The focus of MECA is not solely Middle Eastern culture, but also politics, history and current events.
BY: Claire Hadley, World Staff Writer
Published: Sept. 7, 2012
The Middle East Collegiate Association, otherwise known as MECA, held a meeting on Sept. 5 to discuss events for the 2012-2013 school year.
The group's mission is to engage the campus community in Middle Eastern culture, religion and politics. They hope to accomplish this by planning events featuring speakers, music, media, language, food and interaction with the people of the Middle East and being available as a tool for students to learn more about the region of the Middle East and its people.
"One of our goals this year was to become more visible to the students and faculty of Taylor," said sophomore Joe Friedrichsen, MECA president.
MECA also hopes to promote balance when it comes to news sources, counteract negative stereotypes and provide students with an even perspective of the region.
The group will host speakers whose views are not widely accepted or mainstream, but they offer valid ideas and promote an open-minded perspective.
Friedrichsen is concerned that mainstream news networks often do not provide a consistent, unbiased perspective of world issues, especially involving the Middle East. Thus, MECA is making an effort to enable students and faculty to come to their own conclusions without mainstream media telling them what to think.
"We want to foster discussion and promote critical thinking through our events," Friedrichsen said.
MECA is not solely focused on Middle Eastern culture, but also politics, history and current events.
"It is the Middle East Collegiate Association, not Middle Eastern Collegiate Association." said junior Brianna Leever, Vice President of MECA.
Leever makes it clear that MECA is about the region of the Middle East and all of its aspects, including culture, food, people and music. MECA is not a group just for Middle Eastern people, but rather for anyone who is interested in the region, Leever said.
Another goal of MECA this year is to reach out and make connections with the local Arab and immigrant population by encouraging students to learn about the cultures of various immigrants, their backstories and how their lives in the U.S. are different than those they led in home countries.
To accomplish this, MECA is working in congruence with the Taylor groups Integration of Faith and Culture (IFC), Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), Inter-Class Council (ICC), World Opportunites Week (WOW) and the Honors Guild to plan events and gain support.
A new project MECA discussed in its Sept. 5 meeting will be called Country Spotlight, an informational flier project meant to expand the horizons of fellow students and spread awareness of world issues.
Fliers, which will be available in the Dining Commons, will contain half a dozen facts, including current events, historical information and background information about a specific Middle Eastern country.
Another event planned in partnership with the Honors Guild is a special lecture event featuring Palestinian Christian David Nasser. Nasser converted from Islam and was forced to flee his country because of his newfound faith. He will be speaking to the Taylor community Nov. 7, Leever said.
Panels will be coming soon, including a group of men who were affected by the American invasion of Iraq, as well as a panel of Sunni and Shiite Muslim believers. Other panel topics will include the Arab Spring, conflicts in Syria, Libya and Egypt and analyses of the future of each of these countries.
MECA is also working with Philosophy and Religion professor Kevin Diller and his World Religions class to plan a mosque trip in November, which will give students the opportunity to visit mosques in the Indianapolis area.
Other MECA events will include a pita party, a Passover dinner, the Amazing Taste food fair at Ball State University and discussions with international students at Ball State in congruence with IFC.
