The San Jose City College community has an opportunity to become acquainted with the diversity available on campus by getting involved with the Middle Eastern Heritage Celebration, which will run from April 4 through April 25.

“The main purpose of the annual Middle Eastern Heritage Celebration at SJCC is to inform the Community about the history, rich culture and about the aspirations of all the peoples of the Middle East.  In so doing, it is to be hoped that peaceful coexistence will once again prevail,” said Sami A. Ibrahim chair of the MEHC planning committee.

Over the last 13 years, MEHC guest presenters have included historians, diplomats, philosophers, theologians, calligrapher, authors, poets, fine artists, musicians and folk dancers.

The first annual MEHC was held in April of 2001. The founding fathers included Sam Ho: Director, Office of Student Life (currently, SJECCD director of employment and diversity),   Fatemeh Zarghami( SJCC faculty, early childhood education),  Corinne Slazar ( office of Administrative Services), Jenney Jones, SJCC Office of Students Accounts,  Shirindokht Nourmanesh (Born in Tehran, former SJCC English Faculty, fiction writer, poet, translator and fine artist), Sami A. Ibrahim ( born in Alexandria, Chemistry faculty since 1969, former center coordinator at Evergreen Valley College)

Grudzen said, “The MEHC presents a great variety of activities from quality speakers, musical and cultural events to the college and also expands the horizon of the college to the Middle Eastern world where so much political activity has been happening.”

This year’s Middle Eastern Heritage Celebration Planning Group at SJCC include
three professors at SJCC; Gerry Grudzen, Merylee Shelton, Sami A. Ibrahim, along with Fazila Nuristani, Fatemeh Zarghami.

Associated Student Government President Mike Casas was asked what the MEHC means to SJCC. He said, “We like and encourage the diversity we have at both campuses. For me it means we celebrated the life and culture of others, their religions and beliefs. This event honors not only Middle Easterners but Asians and other multi diversity groups as well as students, faculty and staff of diverse cultures.”

San Jose Evergreen Community College District Board of Trustees issued a proclamation that declared April as “Middle Eastern Heritage Celebration ” in 2008.