"HEY, THAT'S MINE": U.S. STUDENT AT KAUST ACCUSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000424 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP (HARRIS, BERNDT),R (MCHALE, DOUGLAS),NEA/PPD (DICKMEYER, AGNEW, BENZE) AND OES/EGC (MURPHY, BROWN),DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2019 TAGS: KIPR KPAO SA SCUL SOCI SUBJECT: "HEY, THAT'S MINE": U.S. STUDENT AT KAUST ACCUSES SAUDI NEWSPAPER OF "BLOG THEFT" REF: A. RIYADH 1342 ¶B. JEDDAH 0342 ¶C. RIYADH 1278 ¶D. JEDDAH 0047 JEDDAH 00000424 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Even before its star-studded September 23 official inauguration, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) was being heralded and closely watched as a bold and unprecedented attempt by King Abdullah to transform Saudi society from within (ref C). As expected with any attempt at internal reform, KAUST has stirred controversy over its policy of "gender integration," anathema to many Saudi conservatives. Not long after its official opening, a prominent religious scholar was fired from his position in the elite Senior Ulema Council for criticizing the university's policy of allowing men and women to interact openly in public (ref A). While the university promises to be a source of ongoing discussion in the national Saudi dialogue, a level of frustration among the students themselves, many of whom are American, has been building since before the university's official opening. American graduate students have been experiencing some of their own particular cultural adjustment issues (ref B). Most recently, a male American student and KAUST blogger accused an Eastern Province newspaper of plagiarizing a post from his blog. While the incident is one of the first notable "culture clashes" at KAUST, it may not be the last. END SUMMARY. -------------- WE FLEW 6,000 MILES FOR THIS? -------------- ¶2. (C) Prior to the official opening of KAUST, several of the American students complained to both university officials and consulate officers about the substandard quality of housing, with one student blogger posting photographs on the Internet of what he claimed was "black mold" in his apartment. Other students complained that the university had no materials or laboratories ready for their courses, thus delaying their likely graduation dates. Several students said they had seriously considered leaving the university altogether before the official opening, a move that would have embarrassed the Saudi leadership. Ultimately, the fact that the students received free tuition, air tickets, housing, and generous stipends ($1700/monthly) led some to reframe their expectations for KAUST as an "all-expense paid cultural experience" (ref B). -------------- -------------- GETTING TO KNOW YOU, OR JUST BORROWING YOUR BLOG? -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Notably, the first public event involving American student discontent at KAUST arose not over aforementioned university issues, but rather the plagiarism of an American student's blog by a Saudi newspaper. On his October 13 blog entry, an American KAUST student named Nathan accused Eastern Province-based Arabic-language daily newspaper "Al Youm" of using content from his October 7, 2009 blog entry entitled "Elections" without his authorization. (NOTE: Both the original post and the one accusing Al Youm of plagiarism can be found at saudiaggie.blogspot.com. END NOTE.) The entry provided details about recent student council elections at KAUST, which was a mixed-gender event and included both Saudi and international students. The formation of the student council itself had come about due to student complaints about inadequate and unsanitary housing conditions. Nathan also claimed that the article published two photos from his blog without his consent. ¶4. (SBU) The English-language blogging community, including Saudi nationals who have studied in the U.S., was swift to unite behind the KAUST blogger, condemning the apparent plagiary as a violation of copyright laws. A number of visitors to the blog noted that the photos that appeared in "Al Youm" appeared to be identical to the ones on the blog. ¶5. (SBU) The "Al Youm" reporter responded to the American blogger's accusations by posting his defense (which he translated from Arabic to English with Google Translate) in JEDDAH 00000424 002.2 OF 002 the comments section of Saudi Aggie's blog. The reporter denied the allegations of theft and refused to divulge the source of his information. According to Consulate Dhahran, the "Al Youm" reporter is a part-time employee of the newspaper. The American student told poloffs that he is writing off this incident as a "cultural experience" and is unlikely to pursue legal avenues. -------------- COMMENT -- CLASH OF CULTURES -------------- ¶6. (C) "Do intellectual rights to published thoughts and photos have any value here?" exclaimed the American student on his blog. It was not unexpected that American and other western students at KAUST would chafe to some extent at the expectations and strictures of Saudi society. What is surprising is that the first public disagreement between American students at KAUST and Saudi society occurred over an intellectual property rights issue rather than, for example, the extent to which males and females may mix socially on campus. This event suggests that, while KAUST students are aware of the more visible differences between Saudi and western society, the less public aspects may prove to be the greater irritant. ¶7. (C) We anticipate that American and other foreign students at KAUST, with their modern values and expectations, will continue to clash with Saudi cultural and societal norms. On the one hand, the Saudis in charge believe that they are being lenient and progressive in their attitudes, treating KAUST as an exceptional case. In particular, they view the "mixing of genders" in classrooms and labs at KAUST as a major concession to Western standards. On the other hand, many American students believe they are bending over backwards in accommodating conservative Saudi traditions. At some point, this mutual patience may wear thin. While, thus far, the clash of cultures has not led to a major incident, the potential is certainly there. END COMMENT. QUINN