This past week, two abhorrent incidents targeted the University of Minnesota’s Muslim community.
On Thursday, the spray-painted word “ISIS” was discovered on the Muslim Students Association’s Washington Avenue Bridge panel. A day earlier, the Horowitz Freedom Center distributed posters on campus alleging that a University group Students for Justice in Palestine is a front for Hamas.
These two events are distressing examples of the pernicious Islamophobia that exists within our campus community. We find great sorrow in these explicit messages of hate.
On Thursday, President Eric Kaler and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Danita Brown-Young sent statements to the University communitycalling the events “hateful.”
“When our students are targeted and made to feel fearful, we as a community suffer,” Kaler said in the statement. “Repugnant actions like these must strengthen our resolve to ensure our campus is safe, welcoming, and respectful for all. We all must speak out against hate when we see it.”
Brown-Young echoed those statements, calling the Horowitz Center’s campaign “repulsive.”
“We must continue to find ways to discuss these issues, to find ways to come together to fight racism, hate and bias on our campus and in our communities,” she said in the statement.
We find reassurance and solace in our administrators’ response to these hateful actions. Their vocal stand against these actions sends a crucial message to our community.
We hope our campus can slowly find common ground and establish unity in the face of this most recent, hateful adversity.
Muslim students, students of color and LGBTQ students continue to face hate speech and hurdles on campus because of their identity and culture. We must recognize that this is unacceptable, and we must work to build a more unified campus — not only for ourselves but for posterity.
It is time that we as a campus, individually and collectively, afford time for introspection. We must condemn hate speech and we must offer support to our peers who have been shaken or feel unsafe on campus. We must realize that bigotry has no room on our campus — but that does not change the fact that it dwells among us every day.
