A small sticker can speak volumes.

It is an American flag. An 8-year-old Sudanese-American boy living in Ames came home from school one day and put the sticker on the front door of his family’s home.

Kamal Elbasher, a family friend, noticed.

“I saw an American flag and was a little surprised,” said Elbasher, an international student adviser from Sudan. Seeing the flag was a nice surprise, demonstrating that displays of patriotism are not limited by ethnicity, he said.

A resurgence of patriotism following the Sept. 11 attacks is changing the landscape of Ames. International students and families at Iowa State are noticing the difference.

“I have seen an increase in patriotism, the way people wear the flag colors and have flags everywhere, both in Ames and on TV,” said Miranda Mhango, a senior in accounting from the African country of Malawi.

Flags are now prevalent across the nation. Patriotic T-shirts, buttons, ribbons and banners are common; stores prominently display patriotic merchandise; and businesses hang a flag or post a patriotic phrase on their front to stay with the times.

Many international students support the sentiment.

“I feel everybody should be able to love their country as much as I love mine, so I’m OK with it,” Mhango said.

Dennis Peterson, director of International Education Services, said he has noticed an increase in patriotism.

“It’s in the air,” he said. “And for a lot of people, it’s helping them get over the horror of the attacks.”

The International Student Services office was proactive following Sept. 11, Peterson said, contacting the Muslim Student Association and organizing meetings for students with staff and local law enforcement.

“We’re trying to answer the questions of international students and at the same time reach out to American students,” Peterson said.

Iowa State also hosted two discussions to bring together students of all faiths and nationalities to talk about the events of Sept. 11 and the subsequent war.

“We let students know that Ames is a welcoming community, and the fact that there were meetings to let Americans know what led up to the attacks,” Peterson said.

While life has been relatively calm in Ames, other parts of the country have seen attacks against people of Arab or Muslim background.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported that 1,452 anti-Muslim incidents have occurred nationwide since Sept 11. Of those, 265 incidents involved physical assault or property damage, according to the organization’s Web site, www.cair-net.org.

However, students in Ames say there have been few problems here associated with the attacks. For the most part, international students carried on with academic life as usual.

Nelson Yong, a student from Singapore, works for International Education Services on campus.

“Personally, I feel welcome in Ames as an international,” said Yong, junior in pre-computer science. “However, I feel there are just some students who are just ignorant to foreign students. I feel sorry for them.”

But on the whole, Yong said the current level of patriotism is a positive change.

“The mood of the country has changed for the better in terms of patriotism and the rallying together of Americans,” he said.

The tide of nationalism reminded him of home, Yong said.

“Singapore is also a country formed by immigrants from many lands, and nationalism is something we are still building,” he said. “I am comfortable with [patriotism].”

Ashish Kumar, senior in advertising from India, said he has experienced a generally positive response from students. But he said he has felt the gaze of strangers due to his own brown skin. An angry woman made derogatory comments and spit on some of his Indian friends at a local restaurant, he said.

“Even though I am a Hindu by birth, I feel bad for my Muslim friends as they might be subjected to some sort of harassment,” Kumar said. “But on the other hand, I feel that the media and the president have helped by repeating that the terrorists were not representative of the Islamic faith and trying to educate people about Islam.”

Kumar, who served as president of the International Student Council for the 2000-2001 academic year, said he supports the patriotic sentiment as long as people take the opportunity to educate themselves about other cultures.

Ziad Khashram, a Palestinian freshman in engineering science from the Arabian Gulf country of Oman, said he continues to feel very comfortable as an international student in Ames. Discussion is one of the best ways to begin to build understanding between people, he said.

“I never felt uncomfortable, even as an Arab student,” Khashram said. “I have talked with various people who are really patriotic and others who have no idea what’s going on in Afghanistan. I’ve had good debates.”

Khashram agrees there has been a significant increase in public patriotism in the area.

“You can see it in the media, you can see it in public and you can see the clothing,” he said.

However, some students are uneasy. Thaer al-Nimer, a Palestinian sophomore in industrial engineering from Jordan, said he feels somewhat uncomfortable as an international student.

“Especially because I am a Muslim from Palestine,” he said. “I became afraid, in a way, to reveal my identity to people.”

Islam is being portrayed unfairly, al-Nimer said.

“It scares me,” he said. “CNN and Fox News show the negative side of my culture.”

Al-Nimer has not engaged in discussions on the matter with American students because he said it would make him vulnerable to mistreatment. He does, however, talk with other international students about terrorism and the attacks. But the American public is generally “passive,” al-Nimer said.

“In America, [patriotism] is used to make people to get enraged at an unidentified enemy,” al-Nimer said. “This also makes the public think less about what’s happening outside their borders.”

Yong said he was surprised when he heard students discussing that they are not bothered by the anthrax concerns as long as it doesn’t affect them personally in Iowa.

Anders Berg, a freshman in pre-computer science from Norway, said it is difficult for many American students to understand what is happening in world affairs because of a lack of cultural awareness.

“I’m sorry to say this, but the Americans need to see the bigger perspective sometimes,” he said.

Norway is a proud country, he said, but there are no posters, pictures or ads promoting patriotism on television.

“But then again I guess I wouldn’t know how it feels like to have your country attacked,” Berg said.

Muhannad Suleiman, a Palestinian doctoral candidate in civil engineering from Jordan, said the mood of the United States is somewhat angry and a bit disoriented.

“Generally, people do not understand who are they fighting and maybe do not know why or for what,” he said. “The U.S. needs to be a model.”

Yukari Ikuno, sophomore in marketing from Japan, added another perspective. She said the rise in patriotism does not bother her.

“I feel little bit jealous,” Ikuno said. “Whenever I see American flag in the events, I wish my country has as strong patriotism as America. But I’ll be very sad to see people judge by races.”

Elbasher said he feels blessed to be a part the United States for the duration of his visit. After the attacks, he said, several people contacted him offering to accompany scarved women from Ames’ Muslim community on shopping trips or errands. The callers were American, Elbasher said, and they wanted to show their support and concern for the women when they went into public places.

“We consider ourselves guests in this country,” he said. “As long as we are visitors, we have to understand the position the country is in.”