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Within 77 years Saudi Arabia has raised it population’s literacy rate from ten percent to 82 percent. This is just one of many facts about Saudi Arabia and its evolution as a people and country. On Sat., Nov. 7 in the Student Union the event Saudi Night was held and celebrated by approximately 270 guests.
There are 150 Saudi students that attend UNC Charlotte. From many of those students, Saudi Students Organization (SSO) is made possible, and it organized the entire event.
In an overview of what guests could take out of Saudi Night, keynote speaker Marian Bean, Director of International office, gave insight. She said that when the University was established as an institute “We all looked pretty much the same, we all were one color, certainly in culture anyway… There wasn’t much sense of the larger world.”
She made the point that UNC Charlotte was lacking the experiences that others from around the world could give its students. “Times have changed… we have students from 70 or so countries. We can appreciate the increased diversity that expresses itself in many different ways,” said Bean.
“We learn in ways we can’t really explain… we build a friendship, and a level of trust that isn’t there if we don’t have these experiences,” said Bean. She encouraged students to step out of their comfort zone when with people of other countries.
Guests stepped out of their comfort zones by trying traditional Arabic coffee. Coffee and sugared dates are given to guests as they enter a Saudi home so in the spirit of replicating that experience attendees were given these treats.
The coffee is yellow in color. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to cook and uses the ingredient cardamom, said SSO member Turk Alogail, Criminal Justice major and senior.
“It was different, but it was okay… after I tried it some more,” said Cameron Joyce, Political Science major and sophomore. A bit confused was Suzy Kim, sophomore and Business major, “I thought it was tea.” As for Ali Alshammasi, sophomore and accounting major he said, “I prefer sweet stuff.”
Moving through the journey was a stop at the setup of an Arabian living room where guests put on traditional garb worn by Saudi’s. Pictures were taken by an SSO member of guests who tried on the garb and posed in the setup. Go to the website for pictures of the event: www.uncc-sso.org.
Next were photographs of Saudi Arabia’s landscape, infrastructure and people. Freshman Alaiyah Alawami described the pictures. One poster presented the King Fahad Bridge, which is the longest in the country and connects Saudi Arabia with Bahrian.
Across the room was one of the most important successes of Saudi Arabia according to Mohammed Abasha. Health care in Saudi Arabia achieved much since the 1970s. Dr. Mohammed Alnasir said that health care is government subsidized and that King Abdullah mandates private hospitals treat emergency cases.
Highly recognized is the success of 20 separation operations of conjoined twins done by the King Fahad National Guard Hospital in the capital city Riyadh. Guests also discussed research and surgery on Aneurysms being conducted at King Khalid University Hospital.
Next was the women’s achievement table which was lead by Zainab Alshamer, Masters Program in Community Counseling. She showcased 20 successful Arabic women, “Each of them had done something different, and I admire all of them,” said Alshamer.
The last stop was the information center, where guests could take home a pin with the Saudi Arabian flag conjoined with the American flag. There were SSO members writing guests names out using the formal form of Arabic writing known as Naskh, one of the two most used fonts; the second is the cursive font Ruqua. There were seven other fonts listed, “We use others in religious ways,” said Moe Bukhamsin, Mechanical Engineer and sophomore.
Guests were able to take that journey around the room before 8 p.m. At this time keynote speakers were featured for the night. SSO’s Public Relations Coordinator Zakariya Alanwah, Computer Science major, started things off and then followed by verses from the Koran. Alanwah took the stage listed out some achievements made by Saudi Arabia. One of them was how it spends 25 percent of the countries annual income investing in education services and is the first in humanitarian aid. He also noted some of the challenges faced, like the high population growth rate.
He was later followed by Bean and then Ghamid Fadel, Electrical Engineering major. Fadel’s hope for the night was to “Shape more light on our culture.”
After the speakers came the movie presentation “A Kings Vision Towards Evolution.” This film featured the hopes of expansion in education, religious and economic areas.
Next was the traditional play, acted out by SSO members. The audience that knew the plot interacted throughout with clapping and singing. In one scene walking canes were used in the Saudi dance ‘Ardah.’
Overall impressions of the event were summed up by guest Jessica Jenkis, Communication major and junior. “It was very informative, and as an American I enjoyed the event because it gave me a broader view of Saudi Arabia… more of it will help people become open minded,” Jenkis said.
“It’s a really great that others get to see the Saudi Culture. I think that opens eyes. That’s the most important thing,” said alumni Azam Patel.
3 comments
My only regret is that I was not able to attend and share the event with my peers.