Wednesday, November 16, 2016 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 // The Statement
5B
MADINAH LUQMAAN
SOCIAL WORK STUDENT/ PEOPLE OF COLOR COLLECTIVE
When you’re used to privilege, equality feels like
oppression. When you are used to everything benefit-
ting you, and suddenly, other voices are being heard
more than yours, you’re of course going to feel some-
what left out … We are all aware that Republicans are
not heartless folks. However, the Republican candidate
built his campaign on hurting others through fear and
exclusion. So when people decided it was more impor-
tant to vote for someone who actively used violent
language and made promises to harm large groups of
marginalized folks, they should not be calling for those
belonging to the threatened groups and their allies
to, “get over it.” The hateful acts on this campus have
shown that people aren’t accepting diverse groups of
people and their right to exist. I’m sorry Republican
students feel unsafe, but no one is threatening to light
them on fire, deport them or throw them down hills.
SHEEMA REHMAN
LSA SENIOR / CO-VICE PRESIDENT FOUNDATION FOR
INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF OF CHILDREN
It’s important to include everyone in this conversa-
tion because we all belong to different communities
and are affected by issues differently, but at the end of
the day we are all members of this university. Issues
that we face today are not new, but rather they have
become normalized given the rhetoric used by political
figures, especially as much more visibly hateful mes-
sages are surfaced, rather than floating in the back-
ground as they have had been in the past.
ARMAITY MINWALLA
LSA SENIOR/ DIVERSITY PEER EDUCATOR IN COUZENS HALL
The unpaid and unrecognized emotional labor of
people of color on this campus has increased. Student
organizers and leaders are carrying a lot of weight on
their shoulders … What I need from the administration
is a continuation and a step further in the messages
they have already been sending. While the intentions
of their anti-hate campaign are good, I would like to
point out that some ideas are hateful and some of the
discourse that has been occurring is hate speech. It is
not the responsibility of marginalized communities to
be re-traumatized over and over again because they
are taking the time to educate others about oppres-
sion and experiences of hate. As for me, I will continue
doing the work that I do to make sure that every single
person on this campus, particularly those in my care
in my residence hall, are safe and know that I am here
for them. I love and support you all, and I will always
be there for you.
TINA AL-KHERSAN
LSA SENIOR/ EXECUTIVE BOARD OF MICHIGAN REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM/ MEMBER OF THE LSA UNDER-
GRADUATE CLIMATE COMMITTEE
This election and the rhetoric that has ensued
after is not about just politics. I pride myself on being
someone who is capable of reaching across the aisle
and hearing other viewpoints, regardless of whether
I agree with them or not. However, I am not always
granted the same opportunity because of my religion
and ethnicity. This is especially true now. I see people
encouraging others to listen more, but what I am wor-
ried about is people not giving my viewpoints a chance
simply because I call myself a Muslim. So to me, this
election is about much more than just politics — it’s
personal. How do I go about engaging in thoughtful
and challenging dialogue when people across the aisle
will inevitably and automatically see my viewpoints as
less legitimate simply because of who I am?
CHELSEA RACELIS
LSA AND BUSINESS JUNIOR / INVOLVED IN DIVERSITY,
EQUITY AND INCLUSION EFFORTS IN THE ROSS SCHOOL
OF BUSINESS/ INVOLVED IN ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER
AMERICAN VOTE — MICHIGAN CHAPTER
Administrators must earn the right to put diversity on
the University’s brochures, website, etc. The University
has to provide for its diverse community, and right now,
that means making sure marginalized students (Muslim
students, students of color, immigrant students, LGBTQ
students) are safe. That is a human right that the Univer-
sity has a responsibility to protect. I would tell adminis-
trators to genuinely ask themselves if they are doing the
absolute most they can; I recognize that they can’t alien-
ate groups of people and they have multiple interests
weighing on them, but even given all of that, are admin-
istrators honestly doing the most they can to take action
for students?
ALL PHOTOS BY DAVID SONG/Daily