Students and administrators of the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies are not on the same wavelength.  Each seems to belong to a different academic unit. When interviewed, each party had a different view and different expectations of the center. 
    As stated in its brochure, "CAMES offers a two year graduate program leading to the MA degree in Middle Eastern studies."  The curriculum of the center consists of eight courses and a thesis.  The eight courses are divided into three prerequisites and five electives which students choose from the course offerings of the following departments: Arabic and Near Eastern Languages, Economics, the Civilization Sequence Program, History and Archaeology, Philosophy, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Political Studies and Public Administration, and Architecture and Graphic Design.  
    Founded in 1953, frozen in the early '80s, and revived in the year 1997, this MA program is "very broad and disorganized,"  according to one female student. Refusing to have their names mentioned in this article, the students interviewed identified both academic and administrative problems in CAMES.
     On the academic level, the major student complaint is that about the core seminar course.  "This seminar course is for beginners:  it is too introductory," said one student.  "It is not up to the professional level. You can call it a series of lectures and not a seminar course, since no detailed discussions take place," he added.  To this argument Dr. Nadia El-Cheikh, the center's acting director since the beginning of the fall semester, considers that the flexibility is mainly due to the fact that "CAMES has students from different academic backgrounds; some are more advanced in the field than others."  On the other hand, students also complained that the above mentioned seminar course, which originally included 26 seminars offered over the whole academic year, was shortened to include only 13 seminars offered over one semester.  To this, Dr El-Cheikh responded, "This change in curriculum was made by the board of advisors of CAMES, which includes all the chairpersons of the departments [named above] affiliated with the center. The idea was to have this course more structured and focused;  in the past, by the second semester things were getting disorganized.  I think it was a good change." 
     Another major academic problem, according to students, is the fact that there are no faculty members in CAMES.  "We face a lot of difficulties when looking for an advisor for our theses. There are simply no Middle Eastern studies specialists at AUB," a student said. According to Dr. El-Cheikh, "This issue is very vague.  One has to look at the specialty of faculty members and not their title. AUB has many faculty members specialized in Middle Eastern issues.  In that sense our students are very well served.  Maybe some of them need more direction."
    The issue of Arabic courses mandatory for foreign students is also a little bit controversial.  "The manner in which Arabic is taught as a foreign language is not adequate. They should focus on speaking and listening instead of grammar," a student said.  Dr. Ramzi Baalbaki, chairperson of the Arabic Department and associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, responded that a new curriculum for Arabic as a foreign language is being set up. The old text, which is being currently phased out, used to focus on teaching Arabic as a written language for orientalists; the new one has less grammar and focuses on the spoken language. The absence of a language laboratory, which was the concern of many CAMES students, is being compensated for by the use of audiovisual material.  "The Arabic Department is at the full disposal of CAMES students. We are ready to open a section for an individual student coming from CAMES despite the rule of the faculty of Arts and Sciences where the minimum number of students in a section is 12," affirmed Dr Baalbaki. 
    On the other hand, students, and especially native speakers of Arabic,  have the chance to learn other Near Eastern languages, namely Hebrew and Persian as the CAMES curriculum specifies The fact that those courses are not being offered on a regular basis by the Arabic Department has raised many questions about the reliability of the program.  "This matter is a pure budget matter: we don't have the money to get new faculty members in the department. On the other hand, there are not enough students for those courses to be given every semester. Considering the available resources, those courses are given on a yearly basis alternatively. This academic year 2000-2001 was an exception," said Dr Baalbaki, who added that the rumors hinting at political reasons behind the absence of those courses were totally unfounded. 
    On the administrative level, students noticed that the absence of a budget for CAMES, unlike other departments of the University, undermines the potential of the center to thrive. Rana Hanna, coordinator of the program, says, "This has never constituted a problem. Whenever we need any funds we approach the office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences who has never rejected any of our demands so far."  When asked about the one million dollar Cheikh Zayed chair, Dr El-Cheikh said that she did not have much information about it.  "This money is in the bank;  I think that part of it was used to finance the latest series of lectures on globalization organized by the center." 
    As for student complaints in general, Hanna thinks that since the program is a young one, it surely needs fine-tuning.  Another administrative problem is the lack of reference books.  A foreign student complained about the AUB Bookstore: "Books are not available;  you have to order them. Abroad you get the chance to buy books and see them in the bookstore;  here the maximum you can do is to photocopy some passages."  Again, according to student interviewees, who preferred not to disclose their names, there is clearly a lack of interest in the center by faculty members in general.  "It might be due to the fact that faculty are not paid to give us those seminars;  they are doing it on a volunteer basis."  When asked if the fact that the director of CAMES is acting hindered the possibility of the program to thrive, Dr El-Cheikh answered that this transition period has been very smooth so far, and that although it has not yet been advertised, the position of director of CAMES was not "vacant" in the practical sense of the term. She also affirmed that the stability of the academic program was not under question due to this transition.
    The major step to promote research in CAMES is to get the needed funds, according to Dr El-Cheikh, who added that raising funds for CAMES "should be the main task of the next director." Concerning the research journal Abhat,h which was previously linked to CAMES, Dr El-Cheikh said that it has nothing to do with the center anymore. Having no faculty members, CAMES has no research assistantship opportunities for students who are currently doing administrative tasks as graduate assistants responsible for the center's web site. 
    There seems to be only one consensus among administrators and students: having a great potential, the center needs more attention from the administration on all levels. The center's director affirms that AUB is very strong in Middle Eastern studies and that it has a very good reputation in that field abroad. "Whenever we recommend students for PhD programs they get easily accepted in the States." Despite those tranquilizations, a foreign student said, "I came here because of the reputation of AUB. I was disappointed. Once I am back I will not recommend this program as it is."