Middle Eastern Student Center

“If I would describe myself in one word it would be ‘contradiction’. I am a Neuroscience major who does filmmaking and photography to pay for school which is the reverse of what you would think. I guess you could say that around 2010-2011, I got very interested in photography and realized that I can take pictures and make money doing it. I remember taking pictures and selling them for 50 cents at school. I have always been creative and scientific at the same time. I come from a very musical family. My dad plays the Oud and tabla, my brother plays the piano, my sister plays the violin, I play the guitar and some piano as well so I always had that as a form of art growing up. My mom is also a professional seamstress so I grew up with art and seeing my mom’s studio and my dad’s music. I’m a self taught photographer. Being self taught is not as easy and glamorous as people think it is.In high school, I forced myself to put more practice and time into the craft, and once you’ve shot so many photos, you learn what looks good and what can look better.”

George Elias is a second year neuroscience major at UCR who has accomplished so much during his time at UCR both on and off campus. He is very dedicated to his photography and other interests especially pertaining to middle eastern culture, music, and art. We are so thankful to have such passionate and driven students like him to inspire us daily.

Here are some of George’s photographs.

A Thousand And One Journeys: The Arab Americans (Demo Reel) 

Sally Mahmoud

      Starting as a quarterback his freshman year of college, as the first to rush 181 yards and pass for more than 10,000 yards and after landing multiple winning touchdowns for the 49ers, Collin Kaepernick let the world know how talented he is and how passionate he is about playing football. An action of his on the football field has led the media and several NFL officials to place him under a different, more political lense and scrutiny. Kaepernick protested against systematic institutional oppression of minorities. Protesting is a form of speech that is protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment. Kaepernick’s gesture sparked much debate from the ideological left and right and gained an enormous amount of negative criticism and backlash. The current president of the United States, himself, won the 2016 election by furthering that same institutional oppression by slandering, stereotyping, and dangerously offending minorities of color. Speech in its different forms, be it expressing one’s opinions on social media or on the field, has been a hot topic in the United States. But why has negative speech of those such as Donald J. Trump, most Fox News anchors and public figures such as Katie Hopkins, Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos been normalized, funded, and supported? Any publicity they make is at the expense of marginalized groups who lack average privileges, and media coverage, which increases the social injustice gaps. 

     The recent election and news cycles have led to a political spillage, making those who were not necessarily active or involved with politics understand how political decisions take effect in our daily lives. In light of the tensions yielded from discourses about the most recent election and First Amendment discussions, institutions that set societal standards and norms, such as higher education institutions, should be geared towards limiting hate speech alongside encouraging speech from marginalized groups. One’s voice can go a long way and a well functioning democratic society must encourage equal, tolerant engagement based on speech, at least at the educational level. Allowing hate speech on college campus grounds increases violence and disrupts what is an educational and united community that results in emotional exhaustion and fear, and any university should have a code protecting students from such turbulence. There should be an existing atmosphere where the sacristy of academics is respected and where students can maximize their learning experience.

      The 49er quarterback Kaepernick refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem before a game as a sign of protest against wrongdoings done against African Americans and other minorities in the United States. He was the second to do so after NBA player, Mohamed Abdul-Rauf, did so and there were many others to follow. From high school football players, to cheerleaders, hockey players and even members of the audience, the sitting down or taking a knee during the playing of the anthem has been deemed a controversial use of platform. Each time, the backlash would be more than harmful to each individual’s life. Kaepernick is still blacklisted and remains unemployed by the NFL. Folks that took a knee or did not stand in a public setting get harassed and attacked for doing so.  Meanwhile, the leader of the free world and current world superpower won the Presidential Election on platforms targeting minority communities and promising legislation built on prejudice and its reinforcement in institutions.

Kuffeyeh (Arabic)

A Kuffeyeh is a common traditional Middle Eastern Headdress worn around the neck or over the head in many Arab countries. It is usually made of cotton and was originally worn specifically by farmers to protect the face and neck from dust and high heat from the sun. It is also a Palestinian National symbol and is a symbol of national pride in several Middle Eastern countries. It is also called a “hatta” , “shmagh”” and several other terms as well.