TIHE LOQUITUR Iraqi students pursue education in America

JAMIE HUFNAGLE NEWS EDITOR JLH729@CABRINI EDU

Omar finished high school in spring 2003 when the United States invaded Iraq. He was not able to get his records or diploma, but he was soon involved in learning to use cameras and recorders to document the chaos surrounding him in Baghdad.

Omar joined other young video-makers in an attempt to go where other media outlets would not go. While some were killed, others, like Omar, had to leave Iraq to work from Syria.

Currently, Omar’s days consist of classes at the American Language Center, attending a tutoring session four times a week and going to the writing workshop on Fridays. Afterwards, he finds time to play billiards and speak in English with other students when they visit the Russian Cultural Center.

Omar is just one of the university-age students who hopes to participate in the Iraqi Student Project. This project intends to place Iraqi students at participating col- leges and universities in the United States. He intends to pursue the study of media and wants to major in business administration.

So far, nine American colleges and universities have committed themselves to hosting Iraqi students in the fall of 2008 with either full scholarship or tuition waivers only as a part of the Iraqi Student Project. Many other colleges and universities are currently in talks and those involved with the project are working heavily to form support groups.

Ashley Harrison is a senior po- litical science major at Evergreen University in San Jose, Calif., and is an active member of a group dedicated to this project, the Iraqi Student Solidarity Committee.

“The student group has been incredibly active around this issue, collecting over 650 student signatures, getting a resolution of support passed by faculty and gathering community support for this project,” Harrison said. “We have made our formal proposal to the college administration and are currently in dialog with them to bring students, but they have not made a commitment to providing the [tuition] waivers.”

The project currently has 20 students looking for placements and is in need of an additional eight slots for the remaining students.

Michele Pistone is a professor of law at Villanova University School of Law and a member of the board of directors for the project. According to Pistone, those involved with the project have been working to

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