Viking_Yearbook_78

10 PSU's Mid-East Population A highly visible population of 273 Mid-East students attend Portland State and-contrary to popular misconcep– tion by many American students who see and say"Arab" and " oil rich " -these students come from widely varying backgrounds, representing 15 different countries. These countries have disparate political systems, ranging from kingdoms and republics to democracies, tribal societies, and dictatorships. And while one country is unable to feed its population without assistance, another is capable of affecting the flow in American gas pumps. Twelve of the represented countries have attempted a semblance of cohesiveness by forming the Arab League– Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman , Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen . But the various leaderships are unable to agree upon basic political and economic tenets, illustrated by the failure to even form a unified trading block.