As Arab culture and heritage rise in importance on the global scale, many Arab American and non-Arab students alike are coming together in a month-long event on campus to celebrate the culture, cuisine and traditions of a race whose image has long been clouded by a multitude of stereotypes and confusion.
"There are lots of negative stereotypes surrounding Arab heritage," said Reema Ahmad, program assistant for intercultural programs and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences. "What we want to try and do with this month is create an environment where people can ask questions and feel comfortable asking them."
Ahmad said the main purpose of the Arab Heritage Celebration, which began Nov. 1 and will continue to the end of the month, is to educate students and people in the community about Arab history and culture.
The theme, "No Silence to Injustice," will focus on topics that are often ignored but that deserve attention, such as the racial profiling and of Arab Americans, Ahmad said.
The celebration is sponsored by the Office of Student Development in conjunction with the Arab Student Association and the Marquette Student Government Diversity Commission.
Ahmad said organizers are trying to educate students about many different elements of Arab culture through films, discussions, lectures, lunches and other various activities.
This week alone, celebration events have included a film, a panel discussion on racial profiling and photo exhibit on Iraqi people.
John Lee, diversity commissioner for MUSG and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said one of the principal goals of the celebration is to give students of non-Arab heritages insight into some of the struggles Arab Americans have endured both in the past and present.
"We want the celebration to give people a better idea of who Arab Americans are, and also give a bit more in-depth analysis of the struggles they face," Lee said.
Louise Cainkar, assistant professor of social and cultural sciences who held a racial profiling panel discussion Wednesday as part of the Arab Heritage Celebration, said one of the biggest problems Arab Americans have to face today is the negative stereotypes surrounding their culture.
Cainkar noted the detrimental effects that stereotyping has had on Arab Americans, particularly in the wake of Sept. 11.
"The attacks of Sept. 11 have been a big part of Arab Americans' recent history, and have defined their American experience over the last seven years," Cainkar said. "However, I believe Arab Americans would not have been held so responsible for the attacks if they had not already been stereotyped so extensively in the 30 years prior to the attacks."
Cainkar said the most effective way to combat these negative stigmatizations is not only through education, but through action.
"If people didn't so readily accept the stereotypes offered to them by the media, then Arab Americans would not have had to experience what they experienced," she said. "Demands have to be made on the media, and they have to be made by a group larger than the ones being victimized."