Reporter Volume 25, No.28 Commencement Extra By BETHANY GLADKOWSKI Reporter Staff A self-proclaimed "underachiever" in high school, Omer Awass these days is anything but. A UB senior with a double major in philosophy and political science, he is actively involved in the university community. Omer, a native of Lackawanna, has helped introduce two Islamic courses since 1993, and is working to found a new Islamic Studies program at UB. He has been active in the University Muslim Association for three years, and in 1992-93 was student coordinator for the Student Association's International Affairs Council. Each summer he's worked part time, and has completed four different internship programs. Although he says such a full schedule sometimes takes a toll on his grades, he has been on the dean's list twice. Q. How did you come to teach courses as an undergraduate? A. I realized there was a gap in the UB curriculumQthere were virtually no courses in Islamic studies. Since Muslims are such a large population, I felt I should help change that. I presented the idea to Dr. Dyson, interim head of the Classics Department. He was interested, so I put a syllabus together, and it became an intro course called "Topics in Islamic Civilization" for the spring 1993 semester. I was co-instructor for that. The course was well-receivedQ69 people signed up for it. But funding was short, so it was canceled. That summer I contacted two graduate friends of mine and we designed another course called "Islam in America," which covers history and current challenges faced by Muslims in the U.S. Since it was taught by two grad students, funding was not an issue. Cora P. Maloney College sponsored the course. That, too, was a great success. Q. When undergraduates teach courses, in the Women's Studies Program, for example, they participate in training sessions or preparatory course work beforehand. What qualifications or preparations did you have to teach these courses? A. I'd like to say up front that I had no formal training, but lots of interest. I've done a lot of research on my own, and for one of my internships I taught Arabic at the Lackawanna Islamic Center. When I presented the idea, Dr. Dyson was confident of my abilities to organize the class. Also, my involvement was supported by having two graduate students who had previous teaching experience. My role as TA was more to give the instructors feedback rather than direct instruction. Q. These courses seem to have survived only because you have been around to get them going, but this semester you will be graduating. Will these classes continue? A. Yes, that was a problem I have thought about. I helped form a committee with several Muslim students. Our goal is to establish an Islamic Studies Program under the Classics Department, or at least have a minor available under the Religious Studies Program. At this point, we have suggested courses we'd like to be taught and we're now trying to deal with funding shortages. Q. You mentioned that at least one of your internships gave you the experience you needed for your involvement with the Islamic courses. What about the other internships? A. Aside from teaching at the Islamic Center, I did an internship at Michigan State in the summer of 1993 that was similar to the McNair program here. It helps students to get a feel for what graduate studies are like. I researched with a political science professor on Secular Nationalism and Islam in the 20th century. I wrote a paper for it that I'm trying to get published. It covered the two movements in Islamic history: the Resurgence (I don't like the label Fundamentalist, but that's also a name for it) and the Secular Nationalistic movements. I also completed one at Brockport State College during the summer of 1992. I studied ethical implications in medical technology, such as who gets medical treatment, and on what criteria it is based. When there are 30 dialysis machines in the country but 30,000 patients who need them, is it fair to randomly choose the recipient when it could end up being a convict with a life sentence? It opened my eyes to issues in justice and fairness that I hadn't considered before, such as how to stop race from being a factor. Q. Do you think UB's environment is receptive to different ethnic and cultural viewpoints? A. Without being too negative, UB is a good place for getting an education. On the other hand, it could be more open and receptive not only in terms of race and ethnics, but in the setting. It's a rather cold setting, compared to other universities of the same size that I've visited. Q. How is the UB Muslim Association reacting to the Bosnian conflict? A. Last semester Omar Sacriby, Bosnian delegate to the United Nations, was a guest speaker for the Muslim Association, and the members had fund drives to aid Bosnian Muslims. Q. What were your responsibilities as coordinator of the International Affairs Council? A. The purpose of that position was to increase awareness and understanding between the international and American students and act as liaison between the 29 international clubs and the student government. Q. What have you gained from that experience? A. I really learned how deceiving power can be. Any leadership position of power will test both your morals and your mental competence. If you aren't sound in both, you may find yourself slipping. Being international coordinator allowed me to reevaluate my personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as taught me how to assess risks. Q. You speak of leadership and values and have shown these traits through your activity in the student government and the Muslim Association. What is your opinion of the deceased Muslim leader Malcolm X? A. I think he was a tremendously inspiring leader for Muslims and African Americans alike. I have great respect for him. He was a sincere individual who advocated and lived what he believed. Although I don't necessarily agree with his former views (establishing a Nation of Islam, the Afrocentric view of things), I still respect how he was able to publicly admit that he was wrong. By making that public statement he lost the support of all his friends, even though he knew it would eventually kill him. He was a very humane and courageous leader. Q. What are your future plans? A. Well, that's one problem. I am always indecisive about my own life. I did the same thing as a high school senior, suddenly scrambling to get into college after three years of being an underachiever. I plan to take a year off and work before I figure out what I want to do. I might teach at a local high school, or go to law school.