A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin County Community College District. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: March 10. All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Jennifer Brooks, student correspondent; Mae Nguyen, special contributor; Siulan Thomas, special contributor; Amy Lenhart, special contributor; Nick Young, photographer; layout by public relations.
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Students attend international event with Saudi official
By Mae Nguyen and Siulan Thomas
Special Contributors
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| (Back row, from left) Jason Wallace, Mae Ngyuen, Sima Mirzaie, Solaleh Azimipour, Hisham Masri and advisor Rebecca Crowell; (front row, from left) Aliasger Esmailjee, Siulan Thomas, Tisha Thomas and advisor Tatiana Shehadeh. |
Eight Collin students attended a luncheon with Prince Turki Al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia at the Hyatt Regency Feb. 7. The event was hosted by the World Affairs Council.
“The only difference between the fight for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia and women’s rights in America is that in Saudi Arabia the women will receive equal pay,” responded Ambassador Prince Al-Faisal to Collin student, Tisha Thomas’ question regarding the current “sexual apartheid” in Saudi Arabia and their recent venture to incorporate women into government.
Women’s rights, however, was only one of the many serious topics discussed by Prince Al-Faisal in his address to the assembly. Issues such as oil, terrorism and education were all discussed to give greater understanding of the importance of maintaining a positive Saudi-U.S relationship.
The students were accompanied by International student advisors Tatiana Shehadeh and Rebecca Crowell. The opportunity to attend was given by President Cary A. Israel and Dr. Mary McRae, vice president of student development.
For these students, it was a very inspiring and enriching occasion. As active members of the Model United Nations Program, for students Tisha Thomas, Mae Nguyen and Siulan Thomas, the experience helped further their interest in world affairs and brought greater understanding to the importance of working as a global community, a point strongly expressed by the Ambassador.
As a recent member to the World Trade Organization, Saudi Arabia has taken a major step to integrate into the global market as the world’s main supplier of oil. To gain entry into the WTO however, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had to come to compliance with many terms in which the Ambassador has expressed great commitment by the Kingdom to accomplish. One of the goals noted by Prince Turki Al-Faisal is already in progress. Saudi Arabia has diligently begun working on reforming their government to expand women’s voting rights and diversify their parliament.
This was a very gratifying statement for Collin students Sima Mirzaei and Solaleh Azimipourm, both members of Collins Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA) who both share in a strong Iranian heritage. Saudi Arabia, according to Ambassador Al-Faisal, has also taken a global perspective on education.
The prince discussed the many schools across America in which thousands of Saudi Arabian students were given full scholarships to attend. As President of the International Student Association, Aliasger Esmailjee knows the importance of studying abroad. Student exchange programs truly help students gain greater knowledge of different cultures and societies so we can all become stronger global citizens.
In his address to the World Trade Affairs Council, the Ambassador also talked about the current success of the Hamas in Palestine and the issue of the nuclear weaponry development in the Middle East. Jason Wallace, a student and former Naval Intelligence Officer, expressed great interest in the Ambassadors declaration for wanting to make the Middle East a Nuclear Weapon Free zone.
In regards to the Hamas, Saudi Arabia, according to the Prince, will continue to acknowledge the Palestinian Authority as the rightful leadership of Palestine, and encourages the Hamas continue working within that framework. This occasion has truly made a positive impact on the students that attended the event.
For Hisham Masri, co-president of Collin MESA, it was enlightening to listen to the Ambassador discuss the importance of Saudi Arabia integrating into the world while maintaining their cultural and religious beliefs.
“As two nations that are critical importance to global issues today, the United States and Saudi Arabia share a responsibility to promote understanding where none exists, broken peace where it has been seldom seen, and strengthen our own common bonds of friendship and cooperation," she said.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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