct. 14 at noon in the Albertsons Library room 201C.