When NC State student Yasmeen Mansour discovered that the university did not have a forum for Arabic students to socialize, she decided to take action. 

Mansour, a graduate student studying physiology, founded the NCSU Arabic Student Organization (ASO) in October 2014 with a simple purpose in mind.  

“We aim to provide a platform and space where different people can come together and socialize,” Mansour said. “To realize that we are all human.”

According to her, the organization has had two coffee talks so far and plans to contact singers and dancers to perform at future events. 

Mansour said that ASO is essential not just for NC State but the entire nation because there needs to be a safe space for Arabs and non-Arabs to network and get to know each other. 

“I believe that ASO fulfills that need for the safe space,” she said. “I am really happy with what we have accomplished so far.”

According to Mansour, the organization is also a place for attendees to talk about struggles, especially those dealing with being an ethnic minority. 

“We want everyone to learn about each other’s cultures,”she said. “We want to savor our heritage; it’s easy to hide our heritage or feel like we have to.”

The organization currently has 25 members on the roster, but Mansour said the group is open to alumni and whoever would like to attend. Among those 25 members, she said there is a “wonderful range of ethnicities.” The ethnicities in the group include African American, Arabic, Caucasian and Hispanic. 

Mansour also explained that there is vast diversity within Arab culture too. Anyone who speaks Arabic or has ancestors who spoke it is considered Arabic, so she hopes that the organization will represent how diverse Arabic culture is. 

As for the future of ASO, Mansour hopes to expand the group and collaborate with other organizations that represent minorities because she said all ethnic minorities deal with similar problems. 

Briana Roulhac-Wilson, also a graduate student studying physiology, got involved with ASO right away. 

“I joined because, as an African American, I understand what it’s like to be marginalized,” Roulhac-Wilson said, “I was curious to find out their experiences.”

According to Roulhac-Wilson, the organization is a great platform for minorities and people in general to come together and learn about each other. She said that learning about other minorities is an important part of being a well-rounded person. 

She described the first meeting as informal and laid back. She said there were a handful of people in attendance and they talked about the different countries everyone’s family was from as well as the Arabic language courses offered at NC State.