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Student regrets photos, not bomber getup

(11/06/06 10:00am)

The Penn student who appeared at a University function dressed as a terrorist says he'd do it again - at least, most of it."Looking back on it, I don't think I would've been as public, and I definitely would not have published my photos," Engineering senior Saad Saadi said.Saadi dressed as a suicide bomber and was photographed at Penn President Amy Gutmann's Halloween party last week.Saadi, who is not Muslim, wore camouflage pants and a characteristically Arab scarf, strapped fake bullets and dynamite to his body and read passages from a pocket-sized New Testament, which he pretended was the Qu'ran."We were like, 'Yeah, let's dress up as terrorists. It'll be pretty funny,'" Saadi said of his costume, which his friend from another university also wore. "I didn't realize people would get offended or angry."Saadi - who is also a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer - posted pictures on his Facebook.com site of him posing with Gutmann and University Chaplain William Gipson at the party.Some who have seen the photo of Saadi with a smiling Gutmann have criticized her for posing with him, but Gutmann has said in a statement that she did not realize what Saadi's costume was when the picture was taken.In the statement, she also said she recognized Saadi's "right to wear the costume just as" she, and others, have the "right to criticize his wearing of it."Gipson did not issue a formal public statement. Though a statement from the Penn Hillel Student Executive Committee said that Saadi's "intended joke is ... offensive to Jewish students," Gipson would not say whether he thinks he owes the Penn Jewish community an explanation or apology for posing with Saadi.Both Gutmann's assistant and Gipson have met with Hillel student representatives to talk about the matter.Saadi removed the pictures Friday afternoon after he learned that people were getting offended, and he says that his Facebook photos were only intended for the Penn community and his friends from other schools.Saadi also posted an apology on his Web site - saadsaadi.com - that afternoon."We wish to make it clear that we do not support terrorism, violence or anything that is against society. There is no agenda or statement associated with our behavior shown in these pictures," the statement read."We were just playing the role of our character," Saadi said in an interview. "People on Halloween dress in a costume and then act as that character in costume."Saadi is standing by his costume choice, saying that he, like any American citizen, has the right dress up as anything or anyone."I didn't think it wasn't OK," he said.But other student groups - like the Muslim Student Association and Penn Hillel - beg to differ."This is something that is distasteful to the whole community at Penn," said Wharton junior and MSA president Khalid Usmani.The Penn Hillel statement, issued on Friday, also condemned Saadi's actions."While some may dismiss these actions as straightforward Halloween amusement, many perceive this student to have displayed a disturbing disregard for the sensitivities of others," it said.Saadi said that he does not know whether he will contact either group about what has happened.But Muslim and Jewish students and University officials aren't the only ones responding to these photographs.The Anti-Defamation League - an organization that aims to combat acts of anti-Semitism - has approached the University to discuss the issue."No right-thinking individual ought to go around in [this] costume unless [he or she] is a suicide bomber or wants to be one," said ADL regional director Barry Morrison.

https://www.thedp.com/article/2006/11/student_regrets_photos_not_bomber_getup

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