Arab Students Leaving U.S. Colleges

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press Writer

September 25, 2001, 7:34 AM EDT

Around the United States, scores of Arab students have dropped out of college and left the country, many of them after being called home by parents fearful of war and anti-Arab sentiment following the terrorist attacks.

Some 47 students from the United Arab Emirates have quit Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. There are also reports of about 100 Arab students leaving other U.S. colleges in the wake of the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings.

"There are some students who feel anxiety," said Shafeeq Ghabra, spokesman for the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington, D.C. "Their parents back home in Kuwait are more anxious than they are. Some would like to be together with their children."

While it is unclear exactly how many Arab students are leaving, it appears that the vast majority are staying. Of the 570,000 foreign students in the United States, about 40,000 of them are from Arab countries, according to the American Council on Education.

One of the biggest exoduses appears to be from Washington State, which has a total of 18,000 students.

"For the most part it's because their parents want them back," said Ranna Daud, 20, head of the Muslim Student Association at WSU.

Daud, an Arab-American raised in Pullman, said there has been no violence against the students, though some have been harassed verbally.

Efforts to contact some of the departing students were not successful because colleges would not release their names.

The Saudi government is providing free airfare to students who wish to go home. Those who choose to do so will not lose their government scholarships.

Kuwait has more than 3,000 students in the United States, Ghabra said. "We have encouraged students to stay," he said.

Those who are afraid to stay in the United States are getting Kuwaiti government assistance to come home, but are being asked to return to this country for the spring semester, said Ghabra, who has a daughter who is a junior at American University in Washington, D.C.

"There were some difficult times for her in the first days, but she is over it," he said. "My daughter is staying on and her friends are staying on."

However, more than 30 Arab students were reported to have left American University.

Elsewhere:

_ About two dozen Arab students have left both the University of Missouri and the University of Colorado at Denver.

_ Up to 30 students from Arab countries have left California State University, Long Beach.

_ Four Middle Eastern students have left the University of Arizona.

_ At Boston University, five Arab students have left.

_ Three students from the United Arab Emirates have withdrawn from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

At Montana State University in Bozeman, all the Arab students appear to be staying, said Abdullah Bahazig, head of the university's Muslim Student Association. The school usually has about 30 Arab students a year.

"I think Bozeman is one of the safest places in the U.S. for an international student," Bahazig said.

Copyright © 2001, The Associated Press

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2001

Answers

I think it's true of male students here, but I'm still seeing a fair number of female students from all over the M.E.

It wouldn't surprise me if some of the parents feel that their daughters might be safer here. I don't believe that Arab females are considered in profiling operations. I don't know that for a fact.

-- Anonymous, September 25, 2001

Old Git had said on another thread, about two gals dressed like stewardess's had been caught at an airport and taken into custody.

-- Anonymous, September 26, 2001