If every Bates student arrives with much to teach as well as to learn, that's more true for international students. It's something Jamil Zraikat '05 discovered in a challenging way during his first year.

The college's only Muslim Arab student, Zraikat comes from Jordan, a country with many Palestinian refugees and a tradition of blunt political discussion. After Sept. 11, 2001, Zraikat found that his outspokenness about U.S. Middle Eastern policy wasn't always gladly received.

"In my opinion, the way to prevent terrorism is to create global understanding," he says. "And from that perspective, I was very critical of the United States' foreign policy."

"I ran into a few people who very much disagreed with me," he says. But during those intense discussions, "they also defended my right to express myself."

"If it it wasn't for the people here, their understanding nature, their need to discover and to explore, I wouldn't have really been able to get involved in the community," he says.

Hence Zraikat's interest in the International Club, of which he is co-coordinator along with Muznabanu Bachani, a sophomore from Kenya. Activities include an annual dinner featuring home cooking from around the globe; a festival spotlighting traditional fashions and performing arts; and the International Fair. There, Zraikat explains, students explain "their countries, their traditions, their culture, even religion — pretty much introduce people to who they are and where they're coming from."

"They've come a long way to spend four years here and to study and to learn," he says. "And part of the learning process is also teaching."