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As a highly-accredited research institution, Syracuse University prides itself on fostering a rigorous and inclusive academic environment, and it’s easy to see why. With hundreds of clubs, resources and opportunities to gain different cultural perspectives, the university fulfills its pledge to diversity.

But underneath this, a substantial deficiency remains: the lack of adequate Arab representation on campus. This often prevents Arab students, who make up a growing portion of the student body, from fully celebrating and honoring their rich culture, values and traditions. In turn, it deprives the student body, as a whole, of the experiences, perspectives and contributions brought by Arab voices.

Diversity has become a crucial aspect of higher education and is necessary to create an academic environment that will set students up for future success. By allowing SU students to immerse themselves in the richness of Arab culture, and learn about it in academic spaces, we can facilitate a collective appreciation and understanding of Arab contributions and achievements. A crucial part of this is working to combat stereotypes and misinformation surrounding Arabs and Arab culture.

Combating anti-Arab sentiment and Islamophobia is paramount, particularly given the limited exposure and understanding of Arab culture among the student body. Journalist Nick Kristof advocated a similar sentiment in his column for The New York Times. Kristof explained how exposure to perspectives that are different from yours are invaluable. Tying this to the United States’ invasion of Iraq, Kristof said the invasion was based on “the kind of delusion found among people who have never actually had a conversation with an Arab person.”

To address this, the university must prioritize initiatives that enhance cultural awareness, such as expanding curricula to include Arab perspectives, fostering intercultural dialogue through campus events and providing robust support for Arab student organizations, particularly the newly established Arab Student Association. By actively engaging with Arab culture and facilitating meaningful interactions, the university can pave the way towards dismantling stereotypes and fostering a more inclusive campus environment.

This March, Ashraf Alnatour, a junior at Syracuse University, who spent most of his life living in Kuwait, co-founded the first active Arab Student Association in years on campus in response to that. The prevalent gap in Arab representation at SU was his primary motivation behind establishing the organization.

“Like many other Arab students on campus, I struggled to adjust to the campus community due to the lack of Arab representation,”Alnatour said. “Having been born and raised in Kuwait, I was constantly surrounded by individuals with whom I shared values, beliefs and traditions. At Syracuse University, I felt completely detached from my cultural roots, despite the considerable presence of Arab students on campus.”

Alnatour took on this initiative in hopes of it serving as a stepping-stone toward creating an even more diverse campus community in a place where he felt the university had failed to. Now, Arab students can convene in a more organized format throughout the semester.

Tackling the issue of Arab representation on campus requires the collective effort of students, faculty, advisors and, most importantly, the university administration. This includes extending additional resources to Arab students, like scholarships, mentorship and financial assistance programs, to prompt the successful integration of Arab students. In particular, international Arab students need to be better integrated into the campus community in order to ensure their academic and personal success.

Moreover, university departments, like the Middle Eastern Studies department, should broaden their course selections to offer classes that are more centered around Arab culture, geography, art, politics, history and literature.

Dana Olwan, a Palestinian professor in the Women and Gender Studies department is a passionate advocate for increased Arab representation on campus and within the broader Syracuse community. Olwan emphasized the role of academics in fostering multiculturalism and broadening representation. Another important part of this is dedicating efforts toward recruiting, representing and supporting Arab faculty, students and staff from different backgrounds.

The Office of Student Engagement has a responsibility to prompt more Arab engagement and create spaces and communities for Arabs to expand their network, express their identities and share their culture and values with the broader Syracuse community. SU should consider establishing a designated space for the Arab community, similar to the Native Student Program located at 113 Euclid Avenue and the Barner-McDuffie House. Such an initiative would empower individuals of Arab descent, foster solidarity, and cultivate a supportive environment conducive to celebrating their diverse and culturally-rich heritage.

This could also be done by hosting panels and lectures with successful Arab figures in academia, honoring Arab students for their contributions to the university and creating more assistance programs that are aimed at supporting the success of Arab students.

In light of recent political conflicts, and escalating tensions in the Middle East and beyond, the university needs to provide resources to support and protect Arab students. This includes offering more support groups at the Barnes Center at The Arch, increased Department of Public Safety surveillance, and offering more courses, like the First Year Seminar, to further promote cultural awareness and sensitivity, especially in fighting rising Islamophobia on campus amidst the ongoing war in Gaza.

As students at SU, we each play an individual role in making our campus more inclusive of Arabs and all diverse backgrounds. Whether it is through engaging in conversations to increase cultural awareness and competence, organizing cultural events or public advocacy, the impact we could each have individually is profound.

Arab voices enhance the diversity in perspective on campus, and the broader community. It’s important that we not only elevate Arab voices on campus but also celebrate and honor the accomplishments of Arab alumni.

Kinda Alhourani is a junior majoring in Nutrition and Dietetics and Chemistry. She can be reached at kmalhour@syr.edu.

Published on April 10, 2024 at 12:37 am