From Under The Veil...

Rumors have surrounded Mona A. Khalil '88 for as long as she has been at Harvard. When her name comes up in conversation, one may discover she is a member of "Arab royalty," her father is an oil sheik or that she has a personal body guard. Khalil, however, laughs at these suggestions, seeming genuinely surprised that anyone would fabricate or believe such fanciful stories. Brushing aside these tales, Khalil and her friends portray her as a typical Harvard student, not the pretentious, exclusive person she is rumored to be.

But it is not surprising that an aura of mystery follows Khalil. Even those close to her realize she has a certain air which sets her apart from other students. "In a way, she's larger than life. You know, very beautiful, long hair, very smart. She's just one of those people," says John H. Lesher '88 of his friend Khalil.

At Harvard, where talent is not always widely recognized for its true worth, Khalil's list of accomplishments only partially accounts for her mystique. In her four years at Harvard, she has chaired the Adams House Committee, served on the Undergraduate Council for two years, risen to the ranks of officer in the Hasty Pudding Club, and founded the Arab Students Association and the Arab-Jewish Dialogue. And all the while, Khalil, who accepted sophomore standing upon entering Harvard, has earned not only an honors B.A. in Government, but also a masters in Middle Eastern Studies.

Her high visibility is perhaps what contributes the most to Khalil's campus reputation. Synonomous with her name is a way of college life easier to describe than to define: a facon de vivre centered around Adams House, wearing black and the late night smoke-filled scenes at Tommy's Lunch and the Cafe Pamplona. Khalil jokes that she spends "half my life" at Tommy's and her striking appearance makes her one of the most well-known members of a sub-community, which includes Adams residents and international students, who follow her lead.

"I think it's true that Mona is one of those people who walks into a party and seems over-whelming and--I don't want to say `untouchable'--I guess `mysterious' is the word," says her roommate of three years, Ameneh Ziai '88, a native of Iran. "But she's one of the most open, kind-hearted people. She's the last person who would judge someone before she knows them," Ziai adds.

Born of Palestinian blood and raised in an American compound in Saudi Arabia, Khalil is accustomed to being different from those around her. Her father works for Aramco, the Arabian-American oil company, and her mother is a housewife. Growing up in the compound, Khalil escaped many of the strictures that Saudi Arabia imposes on women. Life at the compound acquainted her with Western ways that eased her transition into her California boarding school at the age of 15.

As a child, Khalil recalls, her grandfather, rather than either of her parents, helped shape her aspirations. "My parents are both apolitical, but my grandfather is very political. And that's where my ambitions lie, in politics," Khalil says.

Accordingly, Khalil devoted much of her energy here to campus and Middle Eastern politics, and she hopes someday to become a major political figure. Three years ago, while on the Undergraduate Council, Khalil and several other students founded the Arab Students Association.

Former co-president of the Association Sammy S.Hassan '88, who has known Khalil since junior highschool in Saudi Arabia, credits her with givingthe fledgling group direction and leadership. Whenthe Association was applying for council grants,he says, Khalil, who was on the studentgovernment's finance committee, knew exactly whatto write to receive funding. "She knows how theUniversity runs," says Hassan, who like Khalil isa Palestinian who grew up in Saudi Arabia.

Last fall Khalil also founded the Arab-JewishDialogue, an unofficial student group, with thehead of Harvard's Zionist League, Daniel H. Nevins'89. She says the Dialogue represents asmall-scale effort of what should transpire in theMiddle-East. Until the Palestinians and Israelis"Break down misunderstandings, misconceptions andfears of the other side, then I don't thinkanything constructive can be achieved. Until thetwo sit down, there will be no real peace. This isnot a game. People are suffering and will continueto suffer until one side recognizes the other,"she says.

Her dream, she says, is to become theambassador to Israel of a yet-unestablishedPalestinian state. While most observers doubt thatthe two sides will be reconciled in the nearfuture, Khalil says she believes "the Palestinianand Israeli peoples are ready for a settlement."She adds, "There's a deep bond between thesepeoples, because they lived for centuries inpeace. It's not a deep-rooted conflict, but apolitical one, caused by the clashing ofnationalisms."

Khalil acknowledges it may be difficult for herto gain influence over events of internationalimport. "Somehow, I'll worm my way into thePalestinian-Israeli scene, being a women, and aSaudi, and not a member of the royal family," shesays half-jokingly. "That will be quite anaccomplishment."

In order to pursue her diplomatic career, nextyear she will go to Georgetown University for afour-year law and foreign service program. "I hopethat will better qualify me as a diplomat on theinternational scene," she says. Khalil says shereceived one of her first lessons in how delicateMiddle-Eastern issues can be after writing acontroversial Government honors thesis, entitled"The Absence of Arab Retaliation During the 1982Israeli Invasion of Lebanon."

"My disappointment with the GovernmentDepartment taught me how hard it will be to dowhat I want to do," she says. "My thesis was myfirst step toward dealing with the Arab-IsraeliE-7CrimsonDavid C. Van