Posted on 08/16/2005 7:04:16 PM PDT by Pikamax
Classes for Saudis separated By Kevin Miller 381-1676 Gender-specific classes are given at Tech this summer for people from Saudi Arabia.
BLACKSBURG - About 60 faculty members from a Saudi Arabian university are taking courses on Virginia Tech's campus this summer. But the program's setup is a bit different than a typical Tech class.
Men and women from King Abdulaziz University are taking identical faculty development courses at Tech, but meet in gender-specific classes. Tech officials said administrators from the Saudi university separated the sexes to mirror classroom settings at their home institution, which operates separate campuses for men and women.
"This is the way they teach their courses over there, and this is the way they wish their courses to be taught over here," said Tech spokesman Larry Hincker. The university chose to respect the Saudi culture "rather than impress our culture on them," he added.
Tech faculty are instructing the Saudi professors in such areas as English instruction, communications, development of online courses, distance learning and Web site development. The program is being offered through a contract arrangement between the two schools and not with state money, Hincker said.
"They're not coming over here and enrolling. These courses were designed for them to meet their needs," he said.
Sedki Riad, a professor of electrical engineering and director of the Tech College of Engineering's international programs, said Tech tries to be sensitive to the cultural and religious needs of students and faculty in Blacksburg as well as its partner institutions.
"This was a preference they had because they believe the environment was more conducive to interaction and a better environment for the two genders," said Riad, who helped negotiate the collaboration.
Although physically separated in the classroom most of the time, men and women are in constant contact with one another during class online and spend time together afterward, several of the Saudi faculty said.
Dr. Jamila Farsi said there is nothing prohibiting men and women from attending one another's classes. "We do have the choice," said Farsi, a professor of dentistry.
Hanan Ashi, a professor of communications, said the separate classes will help her develop gender-specific material for her programs in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Adnan Merdad, a professor of general and thoracic surgery and Farsi's husband, offered a humorous explanation for the class setup.
"I want to attend classes with the boys. Jokes are better."
Riad said the partnership is part of Tech's outreach efforts to build relationships with universities around the world. The six-week professional development program is just one aspect of a newly formed relationship between Tech and King Abdulaziz University.
This country is going mad....
Tough class to pick up chicks.
Everyone in this country should have this privilege. There's really no good reason to distract young men by placing women in their classrooms.
Why?
There's no state money involved. Tech gets paid for giving the customer what they want.
The building are publicly owned.
Buildings that are sitting empty all summer long.
It's not clear, but I would assume that Tech also makes a profit from this.
Again, I don't see the problem here.
Building errected with public funds being used to pander to the bigotry of people who are trying to kill us.
i wonder if they'll accomodate the inbred Klansmen who prefer racially segregated classes....
what?
explain to me the difference...
Couldn't tell 'em to go piss up a rope?
Another "follow the money" situation.
whatever
Whatever happened to Brown v. Topeka?
Didn't Bob Jones U have a similar setup and got pummeled for it?
We'll educate your teachers if you will please keep selling us your oil Mr. Sheik Ratlun Rhol. And we'll keep ignoring the fact that you use our oil dollars to crash jetliners, knock down tall buildings, and fund the Al Queda murderers.
I really don't care about the separation. The point is they shouldn't even be here!
And this has nothing to do with the "separation of church and state"?
And you know what? If it was evil then, it's evil now.
Modern culture abominates Plessy vs. Ferguson and "separate but equal" as an atrocity on our law.
And it was an atrocity then, it's an atrocity now.
"Again, I don't see the problem here."
The one problem I see is they are not required to observe our laws whereas when we saved their butts from Saddam in 1990, we were required to observe their laws.
LOL!
"I said Sheik Ratlun Roll,
Sheik Ratlun Roll,
You'll never do nuthin' to save your doggone soul."
While the buildings are certainly under a reduced workload in the summer, they sure aren't empty. Take it from one who has a couple of summer semesters there under his belt...
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