May Seikaly, associate professor of Near Eastern Studies at Wayne State, commented about remarks made at a banquet by Rashid Khalidi, director of the Middle East Institute at Colombia University. Khalidi urged Arab Americans to strive for political power in the United States to secure the same respect and influence that other immigrant groups have achieved. Seikaly said it is important to hear Arab Americans speaking in a strong manner about these issues. She added that the speaker's observations were well received.