CSU East Bay holds Afghan-Iran Conference

Cal State East Bay recently held a conference bringing together two very distinct communites. The Afgan and Iran communities to talk about several different issues. For example art and music, as well the impact of 9/11 on Afgan-American women. The conference took place between October 22-24, and was the brain-child of Mohammad Qayoumi, the university's president and the first person born in Afghanistan to head a major university in the United States. Cal State East Bay has higher-than-average numbers of Afghan and Iranian faculty and students, a reflection of the large number of immigrant families living in the East Bay.








I think that a conference like should be taken note of, for it may be a new form of education. One that can be used to bring people who otherwise would never have a forum to speak their minds. But also use it as method of furthering the reputation that California has as being a "diverse melting pot of people". The two groups have seen their fair share of negative media coverage over the last few years. Our country still occupies Afganistan, while Iranian seems to many as the next target. There are overwhelming similarities between the two groups, among slight differences. In the end I believe more dialogue like this will help to ease the tension and better education the entire Bay-Area to the issues that these people are facing. Instead of only having the often bias opinion of the mainstream media.



Cal State East Bay deserves a lot of credit, for putting on such event to educate not only it's own Afgan and Iran communities on campus. Along with the education of a entire community that resides in the Bay-Area. The more time we spend learning and building each other up, the better life we will be for everyone involved. This what Martin Luther King and so many others hope to see when they invisioned change.