As a brown Muslim woman of color, who has lived on the brinks of poverty for the majority of her life, going to a prestigious university where there is a high white and zionist majority population is quite a challenge. Throughout my life, I have experienced instances of sexism, colorism, racism, xenophobia, classism and Islamaphobia. I have lived on food stamps and have had a very restricted budget that did not allow me to spend excessively. I have constantly had to manage working several jobs and going to school while having to support my family, and have also endured the effects of gentrification. I have seen my mother struggle to make a decent income, just barely glossing over the poverty line despite her four year degree from Bangladesh and 50+ hour a week work ethic, juggling three jobs at a time. Despite all of these challenges, growing up in Cambridge was somewhat of a blessing. I went to one of the most diverse schools in the country, Cambridge Rindge and Latin, but going to Brandeis University was a huge culture shock for me. When I speak about being a minority at Brandeis, it will be a biased report; however, my emotions and my story are just as valid as anyone else's. Here are some observations I have made.

Protests and Freedom of Assembly (Experience as an activist)

Back in high school, protests were a big deal, and protesters were highly protected and encouraged to express their needs. Protests were a great way to raise your voice and to seek progress in a society that was moving backwards or regressing. Black Lives Matter is a huge example of that freedom of expression that all Americans have the right to. BLM is a movement that simply asks for equality in a society where black people and African Americans are oppressed by systematic oppression through police brutality, cruel and unusual punishment, profiling, and daily microaggressions. Because this issue is so important and prevalent, there is never a wrong time for protest. Rather than supporting fellow students who feel excluded from Brandeis due to a small minority population and the inability to incorporate black and African American studies into the curriculum, many students and faculty thought of the protests as "disturbing the peace." This is ironic, considering how black individuals are tormented daily due to the color of their skin. It is important to consider that pro-black is not anti-white, or anti any other race.

Rather than stifling voices of protesters and activists such as Khadijah Lynch, who feel the need to express their frustrations, it is important that Brandeis shows solidarity and respect for the black and minority communities on campus. We must try to better analyze different viewpoints before breaking into this debilitating panic we have associated with protesters and realize what the intent of such protesters is.As a university, it is important to show that minority voices matter regardless of how "radical" one's views are. One of the great triumphs of this academic year is that an Asian Studies program was created through protest and outreach. College should be a safe place to express opinions, as long as it is not direct hate speech or causing fear for safety.

Exclusion (Experience as a religious minority)

People of minority religions (Muslims) often feel excluded on campus and/or attacked. This is a dark truth that many people are unwilling to accept on campus. There have been multiple attacks on Muslim prayer spaces over the span of just a few years. When I have tried to consult counselors about my fears on campus, I have always been given the "What do you expect from such a prestigious white majority university?" or "This happens everywhere, might as well get used to it." My question is, why must Islamophobia be so normalized and why can't we speak up against it? Why must I just get used to it and allow my community to be stifled from speaking up against this blatant violence?

Rather than fighting against the fact that Ayaan Hirsi Ali was dis-invited from Brandeis, why don't we support the Muslim community which is obviously a minority community on campus that is constantly attacked? There is no lack of strong Islamophobic actions in our community, but there is a lack of solidarity which we do not prefer to address. Why don't we support the needs of actual Brandeis students rather than following this rhetoric of free speech when it continues to hurt minorities? By feeding the majority opinion, we are actually further stifling minority voices. Along with a lack of Muslims on campus to share my opinions with, there is a lack of brown men and women and people of Arab descent on campus who are willing to speak up due to their fear of backlash. Let us face the facts: Things like xenophobia, racism, classism, Islamophobia, and homophobia will continue to exist. White supremacy is very prevalent on college campuses, and this must be addressed.

Prevalence of Zionism

It is not completely accurate to state that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and a lot of Jewish and Zionist organizations have harmonious relationships on campus. There has been no evidence to prove that these groups cooperate well among each other. The truth is that SJP gets very little funding and many people are afraid to speak up or even join SJP related events due to the fear of backlash on campus for having views which are even slightly pro-Palestinian. While it is not wrong to have Zionist ideologies, it is still important to recognize that there are other opinions out there which must be respected. It is also important to remember that anger is not a good way to fuel dialogue. Rather than tearing down club related related signs, it is important to create dialogue and talk respectfully about any disagreement. The end goals for either groups should be to debate and to educate.

Commitment to “diversity”

Although the university does have a PR problem in which it is unable to receive many minority applicants, the good thing is that the school has programs such as SSSP and POSSE

which allow highly qualified students to be aware that an academically prestigious university such as Brandeis exists and is open to accepting admissions from minority students. However, this is still not enough. Admissions is being urged to invite more minority and low income students on campus.

Hatred of “PC Culture”

Political correctness is important even when you are trying to create dialogue. It is important that people know their privilege before speaking on something that could potentially negatively affect oppressed and minority groups. The LGBTQIA+ community at Brandeis is victim to being stifled or not addressed properly due to this idea that political correctness is "oppressive" to the majority, although oppression is a state of persecution.

Inability to Recognize Privilege

"When you are accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." Many students on campus are unable to recognize their privilege, which makes it even more difficult to have effective campus dialogue.

Ideas for a better Brandeis

• We should create spaces for minorities to feel protected. There should be minority protection groups, solidarity groups, or even a strong student of color union.
• During orientation, there should be workshops related to privilege since it is such a dominating conversation on college campuses.
• When students feel unsafe on campus, there should be minority relief coordinators or trained professionals on campus who they feel comfortable talking to.
• Students should really begin to question their identities on campus in any academic or classroom based setting to be more socially aware.
• More funding should be given to clubs that do not neccessarily conform to the majority opinion on campus.
• Public Relations and curriculum managers should make it their duty to invite more minorities onto the campus and incorporate non-prevalent thoughts into different classroom settings.