Important People from Other Continents!

Tonight, I had the honor of seeing Mr. Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Reza Shah Pahlavi, at the Elliott School. For those of you who don’t know, the Shah of Iran (Shah means king) was in power before the revolution in 1979 turned the country into an Islamic Republic. I won’t go into the politics of it all, though believe me, I could, but as an Iranian-American it was very poignant to see this important figure speak at my school, especially since the topic of conversation was almost entirely related to democracy and the fraudulent elections that took place in Iran this past summer.

The room was absolutely packed, with Persians and non-Persians alike eager to see what Mr. Pahlavi had to say, and eager to ask their questions. I raised my hand to ask a question, but was beat out by the crowd—there were a bunch of people clamoring to get called on. The event was put on by the International Affairs Society, and it’s pretty safe to say that this was their most notable speaker of the year. I think it’s also safe to say that just about every Iranian on campus was there! Coming from an area where there weren’t many Persians and I wasn’t too in touch with the culture of my dad’s family, it’s really an awakening to be in an environment where people actually know what a “Persian” is, and that we prefer being called that over “Iranian.” (Remember this, friends!)

Additionally, last night was also cool because the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was at GW! I didn’t get to see him, but my friend stepped out to get some tea and came back awestricken that she had just seen the President of Russia stepping out of Lisner Auditorium. Apparently he was seeing a Russian rock concert? I think? But seriously: HOW AWESOME?!?!?! I’m a bit jealous of my friend—I should have accompanied her to get her tea!

So, here’s a picture of Mr. Reza Pahlavi:

And that’s about it! Impressive, no? I’m going to write again very soon because I have some super fun events to attend to tomorrow as well!

Don’t forget to email me! ShireenS@gwmail.gwu.edu

~~~Shireen