Penn Arab Soc. added to UMC

The 80-person group, composed of both undergraduate and graduate students, is the UMC's 11th and newest member. The Penn Arab Society was unanimously voted in Wednesday as the newest member of the United Minorities Council -- an umbrella organization for campus minority groups -- bringing the total number of UMC member groups to 11. PAS President Heba Abdulla said that she is "very, very happy" with the vote. "[Membership] is needed for the group," the College junior said. "[A UMC seat is] an opportunity to interact with other groups and get feedback." And College freshman Salem Samra, a PAS vice president, said, "We figured it was a win-win situation for us and the UMC." The approximately 80-member PAS -- composed of both undergraduate and graduate students -- has existed on campus for several years, but has just recently become "more political," according to Abdulla. The group sponsors events, talks and cultural shows, as well as discussions focusing on Middle Eastern affairs and the preservation of Arab culture in America. UMC President Chaz Howard, a College junior, suggested to the UMC last month that the PAS join the organization. Following the vote, he said the UMC is "happy to welcome [the PAS] into the group." He added that the PAS has "a lot to offer us" and that the UMC also has a lot to bring the group in return. Part of the discussion about letting the PAS into the UMC centered around the notion that Arabs are often considered as non-minorities and instead as part of the white population, according to Abdulla. "Arabs might not be considered minorities because of their facial appearance," she explained. Within the UMC, however, the members feel that Arabs do form a minority, Howard said. They also believe that "Arabs [are] often overlooked" in this country, even though the problems they encounter are similar to other minorities' obstacles, he added. "The Penn Arab Society can bring much new knowledge and energy to the work that we do," said Valerie De Cruz, director of the Greenfield Intercultural Center, the meeting place of the UMC. "It is imperative that UMC students find ways to broaden their coalition to include communities that they can learn from and with whom they share common histories, struggles and commitments," De Cruz added. Abdulla's hope for the future of the PAS is that the UMC "will [help] further our goals" as a member. Even with the addition, the UMC still has one less member than it did a year ago. Two Latino groups -- La Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos and El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan -- withdrew their membership from the umbrella group in April, protesting the UMC's handling of Latino issues.