Exchange students welcomed

A group of Saudi Arabian exchange students who are starting classes in Pittsburgh universities… A group of Saudi Arabian exchange students who are starting classes in Pittsburgh universities this spring attended a reception in the William Pitt Union Wednesday.

The event was coordinated by Saudi Student House, a network of Saudi communities across the United States devoted to making the transition to life in America easier for Saudi exchange students.

Most of the attendants were Saudi Arabian, although there were also people representing various academic institutions such as Pitt’s Office of International Studies and the English Language Institute.

“This reception is a welcome meeting to introduce the new Saudi students, and also to recognize all those institutions who’ve helped them get here,” said Nazeeh al-Othmany, the cultural committee coordinator of Pittsburgh’s Saudi Student House.

In an effort to improve Saudi-American relations, the Saudi government recently made dramatic increases in scholarship money toward Saudi enrollments in American colleges – totaling 5,000 full four-year, government-funded scholarships.

“Several months ago, King Abdullah had a meeting with President Bush, and the king made an agreement to have more Saudi students go to study abroad in America,” al-Othmany explained.

However, many Saudi exchange students have not yet been able to enter the United States because of the difficulty of getting an American visa.

“There should be around 200 students here, but only 35 have gotten here so far because of the visa issues,” al-Othmany said.

Dorolyn Smith, the associate director of Pitt’s English Language Institute, noted a similar effect on the ELI’s roster of Saudi exchange students.

“We’ve had a total of 140 applicants, but only 23 have succeeded in getting visas so far,” Smith said.

Most of the Saudi exchanges slated for Pittsburgh schools will be studying at Pitt, but there are also many who will attend Duquesne University, and smaller numbers will go to Point Park or Carnegie Mellon universities.

Despite the visa problems, the students appeared relaxed and optimistic about coming to school in Pittsburgh.

“I like Pittsburgh. The people here have been very helpful,” said Hari Omar, a student from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

She will go to Point Park to study English and commerce.

At the beginning of the event, a buffet of Middle Eastern cuisine was served while Saudi Student House representatives ran a table offering Arabic and English flyers on housing rights, discrimination laws, Islamic studies and driving instruction manuals.

A half an hour into the reception, a short ceremony was held in which the local president of Saudi Student House, Osama Samarkandi, awarded certificates of recognition to attendants they wished to honor for their help.

After the awards ceremony, they held an afternoon prayer session that was followed by an orientation presentation in Arabic for the Saudi students.

The reception also happened to fall on Eid ul-Adha, an Islamic holiday marking the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.