Arabesque Bringing Arab Culture to Middlebury

Author: Charlie Goulding

There's a new group on campus. Hosam Mekdad '03 and Andre Fanous '05 joined up to form an organization called Arabesque. "Our goal is to give students at Middlebury a taste of Arab culture," stated Mekdad. "We believe Arab culture and its heritage have been underestimated in terms of its influence in shaping world culture. We wish to introduce students to something new about Arab culture — its principles, values and its generosity." Fanous added, "We also aim at clarifying certain misunderstandings of the Arab people which exist in this school and elsewhere."

Events in the Middle East have once again put Arab and Israeli culture, as well as political intent, in the world spotlight. Subsequently, organizations such as Hillel and the New Left have taken active roles in promoting their version of the Middle Eastern story.

Mekdad and Fanous believe Arabesque is more than just a by-product of the recent proliferation of activism. They believe it will fulfill a genuine need on campus to understand and appreciate Arabic culture through the lens of people who truly comprehend it.

Mekdad and Fanous, both of direct Arabic descent, believe the community has a real thirst for the knowledge of Arabic culture they wish to convey. "We've gotten a lot of positive feedback from all sorts of people," noted Mekdad. "More and more students here are taking an interest in the Arab world."

As interest in Arabic society burgeons, Mekdad and Fanous place a similar value on the medium through which Arab culture is conveyed. "The problem right now is that the only way in which Middlebury students get information about Arab society is through people who don't truly understand the people and the culture," Fanous said. Arabesque hopes to assert itself as a credible source of information about a part of the world that is often misperceived.

The Middle Eastern conflict has not been the only impetus for Arabesque's creation. "This is something we've been planning for a long time," commented Mekdad. "Unfortunately, we had to wait to get a core of students who really had an understanding of Arab culture before forming the group." This year's first-year class has four students of direct Arab descent, and many others are Arab-American. No class in Middlebury's history has had such an Arab representation, and Mekdad and Fanous lamented the fact that only one Arab, a Lebanese girl, was accepted into next year's class. Still, the influx of students into the Class of 2005 provided the catalyst for the group's formation this spring.

When asked how Arabesque hopes to differentiate itself from the New Left, Mekdad and Fanous were quick to establish a distinction in purpose. "The New Left is a political organization. We are political as well, but our main focus is going to be cultural." Mekdad was ambivalent concerning the current dialogue between Hillel and the New Left, primarily through on-campus posters. "I feel that the dialogue is important because it raises important issues, but it has been hurtful as well. Thus far, people have been speaking on our behalf in terms of the Arab world and its culture. Our aim is to promote cultural awareness through healthy dialogue."

Though Mekdad and Fanous clearly take a large amount of pride in their heritage and their ability to be the proper vessels of that culture, they also emphasized that Arabesque is open to absolutely everyone. "Arabesque is going to be very inclusive," asserted Fanous. "It is intended toward the whole campus."

Particular events on Arabesque's agenda include musical performances, poetry recitals, banquets, parties and a welcoming event set for sometime this coming week. While Arabesque will indeed acknowledge important political events, Fanous holds that it will do so as objectively as possible. In a mature show of earnesty, however, he admited that it will be impossible to be free from subjectivity.

Mekdad and Fanous were enthusiastic about the smoothness with which the College recognized their charter and provided funding. They found the system to be very supportive and understanding in providing them with a copy of their constitutional charter which the school recently approved.

Other goals of Arabesque include working with the school to create an Arabic language program as well as to accept more students of Arabic descent into the community.

Mekdad and Fanous said they wished for Arabesque to have as large an influence in Middlebury as African American Alliance and Latino Amencama y Caribena. Finally, Mekdad added, "One goal is to make Arab students feel more at home here."

Starting in the fall, Mekdad, Fanous, as well as the rest of Arabesque, hope to start making some of these goals a reality.