When one first steps foot onto Brooklyn College’s campus, one will immediately notice the diversity of its student body. There are people of all races, from all walks of life. I myself am a middle class, half-Cuban, half-white woman (to put it simply) and I’ve met people of similar backgrounds as me, as well as people of much different backgrounds. This factor, the college’s wide spectrum of people, is what attracted me most of all to not only Brooklyn College, but to New York City itself. There is no better place to widen one’s mind than in a city where one can be exposed to a multitude of different people and cultures.
However, upon going to Brooklyn College, I noticed a hidden unrest among the student body—or at least, it seemed hidden to me, as an oblivious white-passing person. As a white-passing middle class woman, there are a lot of things I don’t really have to deal with. I don’t have to worry about being stereotyped because of my appearance, of people creating preconceived notions about my character because of my race, or of receiving suspicion on my intentions from those in positions of authority. Unfortunately, not all of my fellow students have the luxury of white skin and an indistinguishable race and culture.
Being a commuter student, it’s hard to know what is really happening on campus, but after speaking to fellow students, I learned about the gross prejudices being held against Brooklyn College’s Muslim students. Prejudice against Muslims is not a new concept to me, especially growing up in a post-9/11 America. And now, with the threat of ISIS striking fear in Americans, as well as Donald Trump’s and Ted Cruz’s racist words against Muslims being spread through the media like wildfire, it is unsurprising to me that this ignorant, unintelligent prejudice is being inflicted upon Muslims at Brooklyn College. It is entirely unfair and unfortunate, but it is unsurprising.
In my Journalism class, a fellow classmate of mine told me that before I attended Brooklyn College, from the beginning of March 2011 until the winter of 2015, the NYPD had gone undercover to investigate Muslim students at Brooklyn College. An undercover NYPD officer using the alias “Malike Ser” or, Mel for short, spent four years on the campus “investigating” Muslim students. What exactly Mel, or the NYPD, was looking for remains unknown. According to an article written by Jeanne Theoharis, “Mel wormed her way into their friendships, their trips to Coney Island, their picnics and jokes. She even became a bridesmaid in one woman’s wedding.” Apparently, Brooklyn College wasn’t the only place where Muslims were being put under surveillance within New York City.
Someone such as myself cannot even begin to imagine the psychological effects such circumstances can have on a person. I will never understand what it’s like to feel like I am constantly under scrutiny by those in power. I will never know how it feels to have people suspect that I could be a terrorist, simply for existing as myself. Because of the way I look, I can speak freely about my political views without wondering whether or not my words will be misconstrued or twisted into an evil, untrue contortion. That is the world Muslims live in, and it is despicable to know that in a country that boasts about freedom of speech, its own Muslim youth are petrified to open their mouths, in fear of unjust persecution.
On Feb.16, 2016 is when the harsh reality of the experiences lived by Brooklyn College’s Muslim students became crystal clear to me. Members of the Brooklyn College Student Coalition went to a Faculty Council meeting in order to protest. The students laid out a list of demands for changes that they felt must be made to better not only Brooklyn College, but all CUNY schools. However, their protest instead ignited an already slow-burning flame, and created a swirling storm of controversy that no one can ignore any further.
Despite the fact that the students’ protest was neither violent nor abusive, the president of Brooklyn College, Karen Gould, unfairly and dangerously condemned the actions and words of the students. In response to the protest, Gould issued a public letter, which I received in my email. Gould ignorantly described the students completely called for actions in a negative, and hysteria-inducing way. Here is a snippet of Gould’s statement:
The students, who had not been recognized by the chair, and refused to follow his direction, made a number of demands on a wide range of academic and economic topics. They also directed hateful anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish comments to members of our community. We find this disruptive behavior unacceptable and the hateful comments especially abhorrent. Brooklyn College is committed to fostering a campus environment in which challenging issues and viewpoints can be expressed. However, such conversations must not impede the Faculty’s right and responsibility to conduct the academic business of the College; nor should these conversations create a climate of exclusion and hostility. We will be vigilant in our efforts to promote a safe and respectful learning environment.
Samir Chopra, philosophy professor who was at the “disrupted” meeting, said that he “certainly did hear a call for ‘Zionism off-campus’ but [he] did not see or hear any abuse." Gould’s use of such intense words as “hateful” and “anti-Jewish” is not a new tactic. People who want to silence the voices of those who oppose Zionism oftentimes use this overly defensive and exaggerative approach that Gould did. Also, it should be noted that opposing Zionism is not the same thing as being anti-Semitic, which anyone with access to Google could easily understand.
This blatant disregard of the words of her students, as well as her ignorant response, makes me wonder what Gould is actually attempting to do. The only thing Gould’s words achieved is further perpetuating a climate of fear for students, specifically Muslim ones, who want to speak out against injustice. Not only does Gould’s response show just how little those in power within Brooklyn College care for the words of their students, but it also represents how little they care for their students’ safety.
A Muslim Brooklyn College student who consistently speaks out against injustices Muslim students face has recently become an example of the danger Gould’s willful inaction and ignorant words are propagating onto her students. A study abroad poster featuring a photo of this Muslim student was recently vandalized. The student was called into the security office of Brooklyn College and was shown the poster. Someone had drawn an upside down cross on her forehead and blackened her eyes. No other posters were vandalized, only the one featuring the politically active and outspoken Muslim student. Naturally, the school didn’t offer the student any help or reassurance; they simply told her to call them if she received any further threats.
This is clearly a slap in the face to Muslim students at Brooklyn College. The allowance of police surveillance on their lives, the dangerous ignorance of Gould’s response, and the utter disregard for the safety of their own students, shows us all exactly how much Brooklyn College cares for their Muslim students. Once again, as a white-passing woman, I can't even begin to relate to what these students and people go through. I will never have to endure the abuse that Muslims in America endure because of the ignorance and prejudice of those around them. I, and others like me who are privileged enough to not endure such brutality, can only listen, learn and attempt to help. A college is an environment that is supposed to foster learning and open-mindedness. How can Muslims learn and prosper in a college environment, or even a world, which, without outwardly saying it, tells them that their safety and well-being does not matter?
