KAUST is a beautiful idea. In the king’s wisdom, he saw that oil would not last forever and for reasons pure and pragmatic, he commissioned an institution that would provide clever people with the tools they needed to grow science. And for this, I am very grateful to the king. Thank you.
That said, there have been issues. Birthing pains. And there were bound to be some. Anyone who writes code knows that nothing compiles the first time around, and even when it does, it rarely works exactly as planned. Early adopters know that a product is a brilliant idea in principle but there may still be design flaws in the implementation.
Last night saw the inauguration of the school. The king came to the school (along with 3,500 of his closest friends – leaders from various countries, nobel laureates, distinguished guests) and there was a very long and involved ceremony. Given the guest list, I understand that there are security concerns and not everyone can attend, but the initial plan for the ceremony did not include students. Or much of the faculty. Upon learning of this, a petition went around, was signed, and we are told eventually reached the king himself and he extended an invitation to one student per country. These students were then included on stage during a reading of poetry to the king.
I find it very symbolic that these students were then not guests, but performers. Perhaps it’s ego-centric or self-involved to think that it’s the students and faculty who make the school the school, but they’ve been telling us this from the beginning. Why then, did we watch on TV an event that was happening on campus? And as far as the security concerns go, we all submitted to background checks, and “police clearances” and the extensive medical tests. Oh the medical tests! I literally gave more blood samples and stool samples for getting my visa than I have in the rest of my life. We’re academics – not zealots or crazy and dangerous people.
I imagine that it’s different in a monarchy. I realized in watching the festivities, that the people presenting and speaking at the event were proffering a gift, or a thanks. A promise to the king that they hoped and prayed he would find pleasant as a man with absolute power in the land. I tried to imagine an analog in the United States and I couldn’t think of one. There are ceremonies like this stateside, but they are displays of gratitude without the fear or reverence.
KAUST has to walk a fine line – the Saudi general population sometimes feels as though this is too free or too liberal a place while many of the people who constitute the school feel it’s too restrictive. That’s in part because we were promised that there would be no segregation when we got here, and there is. We were promised that there would be no dress code, and though it’s not always strictly enforced, there is one. We were promised we would have unfettered access to the internet (we were incredulous, but that’s what they said up until we got here), but many legitimate things are censored. I understand that there is a tight-rope walk in play here, but at the same time, it’s hard to ask people to stay and work in the name of the king when there is greener grass elsewhere.
I stay and will stay because I believe in the dream. I laud King Abdullah for his insight and inspiration. It’s with certain implementation issues that I take exception.
I have been asking for two weeks whether or not my permanent residence is ready. I look forward to making this campus my home, but while we’re living out of suitcases for the last six weeks, it’s impossible to be settled. And despite asking and asking the people they’ve told us to ask, no one can tell me if my home is ready for me. The people who will be my next-door neighbors once I move in… they have been living there since the beginning. Sure there may be a problem with my apartment only, but why can no one tell me?
Things are getting better (we’re getting put in touch more directly with the people in charge of housing, IT, and other issues), but there’s still a ways to go. Perhaps with this inauguration over, things will clear up more, but I feel it’s been very trying and a lot to ask of students. And more than students, it has been a lot to ask of the families of students and faculty that have joined them here. Some professors haven’t been able to live in a house with their wives and children under the same roof because their homes aren’t ready.
The coverage of the school that we see is all roses and sunshine. And by and large, I agree – it’s very impressive and I very much look forward to working here. But I take that coverage as a slight. I find the KAUST Inauguration Twitter feed particularly revealing.
On the one hand, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I would a smaller and less problematic gift horse. They’ve given us t-shirts and messenger bags and thumb drives, but I want a web page with the bus schedule on it. They’ve given us apartments with 10 chairs and granite countertops, but I want a reliable internet connection. I don’t need or want the flash – I want the tools I need to do the work and research for which I came to this institution. Access to a printer that works has gone a long way. More paper for it, however, would be much appreciated. All these great whiteboards everywhere in the office area where I do my work are awesome! There are the whiteboards where interesting and important discussions will will take place. Markers would help. I don’t need a doorman at the entrance to every building. I need someone to fix my washing machine.
It’s not as though there aren’t resources enough – it’s as though the pieces are there but they’re not clicking. We have the money to actually have books in the library, but somewhere along the lines, the people in charge of ordering books neglected to do so, and so the staff is driving to Jeddah on a daily basis, buying books at what is essentially Borders, and driving them back here. I’m sure there’s a repository of paper and markers somewhere on campus, for the life of any of us, no one can tell us where that is. There is a symposium today that’s going to be very inspiring and filled with impressive people that I’ve been looking forward to for two weeks. We had to RSVP a week and a half in advance, but I haven’t been told what time it starts or where. And yet no fewer than 6 people have come by my desk to check whether or not my lamp works. My lamp works. My phone and internet connection don’t.
In order to get onto the compound, we have to present student IDs. Presumably, then, people walking into academic buildings carrying a backpack are students and are allowed to be there and are trusted. But I have to sign in at a security desk if I go in the main entrance to my building, and occasionally have my bag searched.
This has grown longer than I intended, but the thing I hope to have impressed upon you is this: I’m grateful to the king. Very grateful, and I wish I knew how best to convey my gratitude. That said, I wish we could get to work, manage ourselves as competent and trusted colleagues. We very much want to build this community and start making our homes here. To the administration: please allow us to do so.