Islamophobia and Hate at UCSC in Light of the NZ Terrorist Attack

I have felt profoundly affected by Friday’s white supremacist terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, and those lost remain in my thoughts. It hurts me to my core that a UCSC professor enjoyed labeling me with the same title this murderer earned. The New Zealand tragedy is a too real demonstration of the danger posed by Islamophobic hate speech and bigotry we Muslims face all too often. Unfortunately, in the time of “Muslim Bans”, Islamophobic hate has become normalized/tolerated even to the point where two UCSC professors observed me being called a “terrorist” on separate occasions (one as far back as September 2017) and to the extent of my knowledge never thought such hate speech important enough to report to UCSC administration. We students need to support and defend each other since the university and its faculty have not. If you see hate speech, Islamophobic or otherwise, on campus or elsewhere, I beg you to speak up. The victims of such disgusting language may feel powerless to defend themselves fearing retaliation (as I did). Know that your words and actions could help liberate a fellow human from a prison of abuse and humiliation. If someone had done that in my case, maybe I would not have had to leave UCSC.

I saw Chancellor Blumenthal’s email on Friday and Dean Wolf’s email a couple of weeks back. I want to give you all a bit more background to put these emails in context. I pray Chancellor Blumenthal’s future actions live up to the laudable sentiments his email expressed. However, when I wrote multiple emails to Chancellor Blumenthal a couple of months ago asking to meet with him to discuss my experiences and how these dehumanizing slurs traumatized me, the chancellor did not even reply. Since Chancellor Blumenthal wants to prevent Islamophobia and right the wrongs that have been done, it would have been my expectation that the chancellor would be eager to hear personally from those who endured prolonged hate on his watch. While I applaud and encourage any action tackling hate, I do not understand why it has taken UCSC so long to act. I personally informed the dean of the BSOE Alexander Wolf in writing of this professor’s Islamophobic hate speech in August 2018. In December 2018, a second student again personally confirmed many of my allegations to Dean Wolf. However, UCSC is only now scheduling student interviews with an investigator – more than six months after senior UCSC administration was fully aware what had and was continuing to happen. I hope UCSC will make the students called these slurs key members of its process to improve the situation of Muslim students on campus and help restore the lost trust.

The following words are excruciating for me to write, but I could not in good conscience recommend UCSC to Muslim or Middle Eastern students. I am not confident UCSC’s administration or faculty will act decisively in cases of similar bigotry, in particular if they allow this professor back on campus. I do not want to see anyone else experience what I or the other student reported. Given what this professor is also alleged to have said about female students and women in general (much of which is not yet public), I do not believe UCSC’s computer science department is a safe space for women either.

If the mods want to confirm my identity, they can message me. I will not address any questions of which faculty committed these acts. I also am immensely saddened that an innocent professor’s name was maligned in a previous thread, and I ask that not be repeated again.

If I can assist anyone going through similar experiences of hate or if you feel just having someone to talk to may help you heal, do not hesitate to message me privately.


[Originally posted to: https://www.reddit.com/r/UCSC/comments/b2ap2j/islamophobia_and_hate_at_ucsc_in_light_of_the_nz/ (deleted)
Reposted to: https://www.reddit.com/user/EndRacismAtUcsc/comments/b2g0wo/islamophobia_and_hate_at_ucsc_in_light_of_the_nz/]