1981_09 The Daily Collegian September 1981

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Racial tensions ease;
The racial fervor once directed
at foreign students on campuses
across toe country seems to have
subsided somewhat at CSUF.
What fervor Is still present is
usually among the visiting foreign
students themselves, said a campus
counselor who deals only with for¬
eign students.
The student*are fighting differ¬
ent battles now, often similar to
those of American students.
Zahir Ahmed, who counsels fresh¬
man students in the International
Student Counseling office, said com¬
plaints are directed more towards
language and bureaucratic problems
than political ones these days.
- Physical attacks, and angry chant¬
ing crowds, frequent during the
time American hostages were held
in Iran, seem to have become
things of the past.
During the height of the hos¬
tage crisis, 15 foreign students at
CSUF reported they were beaten
during a two-week period in retal¬
iation for a situation over which
they had no control.
American students, cursing Iran
and Iranians, attacked foreign stu-
dents on streets and sometimes In
their own homes.
Most of the students were not
even Iranian. Venezuelans, Saudi
Arabians and even a Mexican-
American were injured in the me¬
lees.
The attacks occurred at a fairly
volatile time. In April 1960, Irani¬
an students were successful in
preventing Fereydoun Hoyveda, form¬
er Iranian Ambassador to the Uni¬
ted Nations under the Shah of
Iran, from speaking to a gather¬
ing of CSUF students.
American students, aware that
they could not Influence the situa¬
tion in Iran; were angered be¬
cause they could not seem to
gain control of the events taking
place in their own country, on
their own campus.
The release of the hostages in
January seems to have triggered
the end of much of that hostil¬
ity.
The four students, gathered
around a table in the CSUF
cafeteria, all centered on tuition
when asked about problems facing
foreign students on campus today.
Fawzi Oreikat, a Palestinian, said
he believed rising tuition costs
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were an attempt to keep foreign
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he said, shaking his head in dis¬
belief.
The group was less concerned
with hostility and discrimination,
but they admitted they have ex-
Oreikat said he once went to
rent an apartment but the com¬
plex manager slammed tne ooor
in his face, saying there weren't
any available. A few American
friends went to the same apart¬
ments later that day and were
showed two or three available
models, he said.
An American student also re¬
ported she was once told by a
nearby apartment manager, 'We
don't rent to Iranians.' He also
explained how the complex was
divided into sections, according to
school level, and then added that
Asian students were usually put
in a particular area "because
they're so quiet.*
The four foreign students, all
from countries in the Middle East,
are apparent targets for harass¬
ment, simply by virtue of their
looks.
'Americans should learn that not
all foreigners are Iranians,' Barake
They related stories of verbal
abuse and said they had heard
students whose car windows had
been smashed. At the same time,
however they talked of American
friends they had made.'
They grew more excited as they
talked of discrimination inside the
classroom. Three of the four were
enrolled in a class together last
year and they all received failing
grades. They blamed their instruc¬
tor for the marks, and Oreikat
said he was rebuffed when he
made an attempt to see the
professor.
Instead of a meeting, he got
a note that read: 'You got the
grade you deserve.'
Counselor Ahmed compared the
foreigners' classroom discrimination
plight with that experienced by
Blacks, Hispanics and other minori¬
ties. But at the same time he
said he has heard few complaints
about the problem. ■»«««aB»»*r
Craduate sti  l< .' counselor Katsyo
Howard said m.im >i the com¬
plaints she gets ai t about a par¬
ticular departmen' on campus.
"They (the studi   ts) say. 'He
doesn 't listen to n>> because he's
racist, "she said. "Ve look at
both sides very   in :'ully "
Those are ju t > rew of the
problems confront,?, the foreigners,
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new battles arise
Yet the foreign students keep
coming and this year s enrollment
is expected to be greater than
the last.
More than 1,300 foreign students
attended CSUF last year. Middle
easterners account for the largest
percentage-about 300 Iranians alone
enrolled last spring. Following Iran,
Taiwan sends the second largest
number.
California generally serves as a
magnet for many of them, and
Fresno's warm climate coupled with
a relatively low cost of Irving
entice many to the heart of the
state.
Students from the Far and Mid¬
dle East can concentrate on other
adaptations besides the weather,
since it is so similar to their
, Many are being funded by their
governments, Ahmed said, and must
learn a skill that will be useful
in their constantly changing home¬
lands. Engineering, business adminis¬
tration and agriculture are three
of those skills, and the most
popular among the students.
Having foreign students here,
makes it easier for those arriving
each semester A sort of buffer -
system has formed and many new
students are spared problems experi¬
enced by the older ones.
'We need each other here,-
Barake said. It Is better to live
with someone with a similar back¬
ground, he said.
One of the students ran Into
problems when he moved in with
a foreigner from another country.
'We told him to come live with
us,' another said, 'but he
didn't.*
The four think of it as
friendly assistance but Ahmed and
Howard believe it can also be a
form of peer pressure.
The initial welcome can be
good for the often homesick stu¬
dents, but Howard said it can
also lead to problems.
'Instead of trying to reach out,
they withdraw,* she said. 'It is
much easier and more comfortable
to have support from people from
your own country. "
Foreign students do meet Ameri¬
cans, Howard said, but language
differences are already a built-in
"They (Americans) are friendly in
the beginning,* she said. 'But it
has been sohardto get to
know someone'in-depth. There is
a certain level they can communi¬
cate on daily, but at a certain
point you have to break some
wall, and that's hard.*
Orelkat, Barake and their two
other Lebanese friends seem com¬
fortable in their relationships.
Their cultural bonds have brought
them together, but at the same ,
time they say they do not pre¬
vent them from meeting others.
Rather than talking politics,
Barake said he is faced with
making people understand that his
homeland Is a civilized one like
the United States.
'Americans still think you ride
a camel. They say, 'Whydon't
you stay here where everything is
nice?'and I tell them, 'I have
a house better than yours at
home and I have a car better
than you at home."
The four said they are from fi¬
nancially well-off families.
"We wouldn't be here If we
weren 't,* one said. But, they
added, constantly changing political
situations at home may at some
point prevent their parents from
getting money out of their coun¬
tries.
Barake said his parents would
gladly pay his tuition to keep
him out of his homeland and
away from the uncertain political
In the meantime, they are en¬
joying their stays here and are
apparently lucky to escape some
of the problems confronted by
other foreign students.
The four seem to have adapted
to the American culture easily, but
for others it is more difficult,
according to Howard.
Part of the orientation they face
is a dass on contemporary Ameri¬
can issues. Ahmed said part of
the course is aimed at dispelling
the image put forth In the
media that America is filled with
-The students get the Idea that
if all these problems exist, Ameri¬
cans are weird or they are to¬
tally immoral. They seem to think
there Is something terribly wrong
with this society,' he said. That
is what we try to overcome.'
But for some, it is not
enough. Some cannot handle the
pressure and culture shock, Howard
said, and return to their homes
before they have fulfilled any of
the goals they oifge to America
For others who do adapt, there ■
is the final pressure of going
home and releaming traditions and
practices acquired during some 18
years of their lives and perhaps
abandoned for a four-year stay in
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