Muslims on My Campus
I've written before about my encounters with Muslims on my community college's campus. The ease they display around the other students never ceases to surprise me. Well, today I had two encounters with Muslim students.
The first encounter was on the way in to the building where I teach. There was a young, very dark woman in a hijab talking on her phone just outside the entrance to the building. She sat on one of the benches and had a loud, animated conversation in Arabic. Dozens of other students walked past her, not taking any notice of her at all. One white girl sat down on the bench next to her and did her own thing, getting ready for her next class.
Meanwhile, the horrors of the Portland train attack come to mind, and I wonder if...No, better to not go there.
The second encounter was with an older man who came to me for tutoring. He had signed up for an 11 o'clock appointment, but he was having a lot of difficulty printing out his essay. The tutoring lab assistant worked with him for several minutes, and they finally got it printed. With only twenty minutes left in our session, I knew I needed to be quick in ascertaining his main difficulty. I started to read through his paper. "Ah, another 'Identity" essay," I thought to myself. According to his essay, he was a student, the head of a household, and a Muslim. Those were the three "identities" he chose to write about.
Does this man realize that in tRump's America, Sikhs are being beaten and shot when they are mistaken for Muslims? Does he know just how dangerous the words he uses in his essay to describe himself really are?
After tutoring, I walked down the hallway, and I noticed a large display board placed in the middle of the foyer. On it was an announcement about an upcoming discussion panel for DACA. In large letters and in no uncertain terms it assured the students that the college was committed to their safety regardless of ethnicity or religion.
I need not have worried. My college protects its students.
I went out to my car with smile to eat my PBJ. 
= new reply since forum marked as read
thanks
A third encounter was with my student who wears a hijab. Shows how much I'm paying attention 
It just doesn't matter on campus. I have yet to witness or hear about any altercations.
